CES e-reader Roundup

There are some pretty cool eReaders coming out soon. When the price drops and the screen is closer to 8.5x11, I will consider getting one.

The Notion Ink Adam

We just got a brief look at the upcoming Notion Ink Adam Android-based "smartpad" device, which runs the new Tegra chipset and has a Pixel Qi display. The real win here is that since Tegra is already a power sipping affair -- a traditional tablet should get about 40 hours with regular use -- so with Pixel Qi's 10x power advantage over LCD, the device could get nearly 400 hours of battery in backlight-off mode. That sounds silly high (and most likely wrong), but even with 40+ hours of use as an e-reader it would be pretty great.

Plastic Logic Que proReader

After months of teasing, Plastic Logic finally unveiled its vaunted Que proReader. It's not strictly speaking an e-book reader, although it is. With a large-format 10.7-inch diagonal touchscreen, Que is designed for the business user. It displays Microsoft Office documents, PDF files, magazines and newspapers, maintaining their font/layout look-and-feel. The idea is you can leave that pile of papers in the office while you're traveling. You can also write notes right on a document, which you can then share with co-workers.

Que is available in two flavors, a 4GB model that'll hold 35,000 documents ($650), and an 8GB version with Wi-Fi and an AT&T 3G connection to Barnes & Noble and will store 75,000 documents ($800). Both will be available in mid-April at B&N stores and online, but can be pre-ordered now from the Que site.

Fujitsu FLEPia color e-book reader

Fujitsu's FLEPia color e-reader has been available in Japan since May, but this is the first time we've got our hands on the 260K color-sportin' beauty. Rocking Windows CE, this resistive touchscreen beauty sports WiFi, Bluetooth, and an 8-inch display, and is capable of about 40 hours of continuous use, according to the manufacturer. Still no plans to ship Stateside, as far as we know, but you can pick one up next time you're in Tokyo Town for ¥99,750 (roughly $1000).

Skiff e-reader

The Skiff e-reader, unveiled today at CES, has a special feature that will appeal to newspaper and magazine junkies: a flexible screen. The Skiff is just a quarter of an inch thick, and its E Ink has no glass — in its place is a foil material that's both durable and bendy. It doesn't hurt that the display is huge, measuring 11.5 inches diagonal with 1,200 x 1,600-pixel resolution.

The Skiff gets content via Sprint's 3G wireless network, but it'll also work over Wi-Fi. Skiff is owned by Hearst, so you'll at least be able to get Good Housekeeping when the e-reader becomes available later this year. No price yet.

Spring Design Alex

Spring Design was poised to take the official wraps off of its dual-screen, Android-based ereader this Thursday, but we were able to catch an up close and personal glance at the device today here at CES Unveiled. Highlighted over at the Marvell booth (understandable given the choice of processor), the reader was intensely thin and remarkably snappy. We had some gripes with the speed of the Nook, but every action we took on the Alex was relatively lag free. We even downloaded a book and watched it open up immediately, and the touchscreen response was also satisfactory. Spring Design also opted to expose the microSD card slot on the rear; you simple mash your card into the slot and listen for the click, and mash it once more to eject it. You better hope nothing pushes it by mistake, but hey, at least you're not stuck removing some rear cover just to swap cards.

Copia e-readers

Brace yourself, more e-readers on your way! First up the open platform: DMC Worldwide announces Copia, a social networking / e-book store hybrid that's gearing up hit private beta status this month and public beta in March. With that out of the way, let's talk hardware. Lower on the list of gear is the keyboard-laden Tidal with a 6-inch, 600 x 800 screen and 2GB internal storage. Just above that is the Tidal Touch with a 9-inch, 768 x 1024 screen, earphone / mic jack, 4GB internal upgradeable to microSD. And then we've got Ocean, which comes in 6-inch (600 x 800 pixels) and 9-inch (768 x 1024 pixels) variants and both feature capacitive touchscreens, 802.11b/g WiFi, tilt sensors, 4GB internal storage expandable via microSD, and some form of earphone / mic jack. Both Tidal Touch and Ocean 9 have optional 3G connectivity (that in the process halves internal storage to 2GB and nixing the microSD slot). Prices reportedly range between two and three Benjamins and will hit availability status online in April, followed by retail in June.

Samsung E6 and E10 e-book readers

We're here in the middle of Samsung's CES press conference, and the company's just revealed its first e-book reader. We don't have many details yet -- we know there will be a 10- and 6-inch model, both with touchscreens, that Google is the content partner, and that it's got a soft QWERTY keyboard and wireless but no 3G (a bit of a downer). The two readers -- dubbed the E6 and E101 -- will feature on-screen handwriting capabilities, Bluetooth 2.0, and 802.11b/g WiFi. The 6-incher will clock in at $399, while the bigger version will sell for $699, and both will be available in "early 2010."

Hanvon WISEreader e-book readers

Hanvon (also known as Hanwang) hasn't exactly been churning out one product after the other as of late, but it has made a fairly respectable showing for itself at CES, where it's just introduced five new models in its WISEreader line. Those include the N500, N618 (pictured above), N628, N638, and N800, which all sport Vizplex e-ink displays that range in size form five to eight inches and, in all but one case (the N638), use an electromagnetic panel and pen for note-taking complete with handwriting recognition. Even more surprising, Hanvon says that the whole lot will be available in the US sometime this year -- although they could well show up under a number of different brands, as Hanvon also works as an OEM. 

Entourage Edge

It's nothing different than what we heard back in December, but for those paranoid about delays -- take it easy. Entourage Systems has today officially launched the planet's first "Dualbook," the Edge. Easily one of the most bizarre looking e-readers to hit the market, the dual-screen, WiFi-enabled device utilizes a 9.7-inch e-ink display and a 10.1-inch LCD screen. You'll also get a virtual keyboard, software that allows both screens to work together and access to over 200,000 trade books including e-textbooks from McGraw Hill, John Wiley & Sons and content frequently adopted by professors for course use from Oxford University Press. It'll be ready for hard hitters and book worms next month for $490

MSI dualscreen e-reader

We have been hearing about dualscreen laptops (and readers) for too long now, but it's MSI to be the first to show off a real working unit. And it's everything we have ever dreamed of -- well kind of. Though MSI is calling this dual 10-inch screen device an e-reader, it's really a netbook with two screens since it's got an Atom Z Series processor and Windows 7 Home Premium. But it's how the two screens work together that we can't get out of our minds. Hit the break for some more impressions and to see this crazy thing on video. 

The MSI dualscreen is the closest to what I want: a multi purpose e-reader that can perform double duty as a netbook.