Samsung E6 and E101 are the first e-book readers from the manufacturer which were recently revealed at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Both e-book devices are touchscreens: the Samsung E6 comes with 6-inch E-ink display, while the E101 features 10-inch one. Unlike other portable devices, Samsung E6 and E101 were introduced with handwriting capabilities directly onto the display. The tool allowing users to annotate their reading selections, calendars and to-do lists is an electromagnetic resonance (EMR) stylus pen which utilizes EMR technology. The Korean giant was also serious about low power consumption of e-books’ displays delivering natural reflect light similar to that of printed paper.

The Samsung e-readers support a wide range of file formats include e-pub, PDF/a, TXT, BMP and JPG. The E6 and E101 are equipped with Samsung’s text-to-speech (TTS) built-in technology. Both models come with Wi-Fi (802.11b/g) capability allowing customers download books and newspapers wirelessly as well as transfer them from other devices thanks to built in Bluetooth 2.0. The readers are powered with 2GB internal memory and microSD memory card with maximum 18GB storage. The company’s partnership with Google means there is a lot of content available for E6 and E101 users. When speaking about battery it may deliver up to two weeks of use only with 4 hours of charging.

Samsung E6 should be available in March for $399 with black and white colors. The 10-inch version of E6 will cost $599.

Sony Daily Reader PRS900 is the company’s first model with wireless broadband connection that has been released in December of 2009. The Daily Reader comes with brilliant 7-inch touch display which can be used by fingers or stylus. Much like the Amazon Kindle, the Daily Edition uses 600 x 1024 Vizplex e-ink screen   providing users flawless navigation and comfortable layout of content. In portrait mode, the eRader features about 30-35 lines of text visible making the experience very similar to that of a printed paperback book. When the reader is in landscape mode, you have the option of switching to a 2 page at a time view. The eReader is also optimized for newspapers and provides crisp text and images that are very natural and easy to read.

Most notable for PRS900’s customers, will, however be the capabilities for wireless access via AT&T’s 3G mobile broadband network. With Sony’s latest generation Daily Edition on your hands you will access to over one million free public domain titles from Google Books and sharing sites to Raeder Store and personal publishers. Unlike the Amazon Kindle which limits the ebook formats to their own amazon.com and pdf ebook formats,the Sony PRS900 supports a wide range of file formats including EPUB, Text, RTF and Word, in addition to Sony’s own BBeB (LRF) formats.

Measuring just 0.6-inch thin and weighting only 12.75 ounces the Rader Daily Edition is also really compact and easy-to-hold device. Sony was also serious about PRS900’s long battery life allowing it to display around 12000 continuous page turns from a single charge or to deliver 7 days with wireless switch on.  The PRS900’s package comes with 3.5mm stereo jack and up to 1.6 GB Dual Memory Card Expansion Slots for Memory Stick Duo and SD Card up to 32 GB. Additinal accessories will include AC adaptor, leather cover, travel case, USB cable, pre-installed SIM card and stylus. Joining two other new Sony models the Reader Pocket and the Reader Touch editions the Sony PRS900 will be available at a price of $399.

The Archos Company, known as a French consumer electronics manufacturer, is the author of the 7^th generation internet tablet Archos 5 (announced on September, 2009). Running on the Google’s Android operating system the Anchos 5 is expected to deliver all Android capabilities and bring the consumer a new way to enjoy Internet, Media and TV all in one. It is powered by an ARM Cortex A8 processor at 800 MHz and 4.8- inch 800×400 touchscreen display. It is a sharp and bright display which uses a resistive touch technology and has two common drawbacks. The tablet features only two physical buttons.

The Archos 5 has been designed to be a slim and sexy device and is certainly good to look at. Overall the tablet has dimensions of 143.2 x 78.8 x 10.4mm and weighs 182g. The Archos 5 Internet Tablet has built-in features of a PDF reader, Mac and PC compatibility, built-in speaker, integrated kickstand and game capabilities. On the audio side the tablet have support for great variety of formats, including MP3, WMA, OGG, and FLAC. It is also best for video playing. The device comes with two HDMI ports and is capable of 720p video playback. For video, expect MP4, WMV and MKV file supports. Don’t worry about the tablet memory, as Archos offers you a whopping 250 Gb of storage that can hold 300 movies, 145,000 songs or millions of photos.  The size of the storage on the Archos 5 is very competitive with many current notebooks on the market.

For connectivity Archos has chosen to use Wi-Fi B/N/G along with Bluetooth, through which you can access the 3G connection of your mobile phone. The Archos 5 Internet Tablet has also GPS capabilities that the company powered with a photo satellite view version of the map. Thanks to this feature you won’t get lost with the Anchor 5 in your hands, and yet you will enjoy the navigation as this software includes various tons of options including type of route, traffic, list of radars and more. Browsing becomes almost seamless with the built-in Opera web-browser and Adobe Flash 8 video supports. Thanks to the Archos built-in full email apps you won’t also miss the ability to write, download or send attachments right to your contacts. And lastly, the Archos 5 comes with a built-in battery that can deliver up to 12 hours of audio and 4 hours of video.The Archos 5 can be a great choice for you and the  pricing of the  tablet starts at $249.99 for the 8GB device and maxes out at $439.99 for 500GB.

