Asus DR-570 ebook reader

Nate the great · 01-17-2010, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Not all the ereader action was at CES. Asus, the Taiwanese manufacturer that pioneered the netbook concept, has given InGear exclusive details of its DR-570 reader, to be released by the end of the year. Asus says it has developed a 6in, high-brightness, OLED colour screen that should run for a whopping 122 hours on one battery charge — and that’s not just when displaying text but under real-world conditions, such as running Flash video over its built-in wi-fi or 3G. If that claim stands up, it would make this game-changing device nearly as energy-efficient as today’s monochrome readers.

from:
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/...cle6989540.ece

David Munch · 01-17-2010, 02:40 PM

Another link from Engadget on it.

Well, this is pretty damn interesting. 122 hours? Count me as seriously interested!

Nate the great · 01-17-2010, 02:41 PM

Engadget's article is a rewrite of the Times Online article.

LDBoblo · 01-17-2010, 02:47 PM

Ugh, there was another thread on this.

As I said, the 122 hours is probably just a typo.

kolrone · 01-17-2010, 02:47 PM

I don't know how the OLED screen would perform in sunlight. I have a Zune HD and the screen isn't that great when it's bright outside.

LDBoblo · 01-17-2010, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kolrone

I don't know how the OLED screen would perform in sunlight. I have a Zune HD and the screen isn't that great when it's bright outside.

If the article is at all correct, it won't be very good in sunlight.

Abisha · 01-17-2010, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

If the article is at all correct, it won't be very good in sunlight.

I too have the Zune HD. While the OLed screen is gorgeous, in sunlight I have never had to deal with such a pathetic viewing experience. Sunlight makes the OLed screen absolutely unusable. Unless Asus has somehow solved the riddle of filtering out the glare from natural sunlight, the device will be absolutely useless outdoors.

fugazied · 01-17-2010, 04:24 PM

One of the best looking colour tablet devices imo.

Because ASUS is an experienced hardware manufacturer the price might also be on the cheapish side. At the very least it could be used as a dedicated magazine reader and an eink device for books.

guyanonymous · 01-17-2010, 05:21 PM

Doesn't an OLED screen work at a per-pixel level (for back-lighting/or however it lights up each pixel) rather than back-lighting the whole screen? If only 5% of the pixels are lit (text?), does that mean no energy is used for the rest of the screen at the time? Or am I misunderstanding the technology?

LDBoblo · 01-17-2010, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guyanonymous

Doesn't an OLED screen work at a per-pixel level (for back-lighting/or however it lights up each pixel) rather than back-lighting the whole screen? If only 5% of the pixels are lit (text?), does that mean no energy is used for the rest of the screen at the time? Or am I misunderstanding the technology?

More or less. If the screen is set to display black, it will conserve power. On the other hand, if it is set to display white, it will draw rather significant amounts.

To get the most battery life out of text with this, you'd probably need to invert the colors to get white or off-white text on a black background.

SilverBear · 01-17-2010, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

More or less. If the screen is set to display black, it will conserve power. On the other hand, if it is set to display white, it will draw rather significant amounts.

To get the most battery life out of text with this, you'd probably need to invert the colors to get white or off-white text on a black background.

I see your point, technically speaking.
But:
yuck!

SensualPoet · 01-17-2010, 07:20 PM

Well, it will be worth keeping an eye on. ASUS have done some pretty smart things almost single-handedly inventing the netbook industry. I bought one of their early Windows XP units 18 months ago and have never looked back. They are ideal for travel and cheap enough to be forgiven for limited tasks. I like the idea of a colour magazine style reader and 5 days plus battery life is pretty remarkable. Still, I'm smitten by the elegance and simplicity of the Kindle 2 as a replacement for a stack of paperbacks.

