Asus Eee eBook Reader Could Arrive By Christmas
The company’s top dog, Jerry Shen, told DigiTimes that it will arrive by the end of 2009 at the earliest. Also unexpected (and less confirmed): the report says “industry sources” believe MSI is sniffing out the eBook space, too.
Asus’ Eee range is far from premium, so I’ll be curious to see if it ends up having 3G like the new Sony Reader Daily Edition, Kindle 2 and DX, or Plastic Logic’s eReader.
And you tell me, where does an ebook reader fall on your Christmas wish list? Have you even seen that many people actually using them out and about? [DigiTimes]
- Next Post: What Caused This iMac To Suddenly Start Smoking? »
- « Previous Post: Tactical Canned Bacon Will Be “Edible” For 10 Years
Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
Why everything I want is always $100 more expensive than what I want to pay for it. I'm in the same place as you.
raindogmx
@BaileyJ: do you have a 1st gen, or are you viewing PDF documents? PDF refresh rates are horrific, but in nearly every other format it's negligible.
Eric C. Tucker
@hadees: agreed, I'm at a point where I no longer care about keeping/storing comics, and would prefer them in eformat
Eric C. Tucker
I own a Sony (two, in fact; one on loan to a friend down south) and see both the Sonys and the Kindles on the NYC subway at least once weekly during my morning or evening commute.
To those who ask "what's the point without 3G or equivalent" - desktop & a USB cable. The readers are just storage devices, and everyone else's ebookstore besides Amazon is web-accessible and downloads to your desktop.
Eric C. Tucker
How about EEE-Book Reader, Instead of EEE E-book reader?
Dilpickle1
@Shivaran: I'm not trying to be cute. But how do the books get on the device if not 3G or it's =?
PaddyDugan
@hadees: Yeah, me too. I need a color e-book reader, not only for comics but for reading my favorite news weeklies, with full photo layouts, like Time, Newsweek and The Economist and The New York Times Magazine.
Jimmy1
i've started to get a lot more digital books and I would love one to read them on but the holy grail for me is still one that could display color comic books.
hadees
@PaddyDugan: What would you use 3G for? It's used to read books stored locally, not webpages...
What would be the point of an electronic reader without 3G or equivalent?
PaddyDugan
Yup, inexpensive please.
Ohioan
@BaileyJ: I don't think that is possible at the moment. As I understand it, the slow refresh rate is inherent of the technology, and is a side effect of the liquid crystal capability to stay in one state indefinitely without consuming energy...
@outeast: You can only find them in their natural habitat
I have a 1st generation that I used to take with me on the train. Not bad, if you read a lot which I don't. The biggest advantage to e-ink is the battery life, so it will be interesting to see whether that holds up when you've got wireless and touchscreens.
Schmeeky
@drewls: +1.
I see how WiFi could be convenient, but 3G? I can download my books at home, thank you very much.
It's highly unlikely you would run out of reading material before going back home anyway.
I'm in a book club here in Cleveland, and several people have kindles, both 1 and 2. No DXs though. They swear by them. I'm also seen a few being read in coffee shops, and Dr Cosgrove at the Clinic says he likes his. I have yet to see any other ebook reader out and about.
MerlinFerret
A decent page refresh. That's all I want. It's not like I'm asking for a lap dance from Mrs. Claus, just that when I clicked to the next page it doesn't do that slooooow black to white change.
BaileyJ
rather no 3G and no wifi for a really low price, like $150 for a 7" screen at least
Is this another E-Ink reader, or something more exotic like Pixel Qi? I'm holding out for a reader with a more versatile screen than the current E-Ink one.
slez
Still never seen one in the wild...
outeast
I have always wanted an e-book reader. Ever since the first time I played with the original Sony E-reader at a CompUSA I was hooked. The main problem for me was just their price. There was no way I could ever justify what they cost.
However now that we are starting to see more competition hopefully the prices will begin to fall and they will become more affordable for average consumers.
The only one I have seen out in the wild in the recent past was at the Gym. The lady next to me was on an eliptical reading from a Kindle.
Captian_Caveman
Make it under $100 and it's a go. I don't see any reason I would need 3G on it.
drewls
I would consider it, i read a lot of paperback (pocketsize) books
if they make one that is about that size, simple controls and thin. 3g is nice but really only an issue for e-newspapers
SwatiAntigone
All the current news on eBook readers is music to my ears!
It could mean that the prices will tumble and fall even before the devices are even available.
This should put a lot of pressure on Amazon and hopefully make Plastic Logic think twice about pricing their eReader — which is my favourite so far — too high.