eReaders Abound at CES 2010

Many of the big names at CES 2010 are taking a shot at the emerging eReader market, with Sony flipping its page on its own Daily Edition.

All of the major contenders are nestled in a corner of the Las Vegas Convention Center called the eBook TechZone, CES 2010’s answer to a book nook (with apologies to Barnes & Nobles’ new device that was not at the show). This technology-infused reading room features literally hundreds of eReader devices from dozens of manufacturers.

While some of the devices, like Plastic Logic’s QUE proReader, may not have the name recognition of the Amazon Kindle, they present a worthy challenge to the current e-reading king. Analysts estimate the Kindle currently accounts for approximately 2/3 of all eReader sales, according to Reuters.

Sony Partners with Murdoch
Sony released their latest and greatest eReader, the Daily Edition a few weeks before CES, shipping it out in time for the holidays. Though, they did highlight their exclusive streaming content partnerships with the Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, and the New York Post (all owned by Rupert Murdoch, a vocal critic of Amazon’s Kindle business model). That, coupled with the Daily Edition’s relatively higher price point of $399 (compared to the Kindle’s $259) suggests that Sony may have the weary business traveler in mind with their eReader.

The Daily Edition is the first Sony eReader to feature wireless connectivity. It’s able to access the Sony store for content via AT&T’s 3G network, which works well with the new partnerships.

"You can sign up through to Sony store to get the Wall Street Journal, then every morning at 6 AM Eastern Time it will actually download right to the unit," a Sony rep said. In addition, Sony’s new eReader will download the WSS late and weekend editions.

While there were whispers of fragile eReader screens with the industry's earlier models, the Daily Edition seemed fit for at least limited abuse. To demonstrate durability, the Sony rep heartily squeezed the screen, leaving no noticeable marks.

The 600 x 1024 display is 7.1-inches and supports 16-level gray scale. The battery is good for 12,000 page turns. That said, the Sony rep claimed he left his Daily Edition on and untouched for more than a month, and it still retained power.

QUE?
If Sony is flirting with the business user, Plastic Logic is flat out courting them with the QUE proReader. CES attendees are flocking to Plastic Logic’s booth at the eBook TechZone to catch a glimpse of what the company dubs “the new standard.” In addition to ebooks and magazines, the QUE supports Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and users can even check Outlook email from the device. The QUE has the largest screen of the major players, coming in at a sizable 8.5x11 inches. It comes in both a 4 GB and 8 GB model, with the 8 GB model offering AT&T 3G and Wi-Fi. The units are priced at $649 and $799 respectively.

Notable CES Exceptions
Neither the Amazon Kindle nor the Barnes & Noble Nook are at CES, though the Nook was made available for the press at another Las Vegas event. The Nook sets itself apart with a color LCD touchscreen at the bottom of the device for navigation. It too supports AT&T 3G and Wi-Fi. The Kindle currently has no Wi-Fi support. The Nook currently costs $259.

 

That's what e-ink is supposed to do, as long as any backlight is off. The battery would only drain due to steady discharge, same as any device does when off. (I bet that after a month of summer heat it would be long dead though.) Still probably worth impressing in people, given how we're all so used to readable screen meaning draining battery.

 

Am I the only one that truly enjoys the feel of a book, the smell and the sensation of the weight, passing pages, and going thru it?

I find these useful, but books are better.

 

Most people do I'm sure but the ebooks are just so practical from a travel and storage space aspect. It can also be more economical for high volume readers who can get a monthly service rather than buying a ton of new books all the time. I think with non IPod MP3 players dying out many manufacturers are seeing this as the next big tech item to invest in.

 

Can any of these ebook readers work with a pdf that's simply a scan of a book? That is, no OCR, straight up 256 color image, about 3000x2000 pixels.

 

I don't know about it being awesome, but it's the direction they have to move in. Right now a Fujitsu u820 is a better option. I can get it for about the same price as a high end ebook reader. It can do so many more things since it's actually a real computer (tabletpc), but it weighs a little more (~1.5 lbs), is a little thicker, and gets 8+ hours of battery life in reviews....although I'd probably get 12+ with the way I'd use it.

I think ebook readers and tabletpc's will eventually become the same thing. Still though, if I could get a color ebook reader that could do a good job of displaying my scanned pdf's in "fit page" mode and got about 40 hours of battery life and cost about $200, and weighed about a pound, I'd get one.

 

Hi...

I am thinking of buying an e-reader. Basically, what I want to do is to read a load of e-books (maximum are in PDF format). Currently, I do this on my ThinkPad, but sometimes it becomes a pain to take the laptop out of the bag, fire it up and get to reading. What I want is something which is convenient to read while traveling or even when hanging out during my off-time on campus. A wifi capability would be helpful. I should be able to transfer files between this device and my ThinkPad. Since I don't have 3G services where I live at the moment, it's not really a factor, but to have the capability would be good because it could be possible that I may move to a 3G serviced area. I would prefer not locking myself into any dedicated service that allows me to download. I should mention that I am partial to traditional books and I collect them. Basically, the idea is to take e-copies of these books and read them when I am not at home. I am also building my own e-library just as a back-up to some of the books that I already have (which currently are over 4000 (99% of them are non-fiction) in number) and to add some more to them.

I have taken a look at Kindle 2 but could not determine whether it works for me or not. The iPad, I think, is overkill for me and is quite expensive. There is a Sony device, which I read about. But the bottomline is that I don't know too much about devices like these to be able to make up my mind.

Conceivably, I could spend around $275-300 on this device.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Ps: Mods, if this is posted in the wrong section, please do let me know and I will delete it and repost where advised.

 

I never thought I'd ever actually say this, but IF I was ever interested in an eReader, I'd probably just get the iPad over this. This Sony model really seems uninspired, has no unique features, and offers nothing that the iPad can't do (well, other than the WSJ subscription). Smells like fail to me to.

EDIT: never mind. I didn't realize this is just an old thread that was necroed. I thought this was something just announced. haha