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Old 04-22-2004, 01:27 PM   #13
Alexander Turcic
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The Guardian Unlimited has a nice sneak preview of the upcoming Librie. Things that were new to me:

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The ebook reader (the Librie EBR-1000EP) launches in Japan on Saturday
Yeah! Expect more reviews coming next week then

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The quality of the display will come as quite a shock to any seasoned user of mobile devices; it looks more like paper than the computer screen it is.
I don't mind this kind of shock.

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At power-up, the Librie presents the ubiquitous Japanese cartoon character to guide you through the electronic library. The mascot is called Libro, after Ukita's three-year-old miniature Schnauzer, whom he acquired in 2001 just as the ebook project was getting off the ground.
Libro sounds like one of those very annoying Microsoft Office helpers

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A single book can handle up to 40 bookmarks, each of which can be annotated, while further notes and text excerpts can be kept in a separate clipboard application.
Not sure why there is a limitation of 40 bookmarks; anyways, it should be enough for the standard read (not sure about scientific works though).

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The BBeB specification was developed by Sony to shrink the text of a 250-page book into around 500kb and to incorporate Open MG copy protection to prevent unlimited content copying.
Open MG protection requires special memory sticks, right?

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The result is a 6in screen with a resolution of 600x800 dots at 170dpi, considerably sharper than the 70-90dpi of a regular computer display. This allows for increasing the text size up to 200% with no degradation.
My eyes will be grateful! I think I've starred long enough at those tiny PDA screens.

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One much-repeated fallacy about the Librie is that power is used only for turning pages. While it is true that the "ink" particles stay in position without consuming power, the electronic innards do drain the juice, hence the inclusion of a standby mode.
Question is if the standby mode is activated as soon as there is no user activitiy.

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In his enthusiasm, Ukita lets slip that flexible electronic paper which can handle Harry Potter-esque moving images and colour is in the research and development labs and may be just two to three years away.
I'm drooling...

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...transferred to the reader via its USB 2.0 port or by using a Memory Stick.
USB 2.0. Nice improvement.

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Sony offers the efficient Libriè LE for Windows ebook emulator as a free download...
Very interesting! Google -> http://www.sony.jp/products/Consumer/LIBRIE/download/ -> http://www.aii.co.jp/contents/smojsd...llLIBRIeLE.exe
(haven't installed it yet, will report later)

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"For those of us who love the smell and feel of paper, the art of bookbinding, cloth covers with foil stamps and all the rest of the touches that make a book something to covet, ebooks just aren't a very exciting alternative. Nor are they a realistic threat - yet."
Whatever!


Btw, according to this NYT article, Sony wants to wait to see how well the Librié sells at home before deciding whether to offer it in the United States and Europe.
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