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Asus leaked some information recently about their upcoming e-reader, the DR-570. Not content to be a ?me too? with the standard black and white e-ink product, it looks like they are going to be coming out with an OLED offering that might just kick the rest of the e-readers to the curb.
Details are still a little sketchy, but here?s what we do know. The new reader is currently called the DR-570, it?s a 6 inch OLED color screen that?ll run for 122 hours on one charge, and is capable of running Flash video over a wifi or 3G connection. That sounds like a borderline tablet product to me, but with some incredible battery life. What we don?t know is when exactly it?ll come out or what it?ll cost. The buzz is that we should expect it around the end of 2010
E-readers are likely to get hotter with the next generation of devices sporting color screens and large displays expected to launch through the year.
One of the first products to announce its arrival is the Skiff e-reader, a lightweight device with a 11.5-inch full flexible touchscreen that makes it the largest e-reader on the market, beating the 9.7-inch display Kindle DX.
Unlike other e-readers designed for reading mainly books and PDF files, the Skiff is optimized for newspaper and magazine content and will use Sprint
Amazon?s Kindle for iPhone application is now available internationally, in ?over 60 countries?. The catch is that it it still only localized in English.
When the Kindle e-reader was launched internationally back in October, one of the many aspects that Amazon left out in the rush to make some Christmas money was the iPhone application which allows Kindle owners to continue reading on their iPhones. We posted a workaround to get the app from outside the US, but as it involved creating a US account at the iTunes Store it was far from ideal. Now Amazon has fixed things with the long-awaited international launch of Kindle for iPhone.
Amazon doesn?t show much love for its overseas customers (shipping the Kindle with a US power-cord adapter, for example), but we suspect that Amazon?s xenophobia isn?t the only aspect to this delay. Its more likely that Apple?s long-winded (read ?broken?) App Store approval process was a major culprit. The release notes for this version show nothing more than the addition of worldwide support. Given that the US version works fine in Europe with a Spanish Kindle account, we doubt that Amazon did much ore than re-submit the app to Apple.
Still, it?s here at last. Maybe now Amazon can concentrate on adding some non-English-language books to the Kindle store.
Print magazines may soon be on their way out, which leaves tablet-based devices to fill their void, like this device by Time Inc. Basically, publishers will be able to offer digitized versions of their “magazines that would be accessible to PCs and phantom Apple tablets alike.”
Qualcomm’s Mirasol displays have already found their way into quite a few products, but the company looks to really be branching out into some new territory with its latest prototype: an e-book reader with a full-color, 5.7-inch display. Of course, Qualcomm isn’t planning to sell this one itself, and it apparently doesn’t have any OEM partners just yet, but it has set the somewhat ambitious target of getting it on the market in the “latter part of 2010.” From the looks of it, however, it doesn’t seem like it’ll have too much trouble attracting interest, considering that the XGA (220ppi) Mirasol display is not only full-color, but allows for video playback, is supposedly readable in direct sunlight, and reportedly has a “minimal impact” on battery life.
Like Harvey
Further details about the expected Barnes and Noble ebook reader launch have emerged, this time courtesy of the Wall Street Journal who are claiming to have prematurely spotted a full-page ad for the device.
Remember the Barnes and Noble dual-display ebook reader spotted in concept form last week?? There?s obviously something in the water, as Spring Design have just announced an ebook reader, the Alex, with both a 6-inch E Ink panel and a 3.5-inch color touchscreen, based on Google?s Android platform and with integrated 3G and WiFi.
The touchscreen can be used to browse the web and grab clippings, which can then be viewed on the e-ink panel.? Spring Design have also developed what they call Link Notes, a hybrid of traditional ebooks, clippings, multimedia and user notes.? As for production possibilities, the company claim to be in discussion with ?selected strategic partners? and ?major content? providers, with a release expected by the end of 2009.
Storage is via SD card, and there?s a headphones socket and full smartphone functionality.? Spring Design call the dual-display system Duet Navigator, and as well as being used to pull up related photos, news articles, media content and more, it will also aid in annotation and searches by offering an on-screen keyboard.