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Cybook Gen3 e-book reader enters production, coming in September
We already had a pretty good idea of what Bookeen had in store with its new Cybook e-book reader, but the company has now gotten all official with it, letting out word that the device has entered production and is set to be available in September. Now dubbed the Cybook Gen3, the device makes use of E Ink's Vizplex e-paper technology to give you a 166 dpi resolution on its 6-inch screen, and promises to last for 8,000 page flips before needing a recharge. What's more, Bookeen's also announced that it's struck a deal with Mobipocket to license and distribute the Mobipocket e-book format, giving Cybook users access to some 50,000 titles. According to Bookeen, it'll be offering the Cybook in a variety of different "packs," the lowest cost of which will set you back $350.[Thanks, David R]
E Ink watch giveaway reminder
We know, there's hardly a chance you'd forget to toss your name in the hat for the last E Ink watch to ever be given away (or sold, for that matter), but in case it slipped your mind momentarily, the contest is only open until 11:59pm EDT on Friday, July 13th. Psst, that's just over three days from now for those sans a timepiece!
Giveaway: super rare E Ink watch!
If you're at all interested in a chronograph featuring an electrophoretic display, your options are few and expensive: head to Japan and try to mug a geeky salaryman, or hit up eBay in the hops of placing the winning bid on an export Seiko Spectrum. Or, you know, enter our giveaway for super rare hand-built E Ink corporation watch. Here's the story.E Ink, the company that developed that whole electronic ink / electrophoretic display thing, had just nine custom watches hand-built -- eight will be worn on the wrists of members of the company's board, and the last one will be given away here on Engadget! The watch itself is an analogue timepiece with a monochrome digital face that shows date, time, and numbers for the hands in white on black or black on white. Yes, the watch even comes with a certificate of authenticity. So, want to take it home? Read on, check out the gallery below, and good luck!A few rules (yeah, there are always rules): Leave a comment below -- tell us which crappy watch (if any) this fancy E Ink piece will be replacing. You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you'll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.) In other words, be careful when commenting and if you submit more than once, only activate one comment, ok? The prize is open to anyone worldwide! Contest is open until 11:59pm EDT on Friday, July 13th. %Gallery-4608%
Bookeen set to release new Cybook E-Ink reader
Bookeen's Cybook has already been around longer than most e-book readers, and it looks like it'll soon be taking on yet another incarnation, one that finds it looking not unlike eREAD's STAReBOOK reader. Like the STAReBOOK, the new Cybook boast a 6-inch E Ink display with an 800x600 resolution and four shades of gray, and weighs in at a relatively lightweight 6.5 ounces. According to MobileRead, the latest rumor is that the Cybook will also support Open eBook, PDF, HTML, RTF, and Mobipocket document formats, along with MP3 audio, among other possible formats. While other specs are still up in the air, it looks like we won't have to wait too much longer for the complete rundown, as it's apparently set to launch in the US and Europre later this summer for about $350.
NUUT intros NP-601 e-book reader with Vizplex display
Those curious to see just how much E Ink Corp.'s new and improved Vizplex display enhances the e-reading experience now have an actual e-book reader they can get their hands on, although they'll have to find a way to get one out of South Korea. Apart from that new 6-inch, 600 x 800 display (which promises twice the refresh speed and 20% better brightness than previous models), NUUT's NP-601 e-book reader is a fairly standard affair, with 512MB of internal memory, an SD card slot for expansion, and a headphone jack to take advantage of some of its (unspecified) non-reading functions. Look for this one to set you back about $300.[Via MobileRead]
Fujitsu shows off "Fab PC" laptop concept
Fujitsu's already shown its fondness for foldable laptops and e-ink displays, so it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that the company's now put the two together in the form of a new concept device, with a few other uncommon design touches thrown in for good measure. Dubbed the "Fab PC", the laptop apparently uses fabric for much of its construction (hence the name), which is intended to make the device more reminiscent of a traditional folio -- and no doubt prevent the dreaded problem of slippage as well. Of course, there's no indication of specs (or even any evidence that it actually works), although at the rate e-ink production is ramping up, it may not be as far off as it might seem
E Ink Corp. announces "Vizplex" tech to speed, brighten displays
E Ink's first-gen electronic ink tech powers a nice little crop of e-books and a few other miscellaneous gadgets, but the slow refresh and less-than-stellar contrast offered by current devices have held them back from wider acceptance. The E Ink folks are attempting to address some these problems with the new Vizplex display technology, which doubles refresh speeds, and boosts brightness by 20 percent. E Ink is also planning to expand much further beyond those cookie cutter 6-inch e-books, with 1.9-inch, 5-inch, 6-inch, 8-inch and 9.7-inch display sizes. E Ink has also prepped a new "Metronome Display Controller" which boosts grayscale depth, and supports more sizes and resolutions, while also offering better integration with other device components to reduce costs. The developer kit for these news new displays and components is out now, so it's just a matter of time before manufactures manage to finagle them into a new line of cookie cutter e-books.
