Any new info about the ASUS DR-900/DR-950? - Page 3

AdamV · 09-27-2010, 06:26 AM

I must admit I slowly become a bit confused about the coming(?) device from Asus. Last year it was anounced to be DR 950 model, early this year they showed DR 900 and the fuzz was about 900 only from then on with a slight rumour that it's a new code name for it. Now Qt says DR 950 running their application and be out Q4 2010.

So is there going be a single model or maybe two of them? The latter would make more sens from the pricing point of view - assuming DR 950 being a better, reacher in apps and stuff model customer could choose between DR 900 and 950. If this is not the case and we will end up facing only DR 950 hitting market, my dears are that Asus price for the device was not going to be very competitive to Kindle 3 so they added some extra features to justify the price. Which from my very personal view and expectations is not the best news.

Anyway, time will tell.

jsambrook · 10-01-2010, 05:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scheichxodox

Not really going to happen, isn't it?

Why do you say that?

I email them again on 23/9/10 with:

Quote:

Hi,

A couple more questions now that I've seen a friend's new Kindle.

Are you still going to be shipping an e-ink style reader (I'm not
interested in the LCD Note given its recharge time)?

Is there a date yet?

How can I get my hands on one?

Thanks for your help.

and got this response:

Quote:

Dear Jonathan

Yes, we'll launch our eee-reader with e-ink technology.

The launch date is in Q4, but not confirmed yet.

Kindest Regards,

ASUSTeK UK

So whilst they could still pull the release, it sounds as though they are still planning on releasing at least the e-ink reader in the next few months.

scheichxodox · 10-01-2010, 05:58 AM

I said that I doubt that there still will be news about the DR-900 in the PCWorld in September. Now we have October and there are still no news, not in PCWorld, not anywhere. So I was right.

Flipster · 10-09-2010, 11:08 AM

I've been keeping an eye on PCWorlds web site for any signs of the allusive ASUS DR9xx to no avail..obviously..What I have noticed, however, is they HAD lots of Sony's, Cooler and one other device ...Elonex? I think?...whatever, it had a small screen so wouldn't fit my needs anyway so I promptly forgot about it.
Having checked again today I was surprised by the LACK of ebook readers, ONE Cooler model, and that had a discount of £50, have they been clearing the shelves ready for a big influx of new readers? Preferably for me, one or two with the larger displays? ...Yeah! I know! I live in hope!

Or are they just done with the whole ereader scene?

Heaven forbid!

Any views?

jsambrook · 10-15-2010, 07:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scheichxodox

I said that I doubt that there still will be news about the DR-900 in the PCWorld in September. Now we have October and there are still no news, not in PCWorld, not anywhere. So I was right.

Yeah, sorry. My misreading of what you'd actually written.

scheichxodox · 10-22-2010, 03:06 AM

Via Nate's Blog here are the news. Seems it won't be out before November 29.

I've also found four new videos which belong to the TZ-900:
One
Two
Three
Four

scheichxodox · 10-22-2010, 03:17 AM

Here is also the translated version of a board entry with some new photos.

ejml · 10-22-2010, 03:24 AM

Hello Folks,

I send to mail at Asus feedbak, this is the response from Asus:

Dear Customer,

Thanks by contact with Asus Customer Care Department.

The e-reader DR900/950 must be avalaibles at the end of november.

It's good news, really?

¿Asus tiene pensado comercializar algún tipo de ereader antes de finalizar el año?.
Llevo esperando mucho tiempo haciendo caso de las noticias, pero el ereader de
asus nunca llega, quisiera saber si va a ser posible un ereader de asus antes de fin
de año, para seguir esperando o decidirme por otro

AdamV · 10-22-2010, 07:06 AM

It is good and bad news I guess...

First they say it's going to be end of November but in Taiwan! No word when the reader comes to US and EU.

