Quote:
Originally Posted by vidgej
Theory: It's expensive because the touch thing (or whatever it's called) is put under the e-ink thing which is why it has no glare, and which, from what i read in a thread here, is more expensive than just putting it on the e-ink thing.
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From a company much smaller than Samsung is IREX, who has the iliad reader from 2006 that uses the same wacom-patented technology, but it did debut at $700. $400 for a 6" reader does seem high compared to other similar size readers and still high compared to IREX's upcoming $400 10" DR800 reader, which still uses the same pen technology. And there is the $489 Entourage Edge with a 9.7" e-ink screen and another similar size color screen and also uses wacom technology.
What is most disappointing is that there is really nothing new... it's simply yet another pretty case around the same old vizplex screen. E-ink has been pretty static in their technology and need to get something new out there, such as better contrast, higher resolution, faster refresh, etc. I do hear that they plan to introduce plastic-based screens later, similar to what's used by Plastic Logic. There is also news of them incorporating a newer finger touch technology that doesn't require a layer over the e-ink... it's suppose to have sensors in the corners that calculate coordinates based on pressure on the screen. I would love for something like IREX's DR800 to have a flexible screen (I've seen too many horror photos), but I'm guessing most of the market is waiting for e-ink/PVI to introduce new screens first.
Now, as for the Skiff with its higher resolution flexible screen, which is something new, I'm very interested. If they are pricing readers at a premium, then they better make sure that last. Otherwise, price them low enough so that replacing a damaged unit is an option.