More E Ink from China: STAReBOOK STK-101 e-reader

Alexander Turcic · 10-13-2006, 12:24 PM

I'll get right to the point: This one looks very sweet. Michel from Staretek sent us details on the Chinese STAReBOOK e-book reader, which boasts a 6-inch display using E Ink technology - apparently the same display manufactured by PVI and used in the Sony Reader and the Jinke HanLin eBook. The reader is supposed to become available this November in three different editions, two for the Chinese market and one for the English, at a price of around USD $440.

Specifications:

6-inch SVGA 800x600 4 grey scales E Ink display
250g (160g without case and li-ion battery)
188mm by 118mm by 85mm (last one looks like a typo and should probably say 8.5mm)
ARM-based 250MHz SAMSUNG processor (S3C2410A core)
64MB SDRAM system memory
SD slot (MMS compatible)
USB 2.0
headphone jack
rear-mounted mono speaker
Linux 2.4.1, MP3 player built-in, uses own e-book format internally (STK)

Related: Comparison of E Ink readers

Slava · 10-13-2006, 12:42 PM

Until there is A4/Letter sized Reader under $400, I'm not interested

NatCh · 10-13-2006, 01:15 PM

Okay, now I'm confused, I thought letter sized was A5? No? Just trying to get it right for myself, you see.

da_jane · 10-13-2006, 01:27 PM

Will it have a touch screen? What types of formats does it read natively?

scotty1024 · 10-13-2006, 01:27 PM

Sweet!

Now if I only knew what an STK file was, and how to make one, I wouldn't now be living in terror that Sony won't get the Reader here in time and I'll have to buy this one for my wife instead...

Sounds like a removable battery? A useful feature for my wife. She's one of those people around whom batteries have shorter than expected lives for some not well understood reason.

I just call her "Battery Vampire". Less than six months and I've already had to replace both BT50's for her Motorola A1200... my single BT50 is still going strong in my A1200 after seven months.

scotty1024 · 10-13-2006, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NatCh

Okay, now I'm confused, I thought letter sized was A5? No? Just trying to get it right for myself, you see.

All them A's are measured in them Fancy French Units so by definition noone of thems can be letter sized.

The rest of the world uses A4 paper for the same uses as an American uses letter sized paper.

A5 is almost the same as an "Executive Notebook" page.

Measurements in English units:
A5 5.83 8.26
A4 8.26 11.69

mitja_i · 10-13-2006, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alexander Turcic

I'll get right to the point: This one looks very sweet. Michel from Staretek sent us details on the Chinese STAReBOOK e-book reader, which boasts a 6-inch display using E Ink technology

Link is broken?

NatCh · 10-13-2006, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scotty1024

All them A's are measured in them Fancy French Units so by definition noone of thems can be letter sized.

The rest of the world uses A4 paper for the same uses as an American uses letter sized paper.

A5 is almost the same as an "Executive Notebook" page.

Measurements in English units:
A5 5.83 8.26
A4 8.26 11.69

Thank you, scotty1024, I guess I've had it backwards for years. But I haven't been using the terms until recently ("letter sized" is just so long to type a lot), so I don't feel too bad about it.

rmeister0 · 10-13-2006, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alexander Turcic

...uses own e-book format internally (STK)

I like the appearance of this once.

Then I got to this last line. Come on, people. HTML!

kacir · 10-13-2006, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scotty1024

All them A's are measured in them Fancy French Units so by definition noone of thems can be letter sized.

The rest of the world uses A4 paper for the same uses as an American uses letter sized paper.

A5 is almost the same as an "Executive Notebook" page.

Measurements in English units:
A5 5.83 8.26
A4 8.26 11.69

I hate to break the news to you ;-)
but it is YOUR paper that is being measured in strange medieval units (12 inches make 1 foot, 3 feet makes 1yard and so on...) the rest of world has moved to sensible decadic units looooong time ago.
So proper dimensions are:
A4 is 210x297 mm
Letter is 216x279 mm

;-)

Leaping Gnome · 10-13-2006, 04:38 PM

Why do all the hardware reader companies have to come out with their own format. Just standardize already!

Also, looking at it, what does this have over the Sony Reader? Seems less for more money. Also a single button on the bottom right? Ergonomics? (not that the sony is great in that regard.)

NatCh · 10-13-2006, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kacir

I hate to break the news to you ;-)
but it is YOUR paper that is being measured in strange medieval units (12 inches make 1 foot, 3 feet makes 1yard and so on...) the rest of world has moved to sensible decadic units looooong time ago.
So proper dimensions are:
A4 is 210x297 mm
Letter is 216x279 mm

;-)

Stinkin' metri-elitists.

You left out the truly superior Texas measurements such as: yonder, a piece, a ways, a hunk, etc.

