$13 eReader?

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by BillSmithBooks

Who do we have to bribe to make this happen?

Malaysian pirates.
The build cost for a $20 reader would have to be under $15 and that isn't doable today.
But if the pirates hijack a shipment of Nook STRs you could get them for $20 each and everybody wins. Even B&N.

[charmian]

Thanks everyone for the explanations. Reading Nate's followup post (http://www.the-digital-reader.com/20...appy-hardware/), it just is not possible to create an e-reader for even $40 today.

The Kindle's screen costs at least $30, and its chips around $30 (at least according to estmates by ifixit). And the current $69 price for the Kindle is in itself subsidized. The price may have gone down somewhat since last year, but at the rate the Kindle is going down in price (around $10 a year?) it'll be a couple of years before it even gets to be under $50.

[Ken Maltby]

Hmm... last I checked the link was still good:

http://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=187954
$57

It runs on 4ea AA batteries, including rechargables. (Reads .pdb ebooks
and handles ADE, B&N, and Secure eReader DRM)

There is a "Mini" jetBook that runs on AAAs but it only supports a couple
of formats (txt and fb2)

Luck;
Ken

[JAcheson]

Originally Posted by adbosch

I like the idea of aaa batteries keeping it charged for an extremely long time and allowing users to change them when and where required. I would gladly accept slight increase in thickness and weight for that.

AAA batteries make me think of my dear old Palm Pilots from back in the day.

A full fledged PDA with an E-Ink screen is an attractive thought. Particularly one with a couple of solar cells to keep it charged up.

I'd rather have a Nook Simple Touch than this, though.

[msundman]

Originally Posted by pillacd

Evidently Txtr is preparing a 10 Euro/$13 ereader

Please don't call it a $13 reader when it requires a subscription which costs a lot. Otherwise I have a fancy zenbook to sell you for $2. Oh, and there's my 2-year subscription costing you $120/mo, but hey, it's worth it because you pay only $2 for the computer (which would cost over $1000 in the store)!

[Nexutix]

Originally Posted by adbosch

I like the idea of aaa batteries keeping it charged for an extremely long time and allowing users to change them when and where required. I would gladly accept slight increase in thickness and weight for that.

Sure! Would do! An attachable external light using same AAA power will also do great! I have rechargable AAAs.

[Nexutix]

Originally Posted by BillSmithBooks

This could be a HUGE development for ebooks if done properly.

Seems like they blew it with 5-book limit and proprietary format. Or it would have sold like cakes even with non-subsidized price. Maybe record more than iPhone.

[Soldim]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

I wouldn't pay 10 cents for it if I actually had to use it, but it might work as a cheap gift item for businesses to their customers.

I'd buy it. At this price, I am pretty sure it will be rooted fast.

I'd probably mainly use if for lending out ebooks to friend and colleagues. I wouldn't doubt one or two or three of them would get one as well. I am pretty sure that's the future of ebooks -- no more whining about not being able to lend and borrow books, the cheap ereaders just go with them.

[beachwanderer]

Originally Posted by JAcheson

AAA batteries make me think of my dear old Palm Pilots from back in the day.

A full fledged PDA with an E-Ink screen is an attractive thought. Particularly one with a couple of solar cells to keep it charged up.

Indeed. Didn't even have to go along those lines here:

Concept: Flexible E-Ink Device that Can Be Used as PDA, Watch, Phone etc.

end

[Teknikal]

I could swear I read somewhere yesterday that said this had only 4mb of storage and for the price that seems to make a certain degree of sense, net seems full of the 4gb specs now though but it could have started with someones mistype I'm not convinced it's right.

I actually would buy a few of these for family members if it wasn't for the Facebook account, I do think it's a good idea though and I can imagine something made cheaply like this with just basics and an SD slot would probably really take off.

[Sweetpea]

Love the idea (cheap, simply, small, handy e-reader), don't care for the looks (too wide a frame) and abhor the facebook connection.

But I'd have to be able to use my PC to transfer books over, and I'd have to be sure my ebooks are shown as I want them to.

[Pax]

For this price I would buy it as a secondary reading decive.

[rogue_librarian]

Originally Posted by Teknikal

I could swear I read somewhere yesterday that said this had only 4mb of storage and for the price that seems to make a certain degree of sense, net seems full of the 4gb specs now though but it could have started with someones mistype I'm not convinced it's right.

It's 4GB alright. Straight from the horse's mouth:

Speicher: 4GB; bis zu fünf vorgerenderte Bücher

translates to:

Memory: 4 GB; up to five pre-rendered books

[Teknikal]

Originally Posted by rogue_librarian

It's 4GB alright. Straight from the horse's mouth:

Speicher: 4GB; bis zu fünf vorgerenderte Bücher

translates to:

Memory: 4 GB; up to five pre-rendered books

Site does suggest you are right as do all the others i've found today but I have read something else that explains the pricing a bit more, apparently it's a subsidized price by carriers probably only when you buy a phone and contract along with it.

Also read the IOS/Android App has to do all the book rendering and it can only hold 5 books at a time despite the 4gb which doesn't make a lot of sense.

[David Munch]

I wonder how taxing it is for the phone to convert all books to a new format..?