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Asus Plans Dual-Display E-Reader

Posted by kdawson on from the blurring-the-lines dept.

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.

4 of 199 comments (clear)

  1. Still not going to be Mainstream... by Afforess · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ~$200 may be low-end, but that's still not mainstream. E-books still have a lot of cons they have to get past, and a 200 entry fee isn't helping. As a college student, I would need to be able to resell books, but e-books are "rentals" where I can never sell them, without selling the account. IMO that's the biggest reason E-books are still on the launching pad, many (college) books are bought for $120, but resold for $80, so effectively, I payed for a $40 book. With E-books, it's the same price, but I can't sell them. Once we can buy and sell e-books like used books, I may look into it, but that and the high entry cost basically guarantee that I'll never buy one.

    --
    If our elected representatives no longer represent us, do we still live in a Democracy?
    1. Re:Still not going to be Mainstream... by sayfawa · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Why would college students who download gigs of mp3s/month have a problem with downloading some "illegal" pdfs? Just search for physics or math on any torrent site and see what you get. I now have digital copies of not only every physics text I've ever owned, I have digital copies of every physics text I've ever heard of.

      --
      Free the Quark 3 from asymptotic confinement! Bring your charm! Don't get down! All colours and flavours welcome!
  2. That's Great, But... by Quothz · · Score: 4, Insightful
    TFA doesn't address the real questions: What formats can it handle? Will it only be able to handle some bizarre custom, DRM-protected format? Will it primarily deal with some bizarre custom, DRM-protected format? Will Asus have remote control to fiddle with my files? Will it gather data about me, what I'm reading, and/or who I'm calling on Skype?

    I refuse to get excited until I know whether it's More of the Same (TM) or not, shiny features be damned.

  3. Re:Feature Creep by MrMista_B · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Also, it isn't a computer if it has a microphone, webcam, color screen, and the ability to connect to a global network. :)

    You forget that as technology advances, so must our names for things.

    That, and it sounds like, well, you wouldn't want the product - however, I, and I think many millions more, /do/, just as it is.