$13 eReader?

pillacd · 10-09-2012, 06:36 PM

Evidently Txtr is preparing a 10 Euro/$13 ereader:

Txtr Beagle eReader

Obviously there are limitations: Bluetooth, not WiFi, 5" screen, meant to be paired with a phone. Still...

fjtorres · 10-09-2012, 06:40 PM

The comments are making it seem even dicier.
It can only be fed via a proprietary app and it appears the app pre-renders the transfered books to a proprietary format, with a 5 book limit.

kyteflyer · 10-09-2012, 06:47 PM

YUCK! Sounds awful.

Dazrin · 10-09-2012, 06:57 PM

That article and comments are much less encouraging than Engadget's which made it seem fairly nice, if very bare boned.

Elfwreck · 10-09-2012, 07:05 PM

One comment says the app requires a Facebook login. So... not enough to require special software to transfer books; you need to login with a third-party account, as well.

Wonder if that's how they're making it so cheap--by selling the user data to sponsors.

(Too bad, though. I'd cope with special transfer software if it worked by USB from a computer, and actually stored its own ebooks.)

Dulin's Books · 10-09-2012, 07:19 PM

Nice one Txtr. Putting that 3m money to good use.

The 5 inch displays have a higher ppi than the 6 inch so text should be a little crisper and if it can be read in landscape you can keep the words per page count up to keep from increasing the page turns by much.

Nice that someone finally took Holly Gates' Blue Chute design and the Osprey concept from 2003 and really built a reader that is a bluetooth phone accessory

http://www.positron.org/projects/bluechute/

http://www.pcmag.com/image_popup/0,1...d=10878,00.asp

of course the real question will be if they can get some presence in the carriers' store fronts to offer them at that price

fjtorres · 10-09-2012, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dulin's Books

of course the real question will be if they can get some presence in the carriers' store fronts to offer them at that price

I'm thinking the bigger question is whether the carriers will lock the transfer/render app to their ebookstores.
Knowing how euro telcos operate, I wouldn't count on being able to sideload ebooks from other sources.

Canuck_in_Japan · 10-09-2012, 10:16 PM

Yikes, Facebook login is nice as an option but no way would I buy a reader that requires it. A reader that demands to have access to my Facebook information is exactly the kind of reader that I don't want to give it to.

kevinp · 10-09-2012, 10:23 PM

To me it seems like one of those LCD picture frames, but even more limited. And the price is subsidized. I wonder what it really costs. I'd rather read books on my phone than mess with this thing. I certainly wouldn't pay anything for it.

HansTWN · 10-09-2012, 10:29 PM

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.

djulian · 10-09-2012, 10:36 PM

Tying it to a smartphone is a terrible idea. At least, if their goal is to sell one to me.

Dulin's Books · 10-09-2012, 11:30 PM

you can tranfer from pc as well

Quote:

Update: A txtr rep has shown up in the comments and he says that the txtr iOS app will also soon get support for transferring ebooks to the Beagle – PCs too.

where is the facebook requirement?

tomsem · 10-10-2012, 12:03 AM

4GB. That can't be right. That would be good for many more than 5 books, even rendered as 800x600 image files. And over bluetooth it would take forever to fill up.

Still, for the price and the novelty, I'd get one.

adbosch · 10-10-2012, 01:30 AM

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.

petermillard · 10-10-2012, 01:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dulin's Books

you can tranfer from pc as well

where is the facebook requirement?

I was wondering that too; the only Facebook reference I can see is in one of the comments. I'm a little surprised at the hostility shown towards this; if we cast our minds back a few years all our eink readers had to be connected to a PC via USB to transfer our books - this just swaps USB for Bluetooth and the PC for a smartphone - or presumably, anything that'll run the Android (and soon iOS) Textr app that has Bluetooth.

I'm sure some people will moan about the inability to alter the fonts/size on the fly, but this is an eink reader to €10! TBH, I'm wondering why they bother charging at all - do they need the €10 that badly?? Could they not subsidise it that last little bit to make it free?

Still, for €10 I'm in; why not?

10-09-2012, 06:36 PM	#1
pillacd Member Posts: 10 Karma: 480132 Join Date: May 2011 Location: Mansfield, TX Device: Kindle DX (Graphite), Nook STR	$13 eReader? Evidently Txtr is preparing a 10 Euro/$13 ereader: Txtr Beagle eReader Obviously there are limitations: Bluetooth, not WiFi, 5" screen, meant to be paired with a phone. Still...