The Archos 5 Internet Tablet can be found at:

• Amazon for $302 USD

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Young people today are totally ‘plugged in’ with their cell phones, video games, iPods and other gadgets that they use on a daily basis. Offering students a cool, handheld device to use in the classroom, on the train or in a coffee shop may be a way to make learning fun. Irex digital readers are thought to be a motivator to students to become more involved with their learning.

Irex DR800s is the newest addition to the company’s innovative line of e-readers. At just 1 cm thick and with an 8.1-inch screen, the Irex Digital Reader 800S is just the thing for bookworms everywhere. A unique screen surface differentiates the DR800S from competitive devices, and delivers a natural reading experience in the living room, on the train or in a coffee shop.

The user has the opportunity to enjoy a variety of electronic books, magazines and newspapers with this digital reader that features an 8.1-inch interactive touch screen with a natural, paper-like display and adjustable text sizes. The Irex uses E Ink Corporation’s Vizplex ink-imaging film that is dubbed EPD for electronic paper display and has a 768 x1024 pixel resolution at 160 DPI 16-level grey scale. You can also use  the supplied stylus and menus easily, thanks to electronic touch-screen paper technology. Internal menus are supported in the following languages: French, English, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and Greek.

Running on Linux operating system and featuring the FreeScale i.MX31L processor, the Irex DR enhances users’ true reading experience that far eclipses what they’d get from a multifunction device. The DR800S supports multiple formats, including the industry standard ePub, rather than a single, “closed” proprietary format along with PDF and JPG / BMP/ PNG / GIF file formats. That’s not all though! The mini-USB 2.0 port on the DR800S lets you download electronic versions of the latest bestsellers and newspapers from the internet. You will copy or transfer your own documents directly to the device without any additional software or fees, just connect to a computer and transfer them to the DR.

An SD card slot is onboard for extendable storage of up to a big 2 GB SD, so the digital reader will contain up to 1,000 books or photos. The 800s is powered by 2800 mAh lithium-ion battery, which lasts for up to 6,000 page turns.  The e-reader has also a build-in sleep mode, which stretches the reading experience even further and lets the device wake up in seconds at the touch of the button.

The dimensions of Irex 800s are 1, 07 cm x 14, 9 cm 19, 3 cm and it weights just 360 g. The device comes with a custom cover and stylus.

The IREX Digital Reader 800s can be found at:

• Amazon for $399 USD

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STORY is the latest e-book reader from iRiver. And yes, it’s as good as it can get. The keyboard design is one of its nice features. I can say it’s sexy, it’s solid, and it’s slim. After the iRiver Story’s release in the UK, Germany and Korea, it’s finally coming to the US. This wait definitely is taking its effect since that people really are looking forward and get excited about the iRiver Story.

The iRiver Story includes features such as 6-inch e-link display with a 800 x 600 resolution, 36 inches slim, has built-in features of a mp3 player, voice recorder, office file viewer, personal organizer, a memopad and a scheduler. You can store up to 13,000 books with its 2GB internal memory and an expansion SD Card slot that can store up to 16GB. This gadget can read Microsoft Excel files (.xls), PowerPoint (.ppt), Adobe Acrobat files (.pdf), Microsoft Word (.doc), e-Pub, and play wma, audio book files, and mp3 files. The battery life lasts for up to 9,000 pages – up to 30 books. How is that possible? It’s because the iRiver Story will consume battery life only if the pages are turned. If you will be using this to play audio files, the battery can last for up to 24hrs. If you want to record voice, then it can last for up to 5hrs.

The iRiver Story lets you read your e-books just like when you’re reading paper books. How incredible is that? You still have the old paper book feel while using a so-called high-technology gadget!

But then again, like everything in life there is a downside. The iRiver Story doesn’t have wireless capabilities such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and 3G. But don’t worry, because in the later part of 2010, the iRiver Story U.S. version will have Wi-Fi capabilities. As per the final price ranges, there aren’t announcements yet. Some say it would cost at around $340 USD, however as I said, this isn’t final.

Of all the different e-book readers out there, you have the decision for as to which one has the “edge” you are looking for. I have stated everything there is to know about the iRiver Story, now it’s up to you to go, get, and judge it.

