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One brand: Hanlin
Get it, use it, forget the rest.

Those things don't even waste power when displaying a page, only when you change it. It's like an "Etch A Sketch" of sorts: no backlight, no refreshing; you need ambient light the same way you need it for real books. Supports all common formats, ARM9 running Linux. No DRM, no wifi connecting on your back to delete your stuff, simple usb mass storage transfer: connect, copy and go, no software nonsense, and it has an SD slot...

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Why people buy Kindles when there is a myriad of asian counterparts that can do the same much better, without DRM or remote control whatsoever, and able to render .pdf, graphic formats and other ebook formats?. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlin_eReader http://www.jinke.com.cn/Compagesql/English/embedpro/index.asp

Jinke Hanlin V9 is a better e-reader at 9.7in at 1200px which will be cheaper, open-source, and more feature-rich: GSM 3G, touch, PDF, DOC, HTML, TXT, CHM, RAR, ZIP, BMP, JPG, MP3, MOBI, EPUB, LIT, DjVu... Jinke V3 is also good at 6in at 800px and is available now worldwide at 220-250 USD. Plus, you get the complete source code (it's Linux) and an SDK to create your own applications or even your own e-reading OS. There's even OpenInkpot, an opensource OS for it with a large dedicated community. A new 5in e-reader by Jinke, V5 also at 800px, will also be soon made available at 150-180 USD. These, V9, V6, V5, all run on a standard mobile phone battery and they don't need charging for a month. And Jinke already manufactures e-readers at 7.5in that run on two AAA batteries with an 880px screen.

I own five BeBooks and I love them. They read HTML, PDF, DOC, RTF, TXT, MOBI, EPUB, FB2, LIT, all without conversion. The device runs on GNU/Linux and you can even replace the factory firmware with OpenInkpot, an ebook ereader OS built by hobbyist free software programmers. BeBook is actually an OEM version of Jinke eReader V3, that is being sold in the US as EZ Reder (you can find more OEMs at the mobileread wiki).

The hardware specs make a big difference, but the "fully fledged operating system and document presentation system" can be had for essentially nothing, if they pick open source solutions and tweak them a bit if necessary. That's what the Chinese are doing, for example.

This guy can't stop talking about how people doing "research-like" work won't be please by a e-reader. They demonstrate that by showing this guy reading a double-column mini-letter size paper.

Pretty obvious, if you ask me. E-readers are handy, but not for reading tasks that very fast require navigation. Specially of double column pdf files (that would be the equivalent of what the guy was handling). For stuff like that a large LCD monitor on vertical stand does the job much better. Or simply print the dawn thing.

Their proposed solution is to have 2(!) small screens, which are even harder to flip pages than hitting a large round button like in most e-readers (mine is a el cheapo Hanlin v3)

You wanna a glimpse to the future of (affordable) e-books just look at these images: http://www.jinke.com.cn/Compagesql/embedpro/futurepro.asp

This guy can't stop talking about how people doing "research-like" work won't be please by a e-reader. They demonstrate that by showing this guy reading a double-column mini-letter size paper.

Pretty obvious, if you ask me. E-readers are handy, but not for reading tasks that very fast require navigation. Specially of double column pdf files (that would be the equivalent of what the guy was handling). For stuff like that a large LCD monitor on vertical stand does the job much better. Or simply print the dawn thing.

Their proposed solution is to have 2(!) small screens, which are even harder to flip pages than hitting a large round button like in most e-readers (mine is a el cheapo Hanlin v3)

You wanna a glimpse to the future of (affordable) e-books just look at these images: http://www.jinke.com.cn/Compagesql/embedpro/futurepro.asp

I've been waiting to hear more about the Hanlin eReader - first heard about it on Slashdot about a year ago. It's e-ink, supports common formats (though its unclear if you have to convert them to its own "Wolf" format first, at least in some of the models) and looks neat.

You won't find it at BestBuy, but take a look at the HanLin eReader.

The current model is about the same as the Kindle, minus the wireless, nice button interface, and DRM, and plus some real format support (PDF, various images, even doc files to some extent).

The new model due out in the early part of the new year will make ebooks are really worth looking at. 825x1200 resolution on a ten inch screen with PDF support makes me very interested.

This looks close to what you are looking for :
http://www.jinke.com.cn/Compagesql/English/embedpro/newpro.asp

Price unknown, probably around US $600.
They already sell this for US$329 :
http://www.jinke.com.cn/Compagesql/English/embedpro/index.asp

This looks close to what you are looking for :
http://www.jinke.com.cn/Compagesql/English/embedpro/newpro.asp

Price unknown, probably around US $600.
They already sell this for US$329 :
http://www.jinke.com.cn/Compagesql/English/embedpro/index.asp

what do you think about Jinke.
They are coming out with 10" *any time now* (for the last 2 months), but looks good.

I have two models, V8 - which doesn't have an OS and runs on Epson cpu and V3 - that runs LINUX and runs on ARM 200mhz processor.

Both are great. Both have MMC/SD card, no DRM. V3 can display PDF and DJVU files. Both have SDKs for you to tinker with. While V8 is very basic and you have to use ANSI C to code your things, V3 is somewhat more powerful.