Jinke / HanLin iBook eReader revs to V3
With a name like the iBook eReader there's just no way a Chinese e-ink peddler like Jinke / HanLin could go wrong selling in the Ukraine, right comrade? Well, not unless they attempt to release in the US -- a country where the iBook trademark holds some weight -- which apparently is the intended destination for the €240 ($325) e-book reader. We can supposedly have high hopes for it, though, being equipped with a four-shade SVGA display, WiFi, optional touchscreen interface, and, of course, Linux. Expect this September or October. Or not.[Via MobileRead]
Ask Engadget: Best gadget to read e-books?
It's a late night edition of our week of Ask Engadget, complete with that fancy new logo and more of your questions. Like always, send your queries to ask at engadget dawt com, and we'll air the best of 'em here for discussion by your fellow readers. We got some great responses to Dan's question yesterday about HDTV shopping, and now Anna (from Switzerland) wants to know about e-books:"What would be the best PDA or other gadget to buy to read e-books on the go? Is there anything that could be used to read them in PDF format?"Of course, a couple things pop quickly to mind, but there are several drawbacks to the current crop of e-ink devices, especially with viewing PDF documents -- namely, 8.5 x 11 PDFs become unreadable when sized to most e-ink screens. So what say you guys?
Fujitsu's FLEPia e-reader features color display, WiFi
While cranking out a couple of new e-readers may be big doings for some companies, it's just what we've come to expect from Fujitsu. Adding to its collection of e-ink-related niceties, the FLEPia "portable information terminals" will reportedly be available in an A5 size (weighing 480 grams) and an A4 flavor (320 grams), and both are just 12-millimeters thick. While details are admittedly scarce, you can reportedly read "up to two year's worth of magazines" on a single 4GB SD flash card, but you'll be recharging the battery every 50 hours or so along the way. Additionally, users will enjoy the convenience of WiFi connectivity built right in, and the six control buttons (plus a scroll key) should keep your pages aligned. The device is slated to land in white pearl, silver, and the obligatory pink pearl motifs, but considering the presumably lofty pricetags attached to each of these desirable units, we can't imagine too many early adopters diving in just yet.[Via Pocket-Lint]
Seiko Watch shows off e-ink model for her
Proving that it does not actually favor one gender over another -- despite the fact that these two models were introduced nearly two years apart to the day -- the Seiko Watch corporation has finally taken the wraps off a female version of its original Spectrum Electronic Ink watch from 2005. Although both watches sport a distinctly bracelet-like shape, this new timepiece for the ladies is a full wraparound design that could easily be mistaken for a piece of jewelery, especially if the display is set to loop animations in so-called "mystery mode." With the male Spectrum still difficult if not impossible to come by -- only 500 have been made so far, supposedly, priced north of $2,000 -- it's not clear when the average consumer will able to get her hands on this, but at least you protesters can stop picketing Seiko headquarters and go back to your jobs if you still have one.[Via I4U]
E Ink's blueChute bluetooth enabled e-ink concept
Even with certain forms of e-ink displays starting to drip drip drip into real world settings -- see what we did there? -- it's still unlikely that you'll meet someone on the street with some e-ink tech on their person. Until e-ink gets cheap and ordinary people can gaze into their very own super high contrast electronic copy of the NY Times, we'll have to settle for sneak peeks at concept devices like this, E Ink's blueChute e-ink tablet. Even though the exact functionality of the device has yet to be decided -- currently it's functioning as a glorified demo platform -- the blueChute's Bluetooth support and microSD slot would suggest that it could be used to display maps streamed from a mobile phone, or have it display widget-like information from a nearby tethered computer. Unfortunately, as the device's overview states, all that "depends on software which probably won't ever get written," so for now it's just wishful thinking: just like almost everything else to do with e-ink at present.
