Hasta La Gadget!

Whoa, what have we here? It’s Alex, the dual-screen e-book reader from Spring Design looking very much like the Barnes and Noble device rumored for a Tuesday launch. It features a 6-inch E-ink EPD (electronic paper display) and 3.5-inch LCD running Google’s Android OS for browsing the web or viewing video, audio, photos, and notes. It also packs a removeable SD card, speaker, headphone jack, and WiFi or 3G EVDO/CDMA and GSM radios. An interesting Duet Navigator feature even lets you toggle content captured on the LCD and present it back to the EPD to save on battery life. The device is planned for release sometime this year without any details on who might be involved in that exercise.

Update: We just heard from Spring Design’s PR person, Pat Meier Johnson. We were told that the Alex device above is not the rumored dual-screen Barnes & Noble reader, “this is an entirely different device.” Judging by the hastily prepared web site coincidentally appearing on the eve of the B&N device launch, and the domain’s registrar, Albert Teng, who has numerous patent applications (not patents granted) covering “electronic devices having complementary dual-displays,” we’d say this announcement is quite possibly a desperate attempt to lay claim on intellectual property rights instead of a real product with real manufacturers and real content partners. We’ll see when, or if, it launches.

Filed under: Displays

Spring Design Alex: dual-screen Android-based e-reader (Update: not for Barnes & Noble) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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?

Filed under: Displays, Handhelds

Barnes & Noble twin-screen e-reader revealed early? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We had a sneaking suspicion that it was too good to be true, and now Plastic Logic has stepped forward to officially kill our pipe dreams. Just days ago, the web was set ablaze when a Barnes & Noble representative mistakenly (or deliberately, for all we know) stated that a Plastic Logic-sourced color e-reader was on track for a Spring 2010 release. Today, the aforesaid outfit has stated that the video report was “inaccurate and the individual (who was apparently filmed while attending a trade show was not an authorized Barnes & Noble spokesperson) was misinformed.” Continuing on, we’re told that while “color is on Plastic Logic’s roadmap, it is not on the map for the Spring of 2010.” Welp, that settles that… unfortunately.

[Thanks, Charlie]

Filed under: Displays, Handhelds

Plastic Logic deflates dreams, denies Spring 2010 release for color e-reader originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IREX is currently, right this very second, taking the wraps off its big new splash in the ebook space, the new DR 800SG. The 8.1-inch unit has wireless connectivity courtesy of Verizon in the US and Qualcomm’s Gobi multi-mode 3G for switching it up in the rest of the world. There’s also 2GB of built-in storage, memory card expansion and stylus input (“true finger touch” is coming in Q2 2010 to a future product, right now you can only use the stylus, and a color reader is in the works as well for 2011), and IREX claims to have the fastest page refreshes in the biz. Perhaps most notable is that the reader is Barnes & Noble’s first big play in the space, with support for the B&N eBookstore — though the whole thing is an “open platform” with support from content from Newspaper Direct and LibreDigital stores as well, and format support of PDF, EPUB, Newspaper Direct, Fictionwise, eReader and TXT. Quite the mouthful, and IREX promises to follow wherever the market leads when it comes to DRM. The $399 device includes a leather cover and stylus in the box, and will be available this October in “select” Best Buy stores and will hit Europe in the first half of 2010. No wireless contract is required.

We got to play with the new reader briefly, and weren’t quite sure how to feel. On one hand, it’s another sexy, slim reader, with a pretty great and fast e-ink screen. On the other hand, the interface is totally minimal and a little nonsensical without the stylus. A bar on the left side gives you a “tactile” method of pushing right or left to turn the page, but it feels pretty janky. Notetaking isn’t enabled currently, so you can’t draw on the screen, making the stylus feel a bit of a burden, not a boon — the closest you get to text input is tapping away at an onscreen keyboard. We’re glad IREX avoided the visibility-hampering pitfalls of Sony’s touchscreen ebook technology, but perhaps some more thought should’ve been put into the alternative. We didn’t do any heavy downloading, but the reader takes a very long time to create a connection — a good 20-30 seconds — which might’ve been due to the concrete bunker we’re hanging out in, or just a sign of a slow processor, we’re not sure which. We love the “openness,” and it’s great to see so many format alternatives right out of the gate, but we’re gonna need more time with the DR 800SG before we’re sure it’s worth the plunge.

Filed under: Handhelds

IREX unveils DR 800SG wireless ebook reader (updated with hands-on!) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Barnes and Noble, the United State’s largest book seller has filed with the FCC its own e-book reader, as it’s insinuated in the attached Agent Authorization Letter. The dipping of the toes into the digital text industry isn’t as peculiar as, say Discovery Communications, since Barnes and Noble already has some known precedence in the e-book reader market, partnering with Plastic Logic as their “exclusive eBookstore provider” — this may very well be the Plastic Logic reader, but there’s no indication one way or another. Chances are it’ll be some time before we know, as all external and internal photos are under a confidentiality extension for 180 days as of September 3rd, or about six months from now. See you in Spring 2010!

Filed under: Handhelds

Barnes and Noble e-book reader hits the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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