The Pepper Pad (http://www.pepper.com/products/pepper_pad.html) that was due for delivery (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2250) in January 2005 has finally made its appearance (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?path=ASIN/B0009AFX0S&link_code=as2&camp=1789&tag=mobileread-20&creative=9325) and will hit the market on June 28, 2005. Similar to the Archos AV400 video player, the Pepper Pad features a 20GB harddrive and is supporting various multimedia file formats including MP3, JPG, PNG, GIF, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, AVI, and DivX. The inside looks similar to a Dell Axim X50v: It is powered by a Intel XScale 624 MHz CPU and features the critically acclaimed Intel 2700G multimedia accelerator (which enables smooth video playback without stressing the CPU too much). Other spec details:

8.4" 800x600 SVGA TFT LCD
256MB SDRAM, 16MB Intel StrataFlash ROM
3.6Ah battery
WiFi (802.11b WEP, WPA-Personal), Bluetooth, and dual IR
USB 1.1 Client/Host
SD/MMC card
20-bit stereo audio codec, stereo speakers and headphone jack, built-in microphone and jack, stereo line out jack
powered by Linux MontaVista CEE 3.1

Perhaps a bit overpowered if your primary plan is to use this $799.99 gadget as a dedicated e-book reader.

[via Mobilemag (http://www.mobilemag.com/content/100/341/C4041/)]