MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Colour Cool-er by Christmas for less than $300?

Tuna · 06-10-2009, 10:04 AM

As so far Interead's strategy has been to repackage OEM devices (the Cooler is a close relative of the Cybook Gen3, and the PocketBook 301 - they're all manufactured by a company called Netronix), it would be very surprising if they were developing their own reader. There are a number of LCD based tablet PCs being shown right now, so it might be reasonable to expect that the 'bigger colour' Cool-ER could be a rebadged one of those. For instance, it could be the Jointech which has a 7" LCD screen.

Though Neil Jones is being described as an inventor, it seems his role here is marketing man, not technologist. The cooler went from conception to prototype in 3 weeks because all of the electronics and software had already been developed by Netronix. Just about the only thing that Interead have brought to the Cooler is the coloured case - the hardware and software are all off the shelf. There's nothing wrong with that, but it does mean that the next Coolers are unlikely to be great technological leaps.

Certainly it seems the Cool-ER is all about putting in place a full ecosystem for E-Books, from writers to publishers through bookshops to the consumer. As such, I'd doubt they have much interest in extending the state of the art of digital readers. The brand and price point are much more important than the technology.

06-10-2009, 10:04 AM	#8
Tuna Zealot Posts: 114 Karma: 325 Join Date: May 2009 Device: Cool-ER	As so far Interead's strategy has been to repackage OEM devices (the Cooler is a close relative of the Cybook Gen3, and the PocketBook 301 - they're all manufactured by a company called Netronix), it would be very surprising if they were developing their own reader. There are a number of LCD based tablet PCs being shown right now, so it might be reasonable to expect that the 'bigger colour' Cool-ER could be a rebadged one of those. For instance, it could be the Jointech which has a 7" LCD screen. Though Neil Jones is being described as an inventor, it seems his role here is marketing man, not technologist. The cooler went from conception to prototype in 3 weeks because all of the electronics and software had already been developed by Netronix. Just about the only thing that Interead have brought to the Cooler is the coloured case - the hardware and software are all off the shelf. There's nothing wrong with that, but it does mean that the next Coolers are unlikely to be great technological leaps. Certainly it seems the Cool-ER is all about putting in place a full ecosystem for E-Books, from writers to publishers through bookshops to the consumer. As such, I'd doubt they have much interest in extending the state of the art of digital readers. The brand and price point are much more important than the technology.