MedTab brings e-ink to hospital rounds
Medical tablets are big business these days, so much so that Intel has dedicated an entire team to developing its Mobile Clinical Assistant platform, and manufacturers have been releasing devices left and right. Part of the reason is the lucrative service contracts and profit margins companies see on products like the MedTab, a $4,000 slab slightly bigger than a PDA that offers up a 624MHz processor running WinCE, a 1,024 x 768 e-ink-based touchscreen, WiFi (802.11g only), Bluetooth, and a fingerprint reader to ensure that the patients don't find out how sick they really are. Manufacturer Emano Tec claims that the 12-ounce MedTab (perfect for your lab coat pocket!) can also withstand falls from up to three-feet high, and IT can easily tell if one is missing or stolen by tracking its position in real time. Plus, if you act now and say that Engadget sent you, they'll knock an astonishing $2,000 off the price (you also have to buy 50, but you can never have too many of these handy tablets, right?).[Via MedGadget]
Polymer Vision's Readius rollable display gets face time
Talk about a long time coming, as what is now Polymer Vision has seemed to finally put all the pieces together and produce an actual working product from the idea envisioned by Philips around two years ago. We knew the spinoff was looking to commercialize the product later this year, but after nearly 24 months of coming up empty, a bit of understandable skepticism begins to seep through. Nevertheless, the firm's rollable, pocket-friendly "Cellular-Book" was out and showing its stuff at 3GSM, proving that there's at least something there to put on store shelves. Although the unit on display was indeed a standalone device -- sporting 16 shades of grey, USB, "10-days" of battery life, 4GB of internal storage, and GPRS, EDGE, and DVB-H connectivity just like we'd heard -- Polymer Vision is actually hoping to integrate its e-paper technology into mobile handset displays in the near future. Sadly, there still didn't seem to be any hints of a release date for the nifty pocket reader, but be sure to click on through for the very long awaited pictures of the Readius in action.[Via Slashdot]
STAReBOOK STK-101 reviewed
As the ebook market widens, it's only natural that competition will start heating up, and the STAReBOOK STK-101 is quite a good example of a small player making a big impact. The STK-101's main claim to fame is built-in MP3 playback, which with an included 512MB SD card and the ability to listen to music while you read, sounds pretty well executed. Fortunately, STAReBOOK didn't stop there, and have made quite the peppy and intuitive reader. CommanderROR, who reviewed the unit, found book loading and page turning to be much snappier than his iRex Iliad, and battery life looks to be quite good as well. Obviously, the 6-inches of E ink screen isn't quite as impressive as the 8-inch Iliad, but it should be fine for most reading tasks, especially considering the Sony Reader's 6-inch form factor. Page navigation bests that of both the Sony Reader and the Iliad, with easy to use bookmarks, and a simple method of inputting page numbers using the cursor. Unfortunately, the biggest drawback to the STAReBOOK might be the biggest deal breaker: the book only supports .stk books, and the included converter deals badly with styling and only includes one hard-to-read font. Luckily, JPG books work fine, so a PDF-to-JPG converter should be able to supply you with reading material well enough, but it's a far cry from the open format support of the Sony Reader and iRex Iliad.[Thanks, Branko C.]
