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e-Book Reader 101
e-Book readers have been around for many years in fact, electronic paper was first developed at Xerox PARC in the 1970s. Recent advances in e-ink technology have made practical lightweight devices with high contrast, reflective displays and long battery lives. Reflective displays are like paper, they rely on a light source like the sun or a light bulb, to make the e-ink visible. On the other hand, transmissive displays like LCD monitors and laptop displays use backlights to light up the pixels so it's possible to read them in almost any light condition, bright or dark. Backlit displays can drain batteries much faster than E-ink displays that use just a trickle of power when the display is not changing allowing them to run for a very long time, like days, between charges. Color e-ink displays have been slow in coming but prototypes have been seen in labs however, no one seems to be willing to say how soon they'll appear in e-Book readers.
What Makes Readers Tick?
Source E Ink Corporation
Most e-readers are made with electrophoretic "film," that use tiny "pigment chips" inside microcapsules which are forced to move between the front of the display (white dot) and the back (dark dot). E Ink Corporation of Cambridge, Mass, founded in 1997 provides the film for most popular readers including the Kindle, Sony Reader, IREX readers, and the forthcoming reader from Plastic Logic.
Plastic Logic is a British company that makes readers with E Ink's Vizplex, 2nd generation film that offers faster switching speed, improved reflectance and more levels of gray. Plastic Logic uses a plastic backplane instead of a glass backplane. Glass backplane displays are easier to make but plastic offers several advantages including durability. Plastic Logic says plastic backplanes allow them to increase the size of the displays without adding weight. Plastic Logic will be offering the new 8.5 x 11 inch touchscreen "QUE proReader," in partnership with Barnes and Noble early next year.
e-Book Readers
There are more e-Book readers on the market and many more expected to jump in. Here's a look at what's available now and what's coming down the line.
Amazon Kindles are the King of the Hill
Amazon re-invigorated the e-Book category with the release of the Kindle in 2007. It was praised for its size and weight although it generated some criticisms for a few ergonomic issues mainly it was too easy to accidently advance a page. Free 3G connectivity and vast library of instantly accessible books made the first Kindle a big success.
In 2008 Amazon addressed the complaints of the original Kindle in the Kindle 2 that offered improved ergonomics and an improved display using E Inks Vizplex film that offers a 16 level grayscale display. In the summer of 2009 they launched a larger screen Kindle DX, a 9.7 inch (diagonal) display selling for $489 and dropped the price of the 6 inch Kindle 2 to $259. Recently Amazon announced an international version of the Kindle which is priced at $279 and will work in over 100 countries.
Sony Readers Come in Sizes and Colors
Sony's early readers pre-dated the Kindle. With no wireless connectivity and limited and expensive books, it never really took off. Sony came roaring back with the Sony Reader PRS-505 in 2008 and most recently the Reader Pocket Edition (PRS-300) which has a 5 inch display, 8 level grayscale, and costs $199 and the Reader Touch Edition (PRS-600) has a 6 inch touchscreen 8 level grayscale display and retails for $299. The Daily Edition (PRS-900BC) has a 7 inch touchsrceen 16 level grayscale display and 3G connectivity which the Pocket and Touch Editions lack. The Daily Edition will be available in December for $399. Sony recently switched from a proprietary e-Book format to the open format ePub.
Barnes & Noble, a Serious Contender
Barnes & Noble has an e-book store with some features that differentiate it from Amazon. For one thing you can "lend" a book you own to a friend using their LendMe technology that allows you to "lend" one of your e-Books to someone for 14 days.
The Barnes & Noble "Nook," has a 6 inch 16 level grayscale e-ink display and a small 3.5 inch touchsrceen LCD that sits below the e-ink display. The Nook runs under the Android operating system but unfortunately no plans to open up the device to third party developers. Like Amazon's Kindle it includes free 3G wireless connectivity and WiFi and unlike the Kindle 2 it supports PDFs.
Plastic Logic Announces the QUE
The frequently announced but so far, unreleased QUEreader Pro has a plastic backplane and large 8.5 x 11 inch E Ink display. The QUEreader Pro will support open formats like PDF and ePub. The reader includes WiFi and AT&T's 3G network and the QUE store, powered by Barnes & Noble, will offer a large collection of books and other reading material.
Alex from Spring Designs
Spring Design recently unveiled an e-Book reader called "Alex," that looks surprisingly similar to Barnes & Noble's Nook. Spring Designs claim they have a patent on the dual-screen concept which makes us wonder how the Nook is getting away with using it. Like the Nook it's an Android-based e-Book reader with dual screens and WiFi and 3G connectivity. Here's a video demo:
Update
Apparently, it may not be a coincidence the Nook resembles Spring Design's alex. This week Spring Design filed suit this week against Barnes & Noble, accusing them of "misappropriating," trade secrets. Spring Design claims Barnes & Noble may have "borrowed," their design when they showed it to them under non-disclosure.
Lowest Priced e-Book Reader
The New York-based ECTACO, known for their translators has entered the e-Book market with the jetBook-Lite. ECTACO sells the reader on their site for $179 but we hear it will available for as low as $149. It users four AA batteries that provide 23 hours of continuous use. It works with the Barnes & Noble eBook store and supports many file formats including PDF. One drawback is the lack of wireless connectivity.
Asus e-Book Readers Coming Soon
Look for an announcement from ASUS before the end of the year of a dual screen, touch-enabled e-Book reader. Word is it might look similar to the prototype pictured above and offer a 6 inch or 9 inch screen possibly in color.
The Astak Mentor from Taiwan
This new e-Book reader comes out of Taiwan from a collaboration between Netronix a network and multimedia product manufacturer and Astak also known as Team Research, a supplier of memory and other electronics products. Netronix makes several Linux-based e-Book readers. The Mentor is a 6 inch reader with an SD card reader that reads PDFs and other document formats. It has a built-in Soduko game too! You can buy it on their site for $289.
IREX DR 800SG From Established e-Book Maker
IREX Technologies is a Dutch company that has been developing e-Readers since 2001. They built the Sony Librie which was launched in 2004. They recently announced the IREX DR 800SG a wireless e-Book reader with worldwide 3G. IREX claims this reader has the fastest page refresh. It supports the Barnes & Noble eBook Store and other platforms and formats like PDF and ePub. It will cost $399 when is goes on sale at Best Buy.
Andrew Eisner, Retrevo's director of community and content and resident hard core gadget enthusiast. Eisner comes to Retrevo from the world of computer journalism.
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