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Wednesday, March 17, 2010

MEET ALEX ... ANOTHER AWESOME E-READER (find out why)


While most are touting the Apple iTab, iSlab, iPad or whatever-the-frig they're calling that thing a game-changer, I believe the real game changer in publishing will be the advent of all these new nifty e-readers coming out.

Spring Design's Alex eReader is one of the most impressive little readers on the block. The $399 Android-powered device boasts both a 6-inch e-ink display and a 3.5-inch, 16-bit color touch-screen LCD.

It's set to ship in the middle of this month but will undoubtebly get overshadowed by the iPad.
The Alex is long and narrow, weighs 11-ounces and measures 4.7 inches wide and 8.9 inches high. It's less than a half inch thick.

Users can download Google Books and it's compatible with other bookstores that support Adobe DRM (you can read e-books in EPUB, PDF, HTML, and TXT formats).

If the Alex seems Nook-like, don't be surprised. The Spring e-reader shares similar traits to Barnes & Noble's dual-screen reader. Interestingly, Spring actually sued Barnes & Noble for similarities it saw in the Nook.

Selling points of the Alex are built-in Wi-Fi, the ability to stream video and surf the Web (on the smaller color screen) and it can utilize certain Android applications. It also comes with a 2GB removable memory card and the microSD expansion slot supports cards up to an impressive 32GB. Earphones, an AC/USB power connector, and a padded cover ship with the unit.

An impressive machine, indeed. The unit I have my eyes peeled for, though, is the HP Slate, the only real iPad competitor that I can see at this point.

Check out a commercial for the Slate, also set to debut within weeks:

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5 comments:

  1. Being a bit of a Luddite, I'm more interested in why they named it Alex. It's creepy on a Hal-2000 level.

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  2. I'd love an eReader, but I can't afford one, let alone the eBooks to put on it. It'd be great if public libraries could "loan" books onto them too somehow, although there is a vast library of public domain books out there. New eBook prices need to come down.

    If you like eBook discussion you should listen to the Dragon Page podcast.

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  3. I'm waiting for the day when they sell a cheap eBook reader in Asda for £12! :) It'll happen.

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  4. It sounds almost more like a netbook than and e-book reader. Cool little gadget. It would be a handy thing to have on long trips.

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  5. very cool ant. thx! re: why alex I heard that Allie was already taken by some luddite chick in joisey!

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