Haipagia's ¥39,800 ($437) Hyper Gear ereader may just be a rebadge on the surface, but the all-too-familiar exterior conceals a rather unique software package underneath. Boasting a 6-inch display with an 800 x 600 resolution, the reader includes an encryption function that can wrap your files in DRM and password protect whatever you like. If the device gets stolen, you can then rest easy knowing that files won't disclose themselves to evil eyes even if ripped from the unit's internal memory. Admittedly, something like this is well suited for enterprise and academic environments, but we're guessing the paranoid in attendance are also taking notice.

[Via Best Tablet Review]

And so it begins. If you had any doubts whatsoever that the ereader battle was in full effect, let this introduction take all of that worry away. Marvell and E Ink have tag-teamed in order to announce a "highly integrated" ereader processor that'll be made available in "turnkey platforms" aimed at the booming ebook reader market. The ARMADA package includes a 166E application processor, WiFi, Bluetooth and 3G modem, and more broadly, the two have agreed to cross license epaper "timing controllers and system platforms," which may or may not be the cutest, sweetest thing we've ever heard. The goods are expected to be ready for readers in 2010, which means that buying a Kindle or Nook today is guaranteed to cause you all sorts of pain when the next best thing ships within twelve months.

[Via Internet News]

Now here's some yummy news to wrap our minds around. Samsung, a company with a manufacturing portfolio so wide that you wouldn't be surprised to see it selling toothbrushes and perfume, clearly also wants a slice of that growing ebook market and has now unveiled a 10.1-inch color display with that purpose in mind. It's still very early days, with a measly 10:1 contrast ratio and the ability to display only 7% of the NTSC color gamut, but baby steps are better than no steps, right? While Sammy is shooting at delivering this within two years, PVI -- the maker of displays for Kindles and Sony Readers -- is expected to ramp up production of its own color screens in the second half of 2010. Add these two heavyweights to the color e-readers already expected from Plastic Logic (spring 2010) and Bridgestone, and what you get is one hell of a thriving marketplace -- as long as Pixel Qi doesn't render them all useless when it launches later this year.

Read - Samsung Exhibits 10.1-inch Color E-paper
Read - PVI to ramp up flexible and color EPD in 2010

Poor Readius, we barely knew ye and your folding e-ink screen before parent company Polymer Vision went bankrupt and, well, that was the end of that. Or was it? Wistron apparently made a bid for the remains of the company over the summer and, as of September, Polymer was acting as a division of the Acer spin-off. The Wistron board has finally approved the €12 million ($18 million) investment and so where once there were two companies now there is one. The jury is still out on whether the Polymer Vision brand will survive, but its technology -- and legend -- will still burn.

Liquavista's been kicking around in the shadows for years now, and while its stuff has largely been viewed as vaporware, the video waiting for you just past the break changes everything. The company has today revealed three new e-reader display technologies that it's working on, and all three of 'em are in prototype form ready to wow. LiquavistaBright aims to speed up page refreshes on e-book readers and add support for video playback, and considering just how awful web browsing is on existing e-ink displays, we can hardly wait to surf on this stuff. It's also toiling away on a LiquavistaColor screen, which is exactly what you think it is. Finally, there's the elusive LiquavistaVivid, which is planned for "product implementation" throughout 2010 and 2011. Hit the read link if you're down for looking into the future, and be sure to tell PixelQi its main competition has just come out in a big way.

Looks like all those whispers were true -- the "Android-based" nook is alive and well, and it's calling itself the planet's "most advanced e-book reader." Measuring 7.7- x 4.9- x 0.5-inches and weighing 11.2 ounces, the device includes a top e-ink display from Vizplex and a color touchscreen (3.5-inches) below, which supports one-touch control and swipe-to-browse books with full-color covers. The rechargeable battery takes 3.5 hours to go from zero to full if using a wall outlet, and B&N claims that it'll last for up to ten days if you flick the wireless to "off." Speaking of which, inbuilt WiFi (802.11b/g) and AT&T 3G is included, not to mention 2GB of internal storage, a microSD expansion slot, MP3 player, built-in mono speaker, 3.5 millimeter headphone jack, a micro USB port and support for EPUB, PDF and MP3. The nook also supports bookmarking, making notes, and highlighting passages, and the 'LendMe' feature allows users to lend books for up to a fortnight at a time to other e-readers, cellphones or computers.

B&N also tells us that you can pick up where you left off (with markings and highlights in tact) on your iPhone or BlackBerry using its free eReader software, which just so happens to be the same app that allows sharing to iPhone, iPod touch, BlackBerry, PC or Mac. As expected, the company will also let you sample ebooks before you buy, and you'll enjoy free WiFi each and every time you sashay into a Barnes & Noble retail location. It's available to pre-order as we speak for $259, with initial shipments expected to happen at the end of November. Introductory video is after the break, along with a few highlights about accessories and features.

