Asus Plans Dual-Display E-Reader 199
adeelarshad82 writes "Yet more confirmation has emerged that Asus plans its own e-book reader. An Asus representative in the UK appears to have confirmed this, with the additional details that there may be a value-priced as well as a premium version. The article guesses at the price point for the low-end model — around £100 ($192). Unlike current e-book readers, which take the form of a single flat screen, the Asus device has a hinged spine, like a printed book. This, in theory, enables its owner to read an e-book much like a normal book, using the touchscreen to 'turn' the pages from one screen to the next. Asus showed off a prototype of the device at the CeBIT trade show in March." Reader NeverBotedBush adds, "Asus's e-reader will likely have color touch screens, a speaker, a webcam, and a microphone, along with the capability to make inexpensive Skype calls." The color screen rules out using E Ink technology, so long battery life seems to be unlikely.
Dual Screens = Opportunity (Score:5, Interesting)
Pure speculation: PixelQi screens? (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm hoping these will come out with PixelQi screens, as it will make it a truly revolutionary product. Although at this point it is pure speculation, I think there is a good chance Asus has signed a deal with PixelQi. Not only do the videos on PixelQi's sites show netbooks which resembles the Eee, their site mentions the displays will be in production in the late 2009, which coincides with the introduction of this new e-Reader. PixelQi could stand to benefit from teaming up with a company such as Asus, and I bet this is what has happened (in a couple month's we'll see how well my prediction fares!)
Re:Still not going to be Mainstream... (Score:5, Interesting)
I doubt it will be mainstream, but not for the same reasons as you think.
Strike 1: it's not e-ink/e-paper. So, that makes it what, a dual-screen tablet? Cool, but e-ink is what makes e-readers so great, and so much better for reading, than tablets or laptops or netbooks.
Now, $200 isn't bad, compared to $299 for the Kindle 2, or more for the DX. So that's a plus. As for the college students and the price of books... I sympathize to a point. I would definitely not purchase standard undergraduate texts in electronic form. They're a ripoff in paper form to begin with, but at least you can resell them (if only for a fraction of what you paid if you were unfortunate enough to buy new).
As a grad student, though, you'll find your reading habits changing. It's somewhat discipline dependent, but everyone will be reading articles, mostly in PDF format. Kindle DX, etc., are superb for that. I've also purchased two books for a class from Amazon for my Kindle. In both cases, they were cheaper than any used copies I could find. I know I can't resell them, but I don't anticipate selling that sort of book anyway (it was inexpensive to begin with, and I will probably need it for reference when studying for comps).
In the meantime, I've found at least one book for a class on a torrent site, and I do things like copy all my typed notes to the Kindle. Is it saving me money? Absolutely not. But I don't have to print out hundreds of pages or be stuck at a computer to read things, and that alone is worth it for me.
Re:That's Great, But... (Score:4, Interesting)
TFA doesn't address the real questions: who thought of this? I can't wait to pay 50% more for a second screen to my ebook reader so that I can look at both pages surrounding every other page break at the same time.
Well, my opinion is still "features be damned". I would gladly pay more for a reader that ensured my privacy and ownership, regardless of whether I'm paying for bloat as well. Mind you, that's not to say your comment is by any means uninsightful. It's just not important to me when compared to the question of what personal concessions I'd have to make before I'm allowed to purchase one.
Re:Still not going to be Mainstream... (Score:4, Interesting)
What if you buy and read a lot of books, but could do so for a fraction of the price. I see paperback type books becoming like $0.99, any my wife reads these style books like they are going out of style.
Even Textbooks could be sold "new" for much less than they currently are. The fact is, economy doesn't require resale of virtual property. Nobody is demanding resale rights to iTunes music.
Re:Still not going to be Mainstream... (Score:3, Interesting)
Nobody is demanding resale rights to iTunes music.
Because in general music is timeless. It gets popular, goes underground, gets revived, becomes retro, etc. A song you heard 15 years ago will still be as good of a song today as it was when you first heard it. On the other hand, textbooks get obsolete. The textbook you read 15 years ago in most subjects will be wrong, not antique, not timeless but simply -wrong-. Secondly, who re-reads textbooks? I listen to some of my old CDs regularly that I bought 10 or more years ago, I re-read some of my old fiction books and some old non-fiction books, however once you get out of college you don't even touch your old textbooks unless by some stroke of fate your going back to school.