Nevertheless, as a reader, I prefer V8, because it has cover built in and an additional small display :) and I do most of my reading in FB2 and TXT.

Hmm, funnily enough the ones I've seen (well, the Sony one which is really the only one I have seen) is too big for me.

I just want an e-book reader that I can easily hold in one hand. I'm using an ipaq at the moment which is almost the right size, but a little bit too small - another inch or so wider would probably be good. Then I could comfortably hold it in one hand whilst reading in almost any position.

I suspect e-book readers are still too far away though due to the DRM issues. The Sony one is probably the best tech, but its crippled by lack of available titles. I've been keeping an eye out for the Hanlin Ebook after seeing it posted in a Slashdot thread ages ago, but I haven't seen any of these over my side of the pond (Australia). They look good, but again you're short on titles - at least they'll read a huge variety of formats though.

It's coming..... http://www.jinke.com.cn/compagesql/English/embedpr o/prodetail.asp?id=36

http://www.jinke.com.cn/compagesql/English/embedpr o/prodetail.asp?id=15

It looks like this ebook has a keypad for entering notes.

I would like to buy a V2 does anybody tested it yet?

800 bucks for the featured item? That seems pretty steep for such a limited device when Dell is shipping full-featured notebooks for $500 and up...

This looked interesting...
V2 eBook Reader

SRP $349, runs Linux, aimed at EU and US markets... they're hooked up with E-Ink and have China-scale overhead, so maybe $349 SRP will translate to $200-$250 street price if they actually release this... looks like more than the usual vaporware.

specs

I wish the E-Ink prototype kit didn't cost $3,000 or I'd just build my own reader. I really want a cheap reader on the cost scale of a disposable mp3 player so I don't have to worry constantly about losing or trashing it. I wouldn't set out to lose or trash it, but I'd replace a $150 reader pretty fast, and a $800 reader pretty much not at all.

800 bucks for the featured item? That seems pretty steep for such a limited device when Dell is shipping full-featured notebooks for $500 and up...

This looked interesting...
V2 eBook Reader

SRP $349, runs Linux, aimed at EU and US markets... they're hooked up with E-Ink and have China-scale overhead, so maybe $349 SRP will translate to $200-$250 street price if they actually release this... looks like more than the usual vaporware.

specs

I wish the E-Ink prototype kit didn't cost $3,000 or I'd just build my own reader. I really want a cheap reader on the cost scale of a disposable mp3 player so I don't have to worry constantly about losing or trashing it. I wouldn't set out to lose or trash it, but I'd replace a $150 reader pretty fast, and a $800 reader pretty much not at all.

not quite up to the specs you want, but Jinke is Releasing this in may and so far for ~$350 is is the best deal i have seen for a modern eReader. I love my REB 1100 but creating compatable files for it is a serious pain in the ass and the screen is a bit too low res for most people.

I like the diamond age model and can't really understand in this day and age, why technology can't solve the problems of form factor and price for a simple ebook reader.

Some interesting upcoming products are The iLiad from phillips (irex) and Jinke's V2 eBook Reader

These will supposedly have sd storage, wireless networking e-ink type high resolution display and great battery life. If I was in college again I would demand this. When my child starts needing books for school I'll cause a stink as well.

"So what would get me to switch completely? ... form-factor of a small clipboard ... high-resolution display ... at least 18 hours on one charge ... plaintext, postscript, HTML (including MHT or MAF or some comparable all-in-one-file HTML container, including full gif/jpg/png/bmp support) ... It must also not complain about merely storing any other type of file ... must accept a non-proprietary low-cost DRMless media type such as standard CF or SD ... reasonable quantity of nonvolatile on-board storage ... load-and-render time ... 3 seconds worst-case ... act as a sort of general purpose PDA - Nothing fancy ... at least one "open" programming interface ... up to around $500up to around $500"

Something like the Jinke Hanlin V2 perhaps?

(194mm(L)*133.6mm(W)*13.4mm(H), ePaper 600×800 4 level grayscale, power for turning not less than 8000 pages, PDF Viewer, WOLF Viewer(WOLF File Format:convert from txt,htm,DOC ,PDF,Excel,PPT,Images,mp3 ets),HTML Viewer,TXT Viewer, 64MB Nand Flash, SD/MMC card, faster page turning than the Librié (a first generation eInk device), Linux based and SDK available, price est. at 350US$)

There are at least two other e-ink based products due out this spring: the Hanlin V2 Reader, that runs Linux and will sell for $325, and the iRex Iliad, made by a Philips spin-off, that has a larger screen size, wifi, and a touch-screen interface, but will not be able to be developed for by non-licensed developers. It will probably cost around $400 (although it will be a Europe-only thing at first).

The Sony one gets all the press, though, so I imagine it will be the popular option at least until Apple releases one ;-)

Someone posted about the Jinke ebook reader in the last Slashdot thread that regurgitated this same sort of information that we've been seeing for a while; I thought the Jinke one was particularly interesting as it looked like it was going to be somewhat more respectably priced, but (more importantly for me) would read .txt files.

