Hasta La Gadget!

Looks like everyone wants a slice of that steaming-hot e-reader action these days. Right in front of us here is the Tianji — or in our language, Phecda, a distant star — iBook EB-605, which is purported to be launched by Lenovo at some point this year (and we first heard about such plan back in December). Features include a 6-inch electronic ink display, Samsung ARM 400MHz processor, newspaper subscription, music player, picture browser and support for a variety of digital book formats including EPUB (hooray!) and MOBI. ZOL also spotted the SIM card-like icon at the top, which might suggest a thing or two about its wireless capabilities, and estimates a price tag of under ¥2,000 ($293). No word on international release yet, but hey, the more the merrier either way!

Update: eagle-eyed reader charlied spotted this e-reader in its no-frills form from Oaxis. The good news is that WiFi and SD card slot are featured as well, but no mention of a SIM card slot so ZOL‘s probably wrong about that icon. Shame.

Lenovo to launch Tianji iBook EB-605 e-reader? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 23 Jan 2010 12:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re still patiently waiting for Endless Ideas to launch a 3G-equipped e-reader to compete with the masses, but ’til then, we suppose we’ll have to be satisfied with the WiFi-toting BeBook Neo. Boasting a 532MHz Freescale CPU, Vizplex display (800 x 600 resolution), 512MB of internal storage, 3.5mm headphone jack, USB 2.0 connectivity and an SD expansion slot, the 6-inch, February-bound Neo brings to the table very little that we haven’t seen elsewhere — in fact, it’s a dead ringer for Onyx International’s Boox. Naturally, you’ll find support for a multitude of file formats (ePUB, PDF, HTML, JPG, PNG, etc.), and the internal battery is good for 7,000 page turns on a full charge. The company is also playing up the unit’s ability to access a wide variety of third-party ebook venues, which gives you the option of purchasing books from any given outlet rather than a predefined store. There’s also WACOM tech built in, which should delight those who love to annotate and add text mark-ups. We’re told that future software updates will add a multitude of new features, but it’s tough to say if that promise is enough to coax you into dropping $299 on a pre-order.

BeBook Neo e-reader launches with WiFi and WACOM capabilities originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This day simply wouldn’t be a day between January 18, 2010 and January 27, 2010 without a new gaggle of Apple Tablet rumors to sift through, and while we’re gritting our teeth as we skim every word, we’ve the latest and greatest most far-fetched rounded up here for your perusal.

The rumor: The Apple Tablet will “strike a familiar chord with owners of the original iPhone, with similarities in industrial design trickling all the way down to the handset’s button and connectivity components.”
Our take: Honestly, we can believe this one. Apple has had a great deal of success with the iPhone, and we’ve already seen the “tablet PC” as it’s known today take a nosedive. Apple Insider is saying that the device may look a lot like a “first-generation iPhone that’s met its match with a rolling pin,” and while we’ve obviously no inside way to confirm nor deny, we can get why Apple would stick close to a design that it knows will work. Oh, and be sure to peek two more clearly fake mockups after the break.

The rumor: New York Times Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. won’t be at Apple keynote next week.
Our take: So? Just because the head honcho from The Times is planning to be in Davos, Switzerland next week while Apple unveils its tablet doesn’t mean that Jobs can’t showcase the device’s ability to video chat across oceans in front of the masses… if Apple even has a deal with any publisher. If Apple really is reaching out to publishers for content deals, you can bet your bottom dollar the NYT is listening. And be honest — if you had the option of being in Davos or some convention center in San Francisco, which would you pick?

More after the break… if you dare.

Continue reading Apple Tablet rumor roundup: publishers and carriers edition

Apple Tablet rumor roundup: publishers and carriers edition originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jan 2010 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve never heard of Astri before, but it sure seems to be one ambitious company. We figure it’s got to take real ambition to create a pocketable dualscreen device with not just one non-working touchscreen, but two! In theory, the Marvel-powered MID or My Interactive Device (not to be confused with Mobile Internet Devices) runs Android on its 4.8-inch LCD touchscreen, while its neighboring 5-inch e-ink Wacom-enabled touchscreen is meant for reading and taking notes. The concept is similar to the much-more-polished Entourage Edge, or even Spring Design’s Alex, though we have no idea if Astri intends the two displays to communicate with one another. We’ll be siding with those alternatives until Astri can work out its many issues, though we do like the idea of the more portable e-reading device. Oh, and please don’t miss one of the most abusive hands-on videos ever after the break.

Continue reading Astri’s dualscreen Android e-ink MID looks and acts like a knockoff

Astri’s dualscreen Android e-ink MID looks and acts like a knockoff originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, isn’t this a doozy. ASUS was a bit of a no-show in the e-reader arena at CES, but has dropped some knowledge on the Times Online’s InGear: it’s building a 6-inch color OLED e-reader, which flies in the face of previous rumors about an ASUS e-reader entry. The device, currently dubbed the DR-570 and pictured to the left, will play back Flash video, includes WiFi and 3G, and supposedly can last for 122 hours on one charge under “real world conditions.” It’s supposed to be released by the end of the year, and while from anybody else we’d assume this would cost an arm and a leg, the ASUS brand gives us some hope that we might actually be able to afford one when it hits.

[Thanks, Ian S.]

ASUS DR-570 e-reader to sport 6-inch OLED color screen, 122 hours of battery life originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Jan 2010 13:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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