Sony reveals prototype 13.3-inch e-ink slate with stylus

[Kumabjorn]

Seems there now is an English version available through Worldox.com

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by coloraday

I do not really see how a 9.7" device could be an alternative to a 13.3" one. They are incommensurable.

The fact that the smaller Onyx runs open Android rather than the horribly hobbled Sony software (pdf only! Gasp!) rather closes the gap and makes them less incommensurababble. Android offers a huge range of apps that allow the user to better utilize hardware.

In any case, as I said, Onyx plans either an 11" or 13.3" device in the same product range. I believe they plan to release a version using the actual Mobius-type screen with a plastic substrate, and also one with a glass substrate. The latter will be heavier, but presumably cheaper.

[petrucci]

Originally Posted by Rizla

The fact that the smaller Onyx runs open Android rather than the horribly hobbled Sony software (pdf only! Gasp!) rather closes the gap and makes them less incommensurababble. Android offers a huge range of apps that allow the user to better utilize hardware.

In any case, as I said, Onyx plans either an 11" or 13.3" device in the same product range. I believe they plan to release a version using the actual Mobius-type screen with a plastic substrate, and also one with a glass substrate. The latter will be heavier, but presumably cheaper.

Sony's device is very different than any other e-ink product that was previously produced. It has twice the screen area of a 9.7 inch reader. It also has a plastic substrate which few or no other devices have.

I personally have been waiting for years for an e-ink device that is large enough to comfortably read music from. The Sony is the first such device to the market.

Other devices may be released in the future. However, such things have been said for years. Sony actually produced the product and it is for sale. Its software may not be ideal, but it is functional. There are scores of other e-ink devices with software that is full of bugs.

[joblack]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Not until the product is released outside Japan, I suspect.

There seem to be an ebay offer.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/171324485738

[coloraday]

Glad the device has surfaced on Amazon and eBay. The price seems to have shot up by ~20% though. :S

[FantoM]

The price just keeps raising... First 98000JPY (=964USD), then 1100USD, now 1350-1700USD.
I will wait until September/October to buy some device (the beginning of another academic year), but Sony is making it very easy for me to choose the competition (for my sadness, though). What I really appreciate on DPT-S1, besides all the great features/advantages of e-paper display, is the fast, hight quality stylus input, the screen size and the weight. That's something I doubt onyx or pocketbook will make at a lower price.

[joblack]

Originally Posted by coloraday

Glad the device has surfaced on Amazon and eBay. The price seems to have shot up by ~20% though. :S

I'm wondering why somebody should need this cloud service anyway?

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by coloraday

Glad the device has surfaced on Amazon and eBay. The price seems to have shot up by ~20% though. :S

Pretty standard for eBay resells when there is short supply. Once the supply is available eBay will drop their prices or quit altogether.

Dale

[MrPLD]

Anyone actually got their hands on one of these yet? I'd love to know if you can use it with an external keyboard and some sort of small word processor

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by petrucci

Its software may not be ideal, but it is functional. There are scores of other e-ink devices with software that is full of bugs.

Yes, it's functional (and I never suggested it's buggy), but so much more could be done with this hardware with better software. It was same with the 6" e-readers. The Sony UI was solid and functional, but sadly lacking in advanced features. PRS+ made the UI what it should have been.

Originally Posted by MrPLD

Anyone actually got their hands on one of these yet? I'd love to know if you can use it with an external keyboard and some sort of small word processor

I don't think so. I doubt the device will be hacked because it is so expensive and there are so few of the devices out there. I think it is targeted at and purchased by a very small market who have very specific needs (i.e. an e-ink pdf reader). Sony could sell a lot more of these devices if they made the software more flexible (i.e. open Android).

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by joblack

There seem to be an ebay offer.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/171324485738

Went for $1376!

And here it is $1430! These things are like gold!

SONY DPT-S1 13.3" Digital Paper Japan Model New

[MrPLD]

Judging by the prices I think we'll be waiting a while (for mortals to buy one) :\

That said, I do believe at some point moderately soon someone will manage to successfully modify the unit.

[xhacker]

Originally Posted by MrPLD

Anyone actually got their hands on one of these yet? I'd love to know if you can use it with an external keyboard and some sort of small word processor

Hi, I am lucky enough to have one of these (the US version). I am very impressed with it. Great for proof reading as the annotation functions are excellent. I have been reading for 7 hours in the sun. Try doing that on an iPad. I was also able write out a few pages of maths without problem too. There are a few things i would add on my wish list for a software update such as adding the option to maintain the page controls, orientation and zoom for individual documents. However this is minor for me as usually only read A4 formatted journal articles anyway so it's fine. I have opened a few books and they display nicely but I would also like to see the option of a 2 page display (currently only 1,4 or 9). The browser is pretty good too, slow as they always seem to be on readers (why is that exactly? I think it must be CPU limited rather than bandwidth limited - it's hard to benchmark the CPU but it can handle complex pdf documents well even with large figures) anyway it works well on mobile sites, I have bookmarked the mobile dropbox site and it logs in automatically no problem allowing pdf download (only) from there quite rapidly. I have not used the network drive sync function yet but will do when i get some time and will probably install dropbox on a network drive so i can get automatic syncing with dropbox. e.g. using this approach might work (https://gist.github.com/pavank/2961448).

So brief summary, the interface is nice, you really can read and write for hours without eye strain. The pdf search is really nice as it's like you have searched and printed with the search highlighting which makes it very easy to find things. The handwriting is great but I don't own a tablet so can't compare, but I'm impressed, it's certainly good enough for me. It feels about the same weight as my iPhone! It really is a pleasure to use (for me) as I have to read and write a lot of technical documents. I'm not sure what else to say, but I'll check back in and do my best to answer any questions.

[MrPLD]

xhacker, many thanks for responding in this thread, finally, someone to talk to who has one

Is there a facility to bind it to a bluetooth keyboard, or external keyboard at all? ie, to turn it in to a portable little word processor?

[xhacker]

Hello, there is no bluetooth on this device. There is a micro USB socket and wifi, but I don't know how you would connect an external keyboard (you would have to hack it but even then). That said the on screen keyboard is pretty good, certainly good enough for my needs, eg annotation etc. I have found myself usually just hand writing on this as it's faster and more natural. Writing a large amount of text with an external keyboard might be nice actually, as the response time is pretty good on this, interesting idea.