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In this day and age, everything is turning electronic. It started with the conversion of the regular (which is now called “snail”) mail to the electronic mail or eMail, our books turning into electronic books or eBooks. Therefore, there is the need for us to have gadgets to be able to catch up with this very fast-paced technology. One day I came across this remarkable device, called the JoinTech JE200 Color eBook Reader. The name itself speaks for itself, it stores and lets you read eBooks. So what’s so “remarkable” about it? Read on and you’ll find out.

There has been an older version of this eBook reader, the JE100. Is it much different than the latter? the answer is one big YES. The JE100 is a basic eBook reader, all it does it stores and displays the ebooks for reading, while with the JE200, there’s a whole lot more. First, it it colored. It has up to 16GB storage, supports all eBook formats, touchscreen, it has a backlight for night reading, and has full multimedia support to name a few.

As  for hardware specifications:

• it is standing proud with a Win CE 5.0 operating system
• 400MHz processor
• 64MB internal RAM
• 7 inch touchscreen
• SD Card support for up to 16GB
• a built in speaker, audio out
• weighs only 250g
• and has a battery life of 3-6 hours.

As mentioned, it supports almost every eBook file formats such as .txt, .pdf, .doc, .rtf, .jbk, .html/.htm, .swf, .chm, .cbz. In addition to this,  the JE200 also support audio (.mp3, .wma, .wav), video (.avi, .mpeg, .asf, .mp4, .wmv), and image (.bmp, .jpg, .png, .gif) formats plus any WINCE 5.0 compatible software. Knowing all these, you may be able to tell what it can do, but there’s more.  The JE200 can be customized to have a user interface suited for special clients. The software itself is upgradeable, and another great thing about it is that the makers, Join Tech, offers free technical support to direct clients.

Remarkable isn’t it? These are but some of the reasons why people are being more and more excited about getting JE200 for themselves. After I saw what this excellent device can do, I honestly am thinking of getting one for myself.

The JE200 can be ordered from Sales4Online for $299 USD.

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The Cybook by Bookeen is an eBook reader that is big on portability and long on battery life.  Today we’re going to review the 3rd generation device, appropriately called the Gen3.

It uses power from its battery only when changing pages, which is consistent with all devises using an EInk screen, like the Amazon Kindle 2.

Bookeen states that the built-in battery can handle up to 8000 page turns on one charge, which is difficult to even comprehend – that’s like 20 novels!   The Cybook is also one of the lightest portable ebook readers available as it weighs only 174 grams (6.13 ounces).

This is an eBook reader in its purest form.  It doesn’t have a digitizer stylus like other more expensive devices, so you are unable to make your own notes.  Nor does it have Wi-Fi or a web browser.

What the Cybook Gen3 excells in is its portability.   It measures 188mm tall and 118mm wide and is 8.5mm thick.

For the money ($350) ($219 – update Feb 17, 2010) it’s not a bad deal, but there’s still cheaper units out there with better features.

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The PRS-700 is Sony’s 3rd generation ebook reader.  It comes with some fancy new features, like a touch screen, side lighting (for reading in the dark), and a much improved user interface.  It retails for approximately $349 USD.

Some of the other improvements from previous Sony Reader generations include:  increased speed for page turns, faster CPU (now 532 MHz, like the Amazon Kindle 2), larger font sizes, and better PDF viewing.  Unfortunately not everything can be seen as an improvement.  The new touch screen functionality requires a layer on top of the eInk display, as well as frame-mounted LED side lights.  This all adds up to worse contrast and glare and takes away from the eInk viewing experience.

Features of the Sony Reader PRS-700

Advanced Design

• Small size – 6.8″ x 5.2″ x 0.4″
• Light weight - only 10 ounces!
• Both internal and expansion memory – 512 MB internal, up to 36 GB SDHC expansion card
• Long battery life - Li-Ion battery provides up to 7500 page turns between charges

Enhanced Reading

• Touch screen – allows users to annotate by way of a virtual keyboard
• LED lighting – better reading in low light conditions

File Formats Supported

• DRM-free Text - LRF, PDF, TXT, RTF, ePub
• DRM Text – LRX, Secure PDF, ePub
• DRM-free Audio – MP3, AAC
• Images – GIF, PNG, JPG, BMP
• RSS – limited to 20 featured blogs

Sony Reader PRS-700 Recommendation

The Sony Reader PRS-700 is a big improvement over Sony’s previous ebook readers (PRS-500, PRS-505), but it still leaves a bit to be desired.  Some folks may find the touch screen useful and trendy, but we think it’s ahead of its time if it conflicts with the readability of eInk technology.

Considering that its nearest competitor is the Amazon Kindle 2, Sony has definitely thrown down the gauntlet, as it beats the Kindle 2 in the areas of PDF viewing and having a touch screen (if you consider that a good feature, of course).  On the other hand, the Kindle 2 is arguably easier to read and has more internal memory (more storage for books).  So in our opinion, it’s a toss-up as to which of these two devices is better.  We’d recommend that you try to find a friend who has each device and take them for a test drive to make your own decision.

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