Hong Kong-based Tianjin Jinke Electronics Co., LTD (http://www.jinke.com.cn/compagesql/English/embedpro/prodetail.asp?id=20) will be releasing their Sony Librie (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/search.php?query=Sony+and+Librie&do=process)-like Hanlin V8 e-book reader. This device has a 6 inch 800X600 pixel E-Ink (http://www.e-ink.com) display just like the Librie, 64MB of internal memory, SD/MMC memory card expansion up to 1GB, a 254X96 auxiliary display, and supports TXT, HTML, PDF, DOC, PPT and Excel formats.

No word yet on pricing, English language support, or availability. You can drool over more photos here (http://www.jinke.com.cn/v8/detailinfo.asp). Considering the fact that a Sony Librie converted to English by Dynamism (http://www.dynamism.com/librie/) will currently set you back about $479 USD, an affordably priced V8 could be the first dedicated e-book reader for the masses with the exceptional readability E-Ink provides. While it remains to be seen whether or not dedicated e-book devices will appeal to mass markets or will be limited to education, libraries and e-book enthusiasts, a platform like the V8 will mean more devices that could create the incentive for publishers to offer their content in friendly, open, electronic formats.

David Rothman at TeleRead has more details (http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=3635).

[via TeleRead (http://www.teleread.org)]

YUM! Thanks for the great news! This one also uses SD/MMC cards, unlike the Librie which uses Memory Sticks (*cough*). Let's only hope this reader makes it over to us from the land of the rising sun.

Is it coincience that today E Ink also announced AM-100 EPD, a Linux-based electronic paper development kit?

http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS9257262400.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050927/netu034.html?.v=24

Who knows maybe we soon have more e-book devices with E Ink to choose from ;)

Update: just had a look at those hires "photos"... unfortunately they are 3D renderwork, no real devices yet. But still, with this new device on the horizon plus the development kit I am positive we're going to see more Librie clones (and better) very soon.

First impressions.

The Good: It's a more beautiful design than the Libre, not having the array of keys across the bottom. It looks like it has a jog wheel. The secondary display and the pen provided suggest possible PDA functions, more likely annotations and such. If the specs are to be believed, it weighs half a pound? Native HTML if the specs can be believed.

The Bad: Not clear if the battery is user replacable. It looks like it reads HTML and text files native, but other formats use: "WOLF File Format:convert from txt,htm,DOC ,PDF,Excel,PPT,Images,mp3 ets". As Mr. Saint said...not a finished product yet.

Promising start!

The first time I had the Librie in my hands (on a short visit to Tokyo), I thought I'd never read from a paperbook again. Of course back then I didn't know how bad Sony screwed up with DRM. That was like 1-1/2 years ago.

I am amazed it took other companies so long to pick up the success story of electronic paper. Perhaps Sony had an exclusive contract with E Ink; perhaps the technology was just not ready for mass market. In any case, it's a relief to see something like the Hanlin V8 coming to life. And as Mr Saint pointed out, with the development kit it's not unreasonable to think other players will enter the market soon. Oh these're good times!

Oh these're good times!

I was thinking the same thing. This plus the Osprey E-ink dev kit story (http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS9257262400.html) over at Linux Devices (http://www.linuxdevices.com/) makes me wonder if we aren't about to see the next generation of e-reading devices.

I looked over the developer's kit in some detail, and it is quite comprehensive. Unfortunately, the $3,000 price tag will exclude hobbyists. Too bad; it would have been a fun project.

Good news, big media is finally picking it up:

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=26615

According to Blackmask, the Hanlin will sell for 299US$:
http://www.blackmask.com/cgi-bin/newlinks/news.cgi?a=article&ID=1127978822

Thanks to David from Teleread for finding this one.

Good news, big media is finally picking it up:

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=26615

Engadget (http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000483061406/) has picked it up too.

Brian

Has anyone heard anything else about this machine? Supposedly the V-8 version will go on sale before the end of the year - that doesn't give them much time.

I'm also slightly concerned by the fact that eInk doesn't have any mention of them on their site.

If they don't follow through, I might have to bite the bullet and import a Librie.

How fast do you need an e-book reader? E Ink has just recently made available its developer kit for anyone who's interested in using the company's electronic paper. I expect more Librie-clones to appear soon.

That's a good point. Technically, of course, I don't *need* one, but I've been fiending ever since I saw eInk's technology. I've used a Palm before to read ebooks, but it didn't really fulfill all the potential of a reader.

Old thread ... but thought its interesting that six~seven months after the last post and V8 is still *not* available anywhere except in China. grrrr ... and no Chinese is even bothering to export them out like dynamism and the likes.

@snappy the proble is, that the V2 is made for the chinese market. It has to be translated and ported to be really useful outside china.
This doesn't make too much sense, because the V2 model is supposed to do exactly what the translated V8 would do and more without additional tampering.

But:

TaKir says that the V8 is starting to become available in Russia, so maybe you could ask him for more details.

For what it's worth, I just ordered a Librie online last Friday. Dynamism is the most expensive source, but you can get it for as little as $390 if you're willing to do the firmware flashing yourself and wait a little bit.

Were can you buy the Librie online? Any good shop you know? Need it sent to Germany.

I thought the v8 is the one meant for China market whilst the v2 is targeted for international market? :o

Anyway, I just sent an email to marketing@jinke.com.cn to ask for info on ordering. :)

Hey,

The v8 does have an English mode, and is available on ebay.
sam

http://www.japan-direct.com/ can supply a Librie