10-09-2012, 06:47 PM	#3
kyteflyer Guru Posts: 737 Karma: 1783940 Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Newcastle, Australia Device: iPhone, iPad3, PRS-650, Kobo Glo	YUCK! Sounds awful. __________________ Dropbox is brilliant. Your stuff, when and where you want it, and if you need more space than Dropbox provides, Sugarsync will do it for you: start with 5GB and earn up to 32GB... all FREE.

10-09-2012, 06:57 PM	#4
Dazrin Addict Posts: 334 Karma: 1575128 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: PDX Device: K3 3G	That article and comments are much less encouraging than Engadget's which made it seem fairly nice, if very bare boned. __________________ My Reading Goals: 2013, 2012, 2011

10-09-2012, 07:05 PM	#5
Elfwreck Wizard Posts: 4,988 Karma: 21320468 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: SF Bay Area, California, USA Device: Clié; PRS-505; EZR Pocket Pro	One comment says the app requires a Facebook login. So... not enough to require special software to transfer books; you need to login with a third-party account, as well. Wonder if that's how they're making it so cheap--by selling the user data to sponsors. (Too bad, though. I'd cope with special transfer software if it worked by USB from a computer, and actually stored its own ebooks.) __________________ When I'm not here, I'm somewhere else. Mind the rainbows.

10-09-2012, 07:19 PM	#6
Dulin's Books Wizard Posts: 2,676 Karma: 12421516 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Portland, OR Device: Boox PB360 etc etc etc	Nice one Txtr. Putting that 3m money to good use. The 5 inch displays have a higher ppi than the 6 inch so text should be a little crisper and if it can be read in landscape you can keep the words per page count up to keep from increasing the page turns by much. Nice that someone finally took Holly Gates' Blue Chute design and the Osprey concept from 2003 and really built a reader that is a bluetooth phone accessory http://www.positron.org/projects/bluechute/ http://www.pcmag.com/image_popup/0,1...d=10878,00.asp of course the real question will be if they can get some presence in the carriers' store fronts to offer them at that price __________________ www.dulinsbooks.com Formerly an Authorized retailer of Onyx and PocketBook ebook readers Currently employed at Microsoft as a Product Advisor

10-09-2012, 06:40 PM	#2
fjtorres Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,327 Karma: 33849999 Join Date: May 2009 Location: 26 kly from Sgr A* Device: PRS-T1, KT, PB701/IQ, K2, PB360, BeBook One, Axim51v, TC1000	The comments are making it seem even dicier. It can only be fed via a proprietary app and it appears the app pre-renders the transfered books to a proprietary format, with a 5 book limit.

10-09-2012, 10:16 PM	#8
Canuck_in_Japan Fanatic Posts: 563 Karma: 4633203 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Tokyo, Japan Device: iTouch, Jetbook, PRS 650	Yikes, Facebook login is nice as an option but no way would I buy a reader that requires it. A reader that demands to have access to my Facebook information is exactly the kind of reader that I don't want to give it to. __________________

10-09-2012, 10:23 PM	#9
kevinp Evangelist Posts: 415 Karma: 3394968 Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Orlando Device: Nook HD+; Nook Tablet; Kindle 3; Kindle for Android on HTC EVO	To me it seems like one of those LCD picture frames, but even more limited. And the price is subsidized. I wonder what it really costs. I'd rather read books on my phone than mess with this thing. I certainly wouldn't pay anything for it.

10-09-2012, 10:29 PM	#10
HansTWN Wizard Posts: 4,229 Karma: 261032451 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Taiwan Device: HP Touchpad, Surface RT, DR800SG, Lumia 920, Kindle DXG, Kobo Aura HD	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. Last edited by HansTWN; 10-09-2012 at 10:41 PM.

10-09-2012, 10:36 PM	#11
djulian Addict Posts: 380 Karma: 1718154 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: USA Device: Kindle Paperwhite	Tying it to a smartphone is a terrible idea. At least, if their goal is to sell one to me. __________________ :: d\|julian :: Bull & Cross eBooks \| Free, nicely formatted ebooks

10-10-2012, 12:03 AM	#13
tomsem Wizard Posts: 2,036 Karma: 1704774 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: USA Device: iPod Touch, Nook STR, Xoom, Kindle Touch, PW & Fire, Sony PRS-T1, iPad	4GB. That can't be right. That would be good for many more than 5 books, even rendered as 800x600 image files. And over bluetooth it would take forever to fill up. Still, for the price and the novelty, I'd get one. Last edited by tomsem; 10-10-2012 at 12:07 AM.

10-10-2012, 01:30 AM	#14
adbosch Addict Posts: 242 Karma: 502808 Join Date: Jun 2004 Device: Sony PRS-T2; Onyx i62HD Firefly	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.

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