Re:Still not going to be Mainstream... (Score:1, Interesting)
I've never known a math professor to require the latest edition, because they often don't count the homework as part of the grade, and the homework they go over is clearly worked out from the bare problems on the board. Many online math classes also include the text as part of the license fee.
If the texts were written clearly enough to learn from the start then we wouldn't need teachers to explain them. I don't have a need for any instructor who will screw my grade over without regard to my merit just because I didn't shell out for the latest edition of the text. Fuck 'em, they're not as broke as I am.
-- Ethanol-fueled
Too $much, too late (Score:3, Interesting)
I am a life-long reader; I love reading a book or newspaper as much as anything in life. I was very ill as a child and spent most of ages 4-6 in bed. We didn't own a TV, so my only companions were books from the local library and the daily papers. (That was back when you got a morning AND an evening paper on your doorstep.) When I could get out, I bought all the comic books my allowance would allow. That was when an Action Comics Superman from DC was a whopping 10 cents. I was highly pissed when the price went to 12 cents an issue, as I recall.
One of the gadgets I've wanted for years is a decent e-reader with lots of content. I passed on the Sony and Kindle machines because they were "close, but no cigar" for my taste. Color was a requirement for me as I still love comics and graphic novels.
Recently, I got an iPhone 3GS and discovered Stanza, Comics (Comixology), NYTimes, and NPR News. I had assumed the small screen on the phone would be terrible for reading. Instead, I find that I read something with ALL of those apps, everyday. Just finished reading ALL of the Edgar Rice Burroughs Mars novels with Stanza. Absolutely loved them. Coincidentally, the Science Fiction Book Club (of which I've been a member since 1972) is offering a reissue of those same books in hardcover.
Cost from SFBC = $50, plus shipping. Cost of the ebook versions on Stanza = $0. Also recently read the entire Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes books and stories, again for a cost of $0.
The Comics app, even bereft of titles from DC and Marvel (so far), is excellent. I'm currently reading Omega Chase and loving it. I've spent about $10 on various comics thus far and haven't regretted a single penny.
The point is, I'm no longer "waiting" for an e-reader; I have all I need.
One could argue that I own a +$2000 e-reader in the iPhone, but since it IS a nice phone, game machine (finally getting good at F.A.S.T.), web and e-mail appliance, AND a decent e-reader, I am still happy. Plus, I only have to carry and manage ONE device.
Bottom line: Sony, Amazon, Asus, etc. will never see a nickel from me for their readers. They missed any opportunity with me.
Re:Backlit screen = yuk (Score:3, Interesting)
Indeed, my Palm III was just wonderful for reading e-books. Ran for a whole weekend on four rechargeable AAAs, too.
Still got it in a drawer somewhere. The main pain is that it needs things converted to .pdb and can only take about four average novels (text-only, .5MB each). No Google Books scans.
But yes, why not revive the old b&w LCD?
Re:sign me up (Score:3, Interesting)
LCDs don't give people eye strain anymore than books or eInk displays.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asthenopia [wikipedia.org]
If anything, due to their lower contrast, eInk displays are worse than LCDs in terms of eye strain.
eInk is superior to LCDs only in terms of power consumption. In terms of readability in sunlight, it's comparable to LCDs designed for outdoor use. And in terms of contrast ratio, color, and refresh rate, it's much worse than other display technologies.
Re:Nintendo DX of e-books (Score:1, Interesting)
This looks like a evolution of the dual-screen Origami laptop concept Asus had on show at CES - http://www.mobilecomputermag.co.uk/200901071186/asus-origami-laptop-concept-has-see-through-screen-and-funky-folding-case.html. A netbook/ebook reader is a more practical take on the technology, but that prototype was much, much cooler.
What's wrong with that? (Score:3, Interesting)
I'd like to see a tablet device with a touch screen about the size of a hardback book's pages with wi-fi, bluetooth, a DVD/CD burner, sound chip, and Linux, with plugs for a keyboard, monitor, earphones/speakers, and ethernet. For a hundred bucks.
That's actually the computer of my dreams. Why hasn't anybody put one on the market yet?
Re:That's Great, But... (Score:3, Interesting)
I can't wait to pay 50% more for a second screen to my ebook reader so that I can look at both pages surrounding every other page break at the same time.
I can't wait for the reduced battery life that comes from having an additional screen, LCD screens, a touchpad, and other things that don't help me read books or PDFs more easily!