Does the e-reader need saving? If Amazon, Barnes & Noble and the like have sold plenty of units, the category is still facing some tough competition and it lacks a compelling reason to exist. Apple has fired the first shots in the consumer tablet war, but I think e-reader devices can easily survive if they avoid that fight altogether.
PVI's color E Ink project sounds like it's speeding up, with company chairman Scott Liu saying products using the displays are now expected to be on sale by the end of 2010, rather than sometime in Q1 2011 as previously expected. The color E Ink panels are currently sampling to manufacturers - Amazon and B&N were both tipped as having seen them - but no definitive partnerships have been made public. However, it looks unlikely that an imminent Kindle refresh will include the color display; Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos recently announced that such a device was "a long way out".
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Interead has confirmed that they will indeed be offering the Netronix-made WiFi ereader outed by the FCC earlier this week, with the new model known as the Cool-ER Connect. Billed as being physically similar to the current Cool-ER - shown here - the new Connect version will add in wireless support to the 6-inch E Ink display, and will also have a touchscreen.
Kobo are also tipped to be using the same Netronix hardware for an upcoming ereader of their own. Their existing model is currently on sale at Borders for $149, but only includes Bluetooth connectivity rather than WiFi.
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Acer's mysterious Android tablet may have stolen the show, but their new LumiRead ereader is worth consideration too. Packing a 6-inch monochrome E Ink display and a Kindle-style QWERTY keyboard, the LumiRead has WiFi - and 3G in a future model - together with an ISBN scanner that can be used to keep a wish-list of titles for future purchase.
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Hopes for a color Kindle refresh to better position the ereader against Apple's iPad have been dashed this week, with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos telling company shareholders that the technology is "still a long way out". The outspoken executive confirmed that Amazon have been looking into color e-ink displays, but said that what he'd seen "in the laboratory" were "still not ready for prime-time production."
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Kobo's $150 ereader isn't expected to arrive at Borders in the US until June 17th, so hopefully that will give the manufacturer a little time to finesse the firmware. According to one thread over at MobileRead, the Kobo's much-touted Bluetooth connectivity - allowing for short-range, cable-free transfers of ebooks to the device - has a significant flaw in that it won't update its books list after wireless use. Ironically, the only way at present to force an update is to plug in a USB cable and unplug it.
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Kobo and Borders have announced that the Kobo ereader is now available for preorder, and will begin shipping from June 17th 2010. Priced at $149.99, the Kobo lacks WiFi or 3G but does at least come with Bluetooth, for wireless transfers of ebooks from your computer to the device; those ebooks, Borders hope, come from their own selection of over 1m titles, though you can also load up any DRM-free ePub or PDF content.
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Two screens, Android OS and ebooks a-plenty: no, not Barnes & Noble’s nook, but the Spring Design Alex. Promising extra flexibility than its big-name rival and an imminent partnership with Borders, the Alex nonetheless has to deliver if it’s going to live up to a whopping $399 price tag. Can it hold off not only the Kindle and nook but the iPad currently looming over the ereader market? Check out the full SlashGear review after the cut.
When we're waiting with no small amount of eager anticipation for the first color E Ink based ebook readers to arrive on shelves, Bookeen's decision to call its new range the Cybook Opus Color seems destined to confuse. The "color" part of the title refers to the new flourish of case finishes for the 5-inch ereader, not any exciting upgrade to its display technology.
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Barnes & Noble have announced a new firmware version for their dual-screen nook ebook reader. nook firmware v1.3 adds a new (beta) web browser, which uses the E Ink display for content and the touchscreen color LCD for navigation, together with faster page-turns, speedier ebook opening and some new games. Meanwhile the Read In Store feature - which allows nook owners to preview entire ebooks while connected to B&N store WiFi - has now been activated.
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Marvell have already shown us one new Android tablet reference design, the Marvell Moby, but the company have a second concept, the Moby MED which sounds a whole lot more interesting. Targeted at "telehealth" use, Marvell envisage the Moby MED as having "multiple simultaneous" LCD or e-paper displays, together with 1080p Full HD encode and decode, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, and an integrated camera for web conferencing and remote diagnosis.
Updated with official Marvell Moby MED image.
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E Ink have carved quite a niche for themselves providing displays for the majority of big name ereaders - they supply Amazon and Barnes & Noble, among others - and have been showing off some of the tech they reckon will hold off rival panels like LCD, Pixel Qi and mirasol. The Red Ferret Journal grabbed some eyes-on time with the new prototypes, including a monochrome panel with twice the contrast of current-gen e-ink screens.
Video demo after the cut
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