In the saturated ebook reading device market, a new reader that boasts of an e-ink display would probably elicit no more than quick glance from us. After all, most, if not all of them are equipped with such technology. But what about if one comes along with both an e-ink and LCD display? Sounds pretty cool, don’t you think? What makes it even more interesting is that there isn’t just one but at least a couple of them out there (and probably more in the works). Let’s find out what’s the deal with these dual-screen ebook readers:
Alex by Springs Design made its appearance at the CES 2010 early this year but was already introduced in October 2009. The company behind Alex initially ran into some controversy when Barnes and Nobles announced its own twin screen ebook reader running on the Android OS – in short, a device very-much like Spring Design’s Alex – a day later. Putting all issues aside however, the Alex is one of the forerunners in the dual display electronic book reading devices and does bring a new approach to the ebook market.
The gadget is equipped with a 6-inch e-ink display on the top portion of the device for the user’s reading needs, while a 3.5-inch LCD is found on the bottom portion for web browsing function or viewing videos and photos. It also comes with a with a host of accessories and a unique Duet Navigator feature that allows the user to view content captured on the LCD on the electronic paper display (EPD) to save on battery life. The $349 device starts shipping on February 22.
The Entourage Edge was earlier touted by PC World as the “Coolest Textbook Ever” as the device comes in a clamshell design, and is seen to target mainly the student population. The user can open it to a 9.7-inch e-ink screen with 16 shades of gray on the left, and a 10.1-inch, 1024 x 600 resolution screen on the right. Both sides are equipped with stylus-centric touchscreen technology.
The left or ebook reader side is said to open ePub and PDF files by default, while the right or netbook side which also runs on the Android system and supports Wi-fi internet access, is convenient for casual browsing. Its other add-ons include 4G of internal memory, 2 USB ports, and headphone and microphone jacks. The three-pound Edge costs $490 (or $530 for a color other than midnight blue) – a pricetag that’s closer to the average netbook and Amazon’s top-of-the-line Kindle DX than to most other ebook readers. Shipping starts February 2010.
Merging the functionality of a netbook and the convenience of an ebook reader in one device is a pretty clever idea and because the manufacturers say it’s not out to replace the netbook, then it’s obviously out to offer reading enthusiasts an alternative gadget that comes with more features than the standard ebook readers available today.
The question is, can the seemingly perfect combination of the e-ink display and the LCD really catch up with the Amazon Kindle which is the current undisputed leader of the industry? Now that’s certainly something worth watching out for.