Specs of Bookeen Cybook E-Ink reader

[Alexander Turcic]

Because we all are just dying for Bookeen to hurry up and deliver us a full-fledged E-Ink based e-reader, we can't help but mention a couple of specs that were leaked to us through MobileReader Hadrien. The new Cybook by Bookeen will have pretty much the same hardware specs like eREAD's STAReBOOK reader, and just like the STAReBOOK, it'll be conveniently light-weight (the STAReBOOk weighs only 176g vs. the Sony Reader with 250g).

If Bookeen's engineers did their job right, they'll surprise us with a very capable software. Current rumor has it that the Cybook will support Open eBook, PDF, HTML, RTF, at least one format with DRM (perhaps most likely Mobipocket (see Nat's reply)), and MP3. Other formats may also be possible.

The rumored launch is summer 2007 at a price of around 350 Euro and US$350 in Europe and the US, respectively.

We'll try everything to squeeze out some more information from Bookeen for you.

Edit: Some additional info found via this French blog:

• Weight: 183g
• Dimension: 118 x 188 x 8,5 mm
• Screen: (90mm by 120mm) 6-inch SVGA 800x600 4 grey scales, 166.7 ppi
• Battery: 8.000 page turns

Related: Picture of New Bookeen Cybook

[NatCh]

I expect it will support Mobi -- that's the format they sell in their store, so it would make sense....

[Alexander Turcic]

Originally Posted by NatCh

I expect it will support Mobi -- that's the format they sell in their store, so it would make sense....

I didn't think about this. Thanks for the hint, Nat!

[Hadrien]

And Mobipocket is also a french company ;-)

[TadW]

Originally Posted by Hadrien

And Mobipocket is also a french company ;-)

Well, yeah, until they got bought by Amazon, which makes them legally a US company

[leandroide]

Originally Posted by Alexander Turcic

The rumored launch is summer 2007 at a price of around 350 Euro and US$350 in Europe and the US, respectively.

I hope this price is just that: a rumor. 350 dolars are 263 euros

L.

[Hadrien]

Originally Posted by leandroide

I hope this price is just that: a rumor. 350 dolars are 263 euros

L.

Taxes are quite different in the US and the EU. I've never seen a single device priced the same than in the US.

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by Alexander Turcic

I didn't think about this. Thanks for the hint, Nat!

Just putting 2 and 2 together, is all -- even I can manage that level of arithmatic (anything more complicated I need a calculator ... or possibly an Excel spreadsheet ....).

[Alexander Turcic]

Originally Posted by NatCh

Just putting 2 and 2 together, is all -- even I can manage that level of arithmatic (anything more complicated I need a calculator ... or possibly an Excel spreadsheet ....).

Btw, I added some additional specs information the first post.

[HarryT]

This sounds very good. I had (and still have) one of the original Bookeen Cybook machines. Their approach was to give you lots of different eBook readers on the machine, and let you choose which one you wished to use. The original Cybook came with "BooReader" (no, I'd never heard of it either!), MobiPocket, uBook (my all-time favourite bookreader), and an excellent PDF viewer, all on a machine running Windows CE. The only real down-side was poor battery life - if you turned the screen brightness down to the bare minimum and read books from internal memory, rather than the CF card, you could scrape about 4h reading time out of the machine.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Alexander Turcic

[*]Screen: (90mm by 120mm) 6-inch SVGA 800x600 4 grey scales, 166.7 ppi

Sounds as if they're using exactly the same screen as the Sony Reader!

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Sounds as if they're using exactly the same screen as the Sony Reader!

They almost certainly are -- PVI and iRex are still the only ones licensed to make the stuff (as far as I know), so they'd have to get them from one of those sources, and iRex doesn't seem to be sharing theirs.

There is the new stuff that e-Ink (the company) announced recently, but I wouldn't expect that to be set up for volume production for some months yet.

[Hadrien]

Originally Posted by NatCh

They almost certainly are -- PVI and iRex are still the only ones licensed to make the stuff (as far as I know), so they'd have to get them from one of those sources, and iRex doesn't seem to be sharing theirs.

There is the new stuff that e-Ink (the company) announced recently, but I wouldn't expect that to be set up for volume production for some months yet.

http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10780

The pres release for Vizplex said that the first units would be ready this summer.

According to the press release, PrimeView International will manufacture the TFT modules based on Vizplex with the first displays to come out this summer. Diagonal sizes will include 1.9", 5", 6", 8" and 9.7"

[NatCh]

Yeah, Hadrien, I just saw that on the thread about the NUUT reader too. (I'm afraid I didn't put much store in the original release, seeing as how these things always seem to be delayed so)

So, I'm just sitting down now to eat my words with a nice side of crow, and a bit of Humble Pie for desert.

[cervezas]

A question for the MobileRead eInk experts: In your opinion are any of the current crop of eReaders able to capture digital ink from a stylus sufficiently well that they are useful for taking hand-written notes? Last I heard, slow screen refresh rates created enough delay that the handwriting/drawing experience wasn't great.