Bandito · 10-13-2006, 06:02 PM

Umm, forgive me for being picky, but I fail to see anything better, or for that matter, worse, between:

A5 is 5.83 x 8.26 inches
A4 is 8.26 x 11.69 inches

and

A4 is 210 x 297 mm
Letter is 216 x 279 mm

Now, if A4 was 200x300 mm, there might be something to crow about!

And, yes, I do know that the ISO paper sizes are metric with the aspect ratio based on the square root of 2 so that each sheet is exactly half the size of the previous one and that the actual area of the paper has a nice, round metric value.

I just love to argu...um...er...debate issues!

Alexander Turcic · 10-13-2006, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mitja_i

Link is broken?

Not broken; it's unfortunately the only related link we got right now.

NatCh · 10-13-2006, 06:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bandito

And, yes, I do know that the ISO paper sizes are metric with the aspect ratio based on the square root of 2 so that each sheet is exactly half the size of the previous one and that the actual area of the paper has a nice, round metric value.

See, now that's just being arcane for the sake of obscurity to me. I mean, who came up with that approach? And why weren't they doing something a bit more useful than figuring out paper sizes based on the square root of 2, for cryin' out loud?!? Probably some crazy european ('cause it's metric) philosopher-mathematician-printer type.

Is there any actual advantage to it aside from being able to fold an A4 in half to reliably simulate two A5's?

That's all just crazy talk.

10-13-2006, 12:24 PM	#1
Alexander Turcic Fully Converged Posts: 12,730 Karma: 71589 Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Switzerland Device: Sony Portable Reader	More E Ink from China: STAReBOOK STK-101 e-reader I'll get right to the point: This one looks very sweet. Michel from Staretek sent us details on the Chinese STAReBOOK e-book reader, which boasts a 6-inch display using E Ink technology - apparently the same display manufactured by PVI and used in the Sony Reader and the Jinke HanLin eBook. The reader is supposed to become available this November in three different editions, two for the Chinese market and one for the English, at a price of around USD $440. Specifications: 6-inch SVGA 800x600 4 grey scales E Ink display 250g (160g without case and li-ion battery) 188mm by 118mm by 85mm (last one looks like a typo and should probably say 8.5mm) ARM-based 250MHz SAMSUNG processor (S3C2410A core) 64MB SDRAM system memory SD slot (MMS compatible) USB 2.0 headphone jack rear-mounted mono speaker Linux 2.4.1, MP3 player built-in, uses own e-book format internally (STK) Related: Comparison of E Ink readers Attached Thumbnails

10-13-2006, 01:15 PM	#3
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,484 Karma: 31590 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: PRS600	Okay, now I'm confused, I thought letter sized was A5? No? Just trying to get it right for myself, you see. __________________ ΨΦ! "Torg, why do you have emergency pants?" -- Riff

10-13-2006, 06:02 PM	#13
Bandito Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 11 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, Utah	Umm, forgive me for being picky, but I fail to see anything better, or for that matter, worse, between: A5 is 5.83 x 8.26 inches A4 is 8.26 x 11.69 inches and A4 is 210 x 297 mm Letter is 216 x 279 mm Now, if A4 was 200x300 mm, there might be something to crow about! And, yes, I do know that the ISO paper sizes are metric with the aspect ratio based on the square root of 2 so that each sheet is exactly half the size of the previous one and that the actual area of the paper has a nice, round metric value. I just love to argu...um...er...debate issues! Last edited by Bandito; 10-13-2006 at 06:06 PM.

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10-13-2006, 12:42 PM	#2
Slava Addict Posts: 263 Karma: 129 Join Date: Sep 2006 Device: PRS-500 · DR1KS	Until there is A4/Letter sized Reader under $400, I'm not interested

10-13-2006, 01:27 PM	#4
da_jane Addict Posts: 309 Karma: 394 Join Date: Sep 2006 Device: Sony PRS 700	Will it have a touch screen? What types of formats does it read natively?

10-13-2006, 01:27 PM	#5
scotty1024 Banned Posts: 1,300 Karma: 1479 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Peoples Republic of Washington Device: Reader / iPhone / Librie / Kindle	Sweet! Now if I only knew what an STK file was, and how to make one, I wouldn't now be living in terror that Sony won't get the Reader here in time and I'll have to buy this one for my wife instead... Sounds like a removable battery? A useful feature for my wife. She's one of those people around whom batteries have shorter than expected lives for some not well understood reason. I just call her "Battery Vampire". Less than six months and I've already had to replace both BT50's for her Motorola A1200... my single BT50 is still going strong in my A1200 after seven months.

10-13-2006, 04:38 PM	#11
Leaping Gnome Evangelist Posts: 490 Karma: 1641 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Louisville Device: Sony Reader PRS-500	Why do all the hardware reader companies have to come out with their own format. Just standardize already! Also, looking at it, what does this have over the Sony Reader? Seems less for more money. Also a single button on the bottom right? Ergonomics? (not that the sony is great in that regard.)