Ok… I’m just going to put up a couple links to new eBook Readers. Why two at a time? They’re coming that quickly. It’s like everyone in the tech industry has been waiting for the release of Kindle 2, because it’s been one after the other ever since.
The latest development in the evolution of eBook Readers is a trend toward touch screens. Rumor has it Kindle 3 will be similarly endowed.
First: Onyx International of China is debuting the Boox eBook Reader at CeBIT 2009 taking place from March 3rd until March 8th in Hannover, Germany. Here’s the link to the Boox story. There’s a list of specifics as well.
Engadget.com has photos and video of Boox here.
When I look at the formats it supports: PDF, TXT, HTML, MOBIPOCKET, EPUB, CHM, PDB, JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP, TIFF, MP3, and WAV, I’m amazed that it was only a few months ago that some of these designers were trying to create proprietary formats. (Nice try, yah?)
Second: iRiver from Japan is planning to release its own eReader. Read the story here. It’s supposed to handle PDF files and use a simple joystick control. The story doesn’t mention price, but it’s got the look of a machine that is intended for a mass-market.
More to come tomorrow. SONY is up to something with their eReader. That baby’s a sweet ride.