I'm sure the Sony Reader will be as crippled as the Librie is in terms of hyper-restrictive DRM. Until they have an online library that has a wide variety of books, gives me permanent unlimited access to works I've bought, and gives me some faith that I'll be able to use my books if I buy a new reader, I'm going to hold off.

The Hanlin http://www.jinke.com.cn/compagesql/English/embedpr o/prodetail.asp?id=20 Reader is supposed to be out this spring but it is about $400 also. The good thing is that it runs Linux!

A chinese company produce some of these products http://www.jinke.com.cn/Compagesql/English/index.a sp. I m particulary interessed in this one http://www.jinke.com.cn/compagesql/English/embedpr o/prodetail.asp?id=20 But I would like to see the stuff before to buy.

A chinese company produce some of these products http://www.jinke.com.cn/Compagesql/English/index.a sp. I m particulary interessed in this one http://www.jinke.com.cn/compagesql/English/embedpr o/prodetail.asp?id=20 But I would like to see the stuff before to buy.

E-Ink has been around for a while, but no one has actually developed hardware around them until recently. Sony's new Libre http://www.sony.jp/products/Consumer/LIBRIE/ ) , IRex's Illiad ( http://www.irextechnologies.com/shop/products/ilia d.htm ), and Jinke's Reader V2 (http://www.jinke.com.cn/compagesql/English/embedp ro/prodetail.asp?id=20)all look to be exciting e-book platforms which may make reading e-books something not tied to the tiny screens of PDA's and heavy laptops or neck and eye wearing desktops. Publishers like Fictionwise, Orsen Scott Card and Jim Baen have seen this coming and are ready to deal with it. Particluarly OSC's Intergalatic Medicine Show and Jim Baen's Universe on-line magazines look to be set to take particular advantage of the forthcoming increase in portable displays.

This http://www.jinke.com.cn/compagesql/English/embedpr o/prodetail.asp?id=20 device look like it should supply everybodys needs. It comes out this spring and will read txt,pdf,html and others and runs Linux!

The Hanlin e-book reader by Tanjin Jinke Electronics Co. Ltd. is a Linux based PDA-looking reader that claims to use ePaper. I don't know if that's eInk's technology or a knock-off, but otherwise things sound good, it doesn't seem to be a DRM-encumbered device at all, and supports a lot of different technologies. The V8 is supposedly out this month and the V2 is out in May.

There's one feature I want (aside from reading of TXT, PDF, and other common formats without being crushed by DRM). I'd love it if the reader could be an alarm clock. Think of it. No glow from LEDs, much higher contrast than LCDs so it can be read with ambient light, even in the middle of the night. That alone is a great start but it's also a no noise, low-power, battery powered device so it works even when the power fails. Finally, both the Sony one and the Hanlin device claim to be MP3 players so if they include an external speaker they could wake you up to music.

Maybe it's just me, but I like the idea of being able to read my eBook before I go to bed, lay down the reader on a bedside table, having it wake me up a good 8 hours later, and being able to easily see the time in any light conditions.

This one they have on their site is about $300, so more than that, you would assume, perhaps?

http://www.jinke.com.cn/compagesql/English/embedpr o/prodetail.asp?id=6

Identical display,
lcd touch screen for controls ( bypasses the crap 1second refresh of e-ink as a display for entering text)
0 drm.
accepts doc, txt, rtf, html, pdf in addition to its own format.
accepts standard sd memory ( not sony proprietary memsticks)
integrated mp3 player.

http://www.jinke.com.cn/Compagesql/English/embedpr o/newpro.asp

Exciting developments on that front, actually!

Two e-ink based readers are supposed to be released soon: The Hanlin V8/V2 and a device from iRex. The iRex reader is supposed to support Linux and be released in "early 2006" in Europe. The Hanlin V8 with a proprietary OS is supposed to be released "by the end of this year" in China for around $300, with the Linux-based V2 being released in May worldwide at about $320.

My money is on iRex, since they're backed by Philips and have a larger screen, but they might be more expensive than the Hanlin device. We'll see!

I know of three: Sony Librie: 1st attemp, not bad, but so DRM riddled that's unusable. You didn't purchase a book. You rented for 3 months, and the cost is similar to death tree A prototype made by e-ink engineers. I don't have a link, but It was in /. not so long ago http://www.jinke.com.cn/english/index.asp. Very similar to Librie, but, run on linux and has an aditional LCD display for commands (e-ink is loooooow)

... and try to do another one with ePaper screen instead.
This one will not be able to attract enough customers to buy it, at least not at this price!

Has all innovation gone to China already?!? http://www.jinke.com.cn/english/v2/index.asp

http://www.jinke.com.cn/english/v8/default.asp 290 grams with Li ion battery (just over 10 oz) 800x600 main display Plays mp3 as well USB 1.1 I/O Here it is for $150 or at least that is what was said in the newsletter (Blackmask.com)

How about just purchasing a finished unit?
The finished unit is supposed to be $150.

http://www.jinke.com.cn/english/v8/index.asp