Sharp brings e-ink displays to the supermarket
While e-books might still be a bit out of the price range for most consumers, that quick trip to the store for a jar of mayonnaise might give the lowly proletariat its first glimpse at the wonders of e-ink, thanks to some new price tags from Sharp. The tags will include price info, along with extra data like place of origin and a sell-by date. Supermarkets will be able to update tags wirelessly from a central computer, and thanks to the battery sipping technology of e-ink, the batteries should last up to five years on each tag, leaving stocking jockeys with quite a bit less to worry about. Sharp plans to start selling the tags on the 25th, and will charge 2,000 yen ($16.61 US) for a 2-inch version, while the 3-inch display goes for 2,300 yen ($19.11 US) -- both prices we're guessing are wholesale, and there's no word how much the back-end will cost. Sharp hopes to sell about 10 billion yen ($83 million US) of these things in 2007, but we've no idea when they'll start shipping 'em over to our beautimus supermarket meccas in the States.[Via Plastic Bamboo]
Toshiba Matsushita electronic paper alternative hits mass production
Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology looks to be making a big play in the rapidly growing electronic paper/ink industry, announcing that its 5-inch monochrome VGA display has gone into mass production. While less flexible than some alternatives, Toshiba Matsushita's display looks like it should be relatively easy on the eyes, with a 12:1 contrast ratio, 20 ms response time, and 16 levels of gray, with some internal and external reflective mojo eliminating the need for a backlight. Obviously not enough to cut it in a PMP, but more than adequate for some paperless page-turning. Just as importantly, the display keeps power consumption down to a minimum, consuming just 4mW of power in 2-level greyscale mode and 20mW in full 16-level mode. Unfortunately, the company hasn't yet provided any firm production numbers, nor has it given any indication when the displays might actually find their way into some products.[Via MobileRead]
Polymer Vision plans to commercialize foldable paper this year
If there's one thing the business-savvy CEOs of the world know, it's that you don't want your competition to get too far ahead of you, and just as Plastic Logic announced its plans to build the first electronic paper plant in Dresden, Germany, Polymer Vision is trying to make good on its nearly two-year old promise. During 2005's IFA expo, Philip assured us all that we'd be blown away by the firm's rollable, bendable displays in a mere two years, and now that 24 months have nearly elapsed, a company spinoff is looking to make it happen. According to a German report, Polymer Vision is still on track for "commercializing the foldable PV-QML5 display" that we've all grown quite fond of. Planning to use the technology in e-books and electronic map guides, the initial 4.8-inch display will tout a 320 x 200 resolution, 10:1 contrast ratio, support for four gray tones, and be only 100 micrometers thick. Sadly, no hard dates were passed down as to when we could expect the first production batch to head out to consumers, but now that there's some serious competition brewing just a few miles down the road, we'd bet a good bit of effort goes into making that 2007 date a reality.[Via I4U]
Plastic Logic to build first electronic paper plant
U.K.-based Plastic Logic has announced that it has secured some $100 million in funding to build the world's first factory dedicated to manufacturing plastic electronics on a commercial scale. More specifically, the factory's set to produce flexible active matrix display modules, aimed at making various electronic reading devices a little more portable and a little less hard on the eyes. According to the company, the plant will be built in Dresden, Germany, with production set to ramp up sometime in 2008 at an initial capacity of more than a million display modules per year.[Via Slashdot]
Epson working on mobile-to-printer e-books
It may not have the same sort of high-tech impact as e-ink, but there's something to be said for reading stuff the old fashioned way with a nice, thick stack of paper -- and Epson would like us to use our phones to do it. The Japanese company has hooked up with Sammy NetWorks to include its muPass platform in printers and phones for managing DRMed e-book content via IrDA -- in other words, buy a book on your phone and beam it straight to your printer over an infrared connection. Epson and Sammy are thinking that the setup will be perfect for distributing periodicals (magazines, newspapers, and the like), individual articles, and out-of-print or limited audience material that can't be justified for a regular production run on the press. Integration should be a snap for phone manufacturers, since Sammy's now managed to cram the muPass system into software. War and Peace, anyone?