Update: Aw snap, B&N just yanked everything related to nook from its website. Thankfully for you, everything you'd ever need to know is right here.

Update 2: Looks like it's back! Though, the landing page itself still seems down. Hurray for backdoors!

Update 3: Be sure to check out our live reveal coverage and our hands-on images / video!

If e-paper is ever really going to have a chance against tree-paper it's going to have to get a lot more flexible. We've seen multiple demonstrations of bendable wares from LG and even big daddy E Ink, but AUO is the first to pledge mass production of the stuff (since the Readius went bust), starting in 2010. The company has demonstrated a 6-inch flexible display offering 16 shades of gray and a contrast ratio of 9:1, which sounds terrible but is actually slightly better than the Kindle's 7:1. The company is also showing off a 20-inch non-bendy version that should also hit production sometime next year. When will either get the hammer treatment? That remains to be seen.

[Via DigiTimes]

It's been far, far too long (read: four months) since we've heard a peep from the gentle souls over at Pixel Qi, but it looks like the long, heart-wrenching wait for the hybrid display that's bound to revolutionize Western civilization is nearing an end. According to the startup's CEO herself, Mary Lou Jepsen, the primetime-ready 3Qi display should make its glorious debut on an undisclosed tablet to be announced next month. For those out of the loop, this transflective display contains both e-ink and LCD properties, one for outdoor reading scenarios and the other for multimedia viewing. The amazing part is that toggling between the two is as simple as flipping a switch, which obviously means great things for battery life on whatever device it's shoved into. We'll be keeping our eyes peeled for more, but do us a favor and cross your fingers for good luck. Toes too, por favor.

[Thanks, Tom]

At this point, there's little doubt that Barnes & Noble will soon be joining the e-reader game. We've heard whispers through the grapevine, seen FCC documentation and now, renders of what the thing might actually look like. With October 20th rapidly approaching, Gizmodo has secured images that it claims are of the forthcoming device -- and the design certainly jibes with recent happenings. If you'll recall, a B&N-badged representative recently noted that an e-book reader with its logo on it was on track for a Spring 2010 release, and by golly, it would sport a color display. Plastic Logic later stepped forward to deny the claim, but if these images are legit, both parties might actually be correct; the dual-panel device would boast a traditional e-ink display up top with a multitouch panel beneath, the latter of which would undoubtedly lead to all sorts of shenanigans. So, is it Tuesday yet, or what?

Man, are people into reading, or what? Hot on the heels of the BeBook Mini launch in the US and news that Barnes & Noble could be introducing an e-reader of its own as early as next week, Endless Ideas is now rumored to have its BeBook 2 on deck for an October 14th release. And considering that it has a booth at the Frankfurt Book Fair this week, we'd say there's at least a decent chance that the rumors are true. If you'll recall, we snagged the first look at the company's first-ever 3G / WiFi-equipped e-book reader back at CeBIT in March (pictured above), and considering that there can really never be enough competition in the space, we'll take the promised touchscreen and free RSS support any way we can get it. We'll be cautiously watching the action tomorrow for a full reveal, and we'd recommend you do as well -- besides, it's not like that International Kindle is shipping before next week anyway.

This rumor sure is shaping up nicely. We started with the FCC berth, then the Wall Street Journal weighed in with a meatier rumor, and now Barnes & Noble itself has sent out an invite to select media to a little get together touted as "a major event in our company's history." It's happening in NY on October 20, and at this point the larger surprise would probably be if there wasn't an ebook reader on display.

We'd heard back in May that Endless Ideas' smallest e-reader yet would begin shipping (presumably in Europe) during the summertime, but it just recently started to make its way onto US doorsteps. Thankfully, our doorstep was among those greeted by the 5-inch reader, which boasts the same specifications as the original BeBook save for the smaller display. Priced at $199, it seemed a lot more competitive before Amazon hacked the price of its Kindle to $259, and given the dearth of WiFi / 3G WWAN, it'll only appeal to those content with hitting up their PC via USB to get new content loaded on. Upon unboxing this cutie, we were struck at just how light and compact the whole unit is, though even with the font at its default size, we had no issues reading the crystal clear e-ink display. Screen refreshes were satisfactorily quick, and menu navigation was a breeze. As an e-reader (and MP3 player, if you wish), it's hard to bang on the pocket-friendly BeBook Mini, but with the Kindle's recent price drop and Sony's $199 Reader Pocket Edition, competition is fierce.