Second thing is the pricing. $390?!?!? From the rumours before it was supposed to be less than $300 which is 30% different now... With the same news they also state that DR 900 is using SiPix display "which is apparently cheaper to buy" (for Asustek). If it is so and Asus will price its reader equally to Kindle DX, that is not a very competitve approach...

Anyway, over 6 months of waiting can get you tired enough. If then the reader is going to be in that price, I am going to get really really annoyed...

Logseman · 10-22-2010, 07:19 AM

SiPix screens were supposed to be worse than Vizplex regarding contrast, but useful for cheap readers. How are you going to sell a big SiPix screen if you put it in the same price range. Do you think people won't compare the screen quality primarily?

If they can't make the price lower, I'd say they won't sell outside their captive markets. It just makes no sense.

Dulin's Books · 10-22-2010, 11:23 AM

finally the actually sort of launch this reader. if they can get the US price down to the $325 of the TZ version then they could sell a bunch i think. especially since they have existing distribution brick and mortar channels.

What actually is that slot in the above picture? i read it as being a slot for a sort of credit card sized id card that would store some personal preferences. is that correct?

hch568 · 10-25-2010, 01:39 AM

I believe that slot is for a specific charity group (their targeted customers in Taiwan) to retrieve/read/view the stored information. It might be able to serve as a debit card reader in the US market.

rkomar · 10-25-2010, 02:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Logseman

SiPix screens were supposed to be worse than Vizplex regarding contrast, but useful for cheap readers. How are you going to sell a big SiPix screen if you put it in the same price range. Do you think people won't compare the screen quality primarily?

If they can't make the price lower, I'd say they won't sell outside their captive markets. It just makes no sense.

I think that SiPix screens refresh much more quickly than E-Ink. So, they could flip pages faster, be useful for viewing websites with Flash or other animations, show handwritten notes in near real-time,... It could be a more general gadget than ones based on E-Ink, that makes a better E-Reader than ones with back-lit screens.

patpat · 10-27-2010, 05:45 AM

The size is perfect but compared to the new sony prs-650 the contrast and speed don't look very good on this Asus...

AdamV · 11-05-2010, 10:07 AM

here's the first hands-on review for DR-900... it's in spanish but seems like google's translator does a pretty good job here... you can find some nice pics there as well as video and more information than revealed by all other sources so far - so enjoy!

http://translate.google.com/translat...n&hl=&ie=UTF-8

10-22-2010, 03:06 AM	#36
scheichxodox Zealot Posts: 131 Karma: 532654 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Kindle 3 WiFi	Via Nate's Blog here are the news. Seems it won't be out before November 29. I've also found four new videos which belong to the TZ-900: One Two Three Four Last edited by scheichxodox; 10-22-2010 at 03:08 AM.

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09-27-2010, 06:26 AM	#31
AdamV Censored Posts: 105 Karma: 20724 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Warsaw, Poland Device: Kobo Aura HD (brown), Asus DR 900	I must admit I slowly become a bit confused about the coming(?) device from Asus. Last year it was anounced to be DR 950 model, early this year they showed DR 900 and the fuzz was about 900 only from then on with a slight rumour that it's a new code name for it. Now Qt says DR 950 running their application and be out Q4 2010. So is there going be a single model or maybe two of them? The latter would make more sens from the pricing point of view - assuming DR 950 being a better, reacher in apps and stuff model customer could choose between DR 900 and 950. If this is not the case and we will end up facing only DR 950 hitting market, my dears are that Asus price for the device was not going to be very competitive to Kindle 3 so they added some extra features to justify the price. Which from my very personal view and expectations is not the best news. Anyway, time will tell.

10-01-2010, 05:58 AM	#33
scheichxodox Zealot Posts: 131 Karma: 532654 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Kindle 3 WiFi	I said that I doubt that there still will be news about the DR-900 in the PCWorld in September. Now we have October and there are still no news, not in PCWorld, not anywhere. So I was right.

