Rollup e-book readers to ship summer 2006

Bob Russell · 03-07-2006, 01:02 PM

In a surprise bit of news out of PC Magazine, the rollup displays we have mentioned previously are apparently ready to roll out right on schedule.

According to the article, "The Readius appears to have the slickest design of any e-book reader yet—straight out of Minority Report. As shown, the flexible display folds up like a scroll; when you're not reading, it's as pocket-friendly as a pack of gum.

Sony will have the jump on Philips, though, as the two gadgets square off. Third-party designs of the Readius won't ship until the summer. If these two products don't herald the age of e-books, nothing will."

Could this new era in e-books really finally be here?

Related story: Rollable color OLED prototype display (where Brian first made the Minority Report connection!)

Via TeleRead. (Wonderful source of e-book news!)

doctorow · 03-07-2006, 01:38 PM

I cannot believe it. There we are, waiting for like what - three years? - for a decent e-book reader to come out, and now have companies who promise us all the goodies an e-book lover could dream of to come out this year? What the heck, I am not complaining, but what took them so long!!

Bob Russell · 03-07-2006, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doctorow

I cannot believe it. There we are, waiting for like what - three years? - for a decent e-book reader to come out, and now have companies who promise us all the goodies an e-book lover could dream of to come out this year? What the heck, I am not complaining, but what took them so long!!

... but even so, I wouldn't count my chickens until they hatch!

doctorow · 03-07-2006, 02:03 PM

Now, don't sound so optimistic, Bob!

rmeister0 · 03-07-2006, 04:33 PM

All the great display technology won't be worth a hill of beans without content to view on them. It's like having a 1080p high-def television with a high-def DVD player that down-converts the video to 480p, just because you don't have an hdmi connector.

The hardware looks great for Sony, but there's plenty of opportunity for them to bungle the software. The Philips looks interesting, but it's the same picture we saw months ago.

luag · 03-07-2006, 11:00 PM

to ship summer 2006?

i cant wait! this looks much better than Reader!

any specs available?

btw, what about screen protection? librie/reader has that leather cover.
but this one will have a small part exposed.
if i were to put this in my pocket....

edit: they do have a cover

but QVGA? 5"?
assuming that the screen dimension is 3"x4"
res would be only 80 ppi.

luag · 03-07-2006, 11:37 PM

hehe
this is interesting

and according to wall street journal, 7" display is under development.
this one certainly sounds better.

Lorphos · 03-08-2006, 03:04 AM

What display technology is that supposed to be? The new vapor kind?

Snappy! · 03-10-2006, 03:04 PM

No, its the "Too-Good-To-Be-True-And-Will-Cost-A-Bomb-Because-Of-marketing-sales-greed" kinda of display technology.

We've seen too many good technologies fail in products because the companies got greedy and price them wrongly. Please let this not be one of those.

Alexander Turcic · 03-10-2006, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lorphos

What display technology is that supposed to be? The new vapor kind?

I agree, it looks almost "too good to be true". But Polymer Vision has already demonstrated prototypes of this display, so I know it must exist.

bowerbird · 09-19-2006, 09:02 PM

sometimes it's good to come back and check on these things.

-bowerbird

03-07-2006, 01:02 PM	#1
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	Rollup e-book readers to ship summer 2006 In a surprise bit of news out of PC Magazine, the rollup displays we have mentioned previously are apparently ready to roll out right on schedule. According to the article, "The Readius appears to have the slickest design of any e-book reader yet—straight out of Minority Report. As shown, the flexible display folds up like a scroll; when you're not reading, it's as pocket-friendly as a pack of gum. Sony will have the jump on Philips, though, as the two gadgets square off. Third-party designs of the Readius won't ship until the summer. If these two products don't herald the age of e-books, nothing will." Could this new era in e-books really finally be here? Related story: Rollable color OLED prototype display (where Brian first made the Minority Report connection!) Via TeleRead. (Wonderful source of e-book news!)

03-07-2006, 11:00 PM	#6
luag Zealot Posts: 144 Karma: 30 Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Jakarta, Indonesia Device: Onyx Boox 60	to ship summer 2006? i cant wait! this looks much better than Reader! any specs available? btw, what about screen protection? librie/reader has that leather cover. but this one will have a small part exposed. if i were to put this in my pocket.... edit: they do have a cover but QVGA? 5"? assuming that the screen dimension is 3"x4" res would be only 80 ppi. Last edited by luag; 03-07-2006 at 11:19 PM.

03-07-2006, 11:37 PM	#7
luag Zealot Posts: 144 Karma: 30 Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Jakarta, Indonesia Device: Onyx Boox 60	hehe this is interesting and according to wall street journal, 7" display is under development. this one certainly sounds better. Last edited by luag; 03-07-2006 at 11:48 PM.

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03-07-2006, 01:38 PM	#2
doctorow Guru Posts: 914 Karma: 3410461 Join Date: May 2004 Device: Kindle Touch	I cannot believe it. There we are, waiting for like what - three years? - for a decent e-book reader to come out, and now have companies who promise us all the goodies an e-book lover could dream of to come out this year? What the heck, I am not complaining, but what took them so long!!

03-07-2006, 02:03 PM	#4
doctorow Guru Posts: 914 Karma: 3410461 Join Date: May 2004 Device: Kindle Touch	Now, don't sound so optimistic, Bob!

03-07-2006, 04:33 PM	#5
rmeister0 Addict Posts: 270 Karma: 298 Join Date: Mar 2005	All the great display technology won't be worth a hill of beans without content to view on them. It's like having a 1080p high-def television with a high-def DVD player that down-converts the video to 480p, just because you don't have an hdmi connector. The hardware looks great for Sony, but there's plenty of opportunity for them to bungle the software. The Philips looks interesting, but it's the same picture we saw months ago.

03-08-2006, 03:04 AM	#8
Lorphos Librie lab rat Posts: 32 Karma: 2760 Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Dortmund, Germany Device: Tolino Vision 4 HD	What display technology is that supposed to be? The new vapor kind?

03-10-2006, 03:04 PM	#9
Snappy! Addict Posts: 260 Karma: 4256 Join Date: Feb 2006 Device: SHARP Zaurus C1000	No, its the "Too-Good-To-Be-True-And-Will-Cost-A-Bomb-Because-Of-marketing-sales-greed" kinda of display technology. We've seen too many good technologies fail in products because the companies got greedy and price them wrongly. Please let this not be one of those.

09-19-2006, 09:02 PM	#11
bowerbird Banned Posts: 269 Karma: -273 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: los angeles	sometimes it's good to come back and check on these things. -bowerbird

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