10-09-2010, 11:08 AM	#34
Flipster Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Sony PRS-650	I've been keeping an eye on PCWorlds web site for any signs of the allusive ASUS DR9xx to no avail..obviously..What I have noticed, however, is they HAD lots of Sony's, Cooler and one other device ...Elonex? I think?...whatever, it had a small screen so wouldn't fit my needs anyway so I promptly forgot about it. Having checked again today I was surprised by the LACK of ebook readers, ONE Cooler model, and that had a discount of £50, have they been clearing the shelves ready for a big influx of new readers? Preferably for me, one or two with the larger displays? ...Yeah! I know! I live in hope! Or are they just done with the whole ereader scene? Heaven forbid! Any views?

10-22-2010, 03:17 AM	#37
scheichxodox Zealot Posts: 131 Karma: 532654 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Kindle 3 WiFi	Here is also the translated version of a board entry with some new photos.

10-22-2010, 03:24 AM	#38
ejml Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Asus DR-950	Hello Folks, I send to mail at Asus feedbak, this is the response from Asus: Dear Customer, Thanks by contact with Asus Customer Care Department. The e-reader DR900/950 must be avalaibles at the end of november. It's good news, really? ¿Asus tiene pensado comercializar algún tipo de ereader antes de finalizar el año?. Llevo esperando mucho tiempo haciendo caso de las noticias, pero el ereader de asus nunca llega, quisiera saber si va a ser posible un ereader de asus antes de fin de año, para seguir esperando o decidirme por otro

10-22-2010, 07:06 AM	#39
AdamV Censored Posts: 105 Karma: 20724 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Warsaw, Poland Device: Kobo Aura HD (brown), Asus DR 900	It is good and bad news I guess... First they say it's going to be end of November but in Taiwan! No word when the reader comes to US and EU. Second thing is the pricing. $390?!?!? From the rumours before it was supposed to be less than $300 which is 30% different now... With the same news they also state that DR 900 is using SiPix display "which is apparently cheaper to buy" (for Asustek). If it is so and Asus will price its reader equally to Kindle DX, that is not a very competitve approach... Anyway, over 6 months of waiting can get you tired enough. If then the reader is going to be in that price, I am going to get really really annoyed...

10-22-2010, 07:19 AM	#40
Logseman Orisa Posts: 1,999 Karma: 1035571 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Ireland Device: Onyx Poke 5	SiPix screens were supposed to be worse than Vizplex regarding contrast, but useful for cheap readers. How are you going to sell a big SiPix screen if you put it in the same price range. Do you think people won't compare the screen quality primarily? If they can't make the price lower, I'd say they won't sell outside their captive markets. It just makes no sense.

10-22-2010, 11:23 AM	#41
Dulin's Books Wizard Posts: 2,806 Karma: 13500000 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Portland, OR Device: Boox PB360 etc etc etc	finally the actually sort of launch this reader. if they can get the US price down to the $325 of the TZ version then they could sell a bunch i think. especially since they have existing distribution brick and mortar channels. What actually is that slot in the above picture? i read it as being a slot for a sort of credit card sized id card that would store some personal preferences. is that correct?

10-25-2010, 01:39 AM	#42
hch568 Enthusiast Posts: 34 Karma: 14 Join Date: May 2010 Device: IPad2, EZRead Touch, Garmin-Asus M10	I believe that slot is for a specific charity group (their targeted customers in Taiwan) to retrieve/read/view the stored information. It might be able to serve as a debit card reader in the US market.

10-27-2010, 05:45 AM	#44
patpat Member Posts: 15 Karma: 12 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: PRS-600	The size is perfect but compared to the new sony prs-650 the contrast and speed don't look very good on this Asus...

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11-05-2010, 10:07 AM	#45
AdamV Censored Posts: 105 Karma: 20724 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Warsaw, Poland Device: Kobo Aura HD (brown), Asus DR 900	here's the first hands-on review for DR-900... it's in spanish but seems like google's translator does a pretty good job here... you can find some nice pics there as well as video and more information than revealed by all other sources so far - so enjoy! http://translate.google.com/translat...n&hl=&ie=UTF-8