LDBoblo · 01-17-2010, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

Well, it will be worth keeping an eye on. ASUS have done some pretty smart things almost single-handedly inventing the netbook industry. I bought one of their early Windows XP units 18 months ago and have never looked back. They are ideal for travel and cheap enough to be forgiven for limited tasks. I like the idea of a colour magazine style reader and 5 days plus battery life is pretty remarkable. Still, I'm smitten by the elegance and simplicity of the Kindle 2 as a replacement for a stack of paperbacks.

Yes 5 days would be remarkable, if it were the actual figure. 12 hours is believable, 122 not so much.

HansTWN · 01-17-2010, 07:39 PM

But a 6" screen on a color reader??? What can you read that you need color for that can be displayed comfortably on a tiny 6" screen? For browsing or video it is not much better than a good phone. For books with pictures and/or diagrams you would have to constantly zoom in and out or pan around. And at 6" it is too big to be pocketable. Why not make it 9 or 10" instead?

Steven Lyle Jordan · 01-17-2010, 07:50 PM

If the content was optimized for a small screen, IOW, not just PDFs to zoom in and out of, I think that size would be fine for magazine reading. It's the real problem magazines have in transitioning to the digital space: Most of them insist on maintaining their paper formatting, which is the wrong way to go about it. But I agree: If all mag content is still PDF images, the heck with it.

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01-17-2010, 02:40 PM	#2
David Munch Scholar Posts: 1,009 Karma: 3999312 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Denmark Device: Kobo Libra H2O + iPad Air 4	Another link from Engadget on it. Well, this is pretty damn interesting. 122 hours? Count me as seriously interested!

01-17-2010, 02:41 PM	#3
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	Engadget's article is a rewrite of the Times Online article.

01-17-2010, 02:47 PM	#4
LDBoblo Wizard Posts: 1,385 Karma: 16056 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Asia Device: Kindle 3 WiFi, Sony PRS-505	Ugh, there was another thread on this. As I said, the 122 hours is probably just a typo.

01-17-2010, 02:47 PM	#5
kolrone Enthusiast Posts: 43 Karma: 113 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Florida, US Device: jetBook-Lite, eBookwise-1150	I don't know how the OLED screen would perform in sunlight. I have a Zune HD and the screen isn't that great when it's bright outside.

01-17-2010, 04:24 PM	#8
fugazied Wizard Posts: 1,305 Karma: 1958 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: iPod Touch	One of the best looking colour tablet devices imo. Because ASUS is an experienced hardware manufacturer the price might also be on the cheapish side. At the very least it could be used as a dedicated magazine reader and an eink device for books.

01-17-2010, 05:21 PM	#9
guyanonymous Guru Posts: 692 Karma: 27532 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Ebookwise 1150 / 1200	Doesn't an OLED screen work at a per-pixel level (for back-lighting/or however it lights up each pixel) rather than back-lighting the whole screen? If only 5% of the pixels are lit (text?), does that mean no energy is used for the rest of the screen at the time? Or am I misunderstanding the technology?

01-17-2010, 07:20 PM	#12
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	Well, it will be worth keeping an eye on. ASUS have done some pretty smart things almost single-handedly inventing the netbook industry. I bought one of their early Windows XP units 18 months ago and have never looked back. They are ideal for travel and cheap enough to be forgiven for limited tasks. I like the idea of a colour magazine style reader and 5 days plus battery life is pretty remarkable. Still, I'm smitten by the elegance and simplicity of the Kindle 2 as a replacement for a stack of paperbacks.

01-17-2010, 07:39 PM	#14
HansTWN Wizard Posts: 4,538 Karma: 264065402 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Taiwan Device: HP Touchpad, Sony Duo 13, Lumia 920, Kobo Aura HD	But a 6" screen on a color reader??? What can you read that you need color for that can be displayed comfortably on a tiny 6" screen? For browsing or video it is not much better than a good phone. For books with pictures and/or diagrams you would have to constantly zoom in and out or pan around. And at 6" it is too big to be pocketable. Why not make it 9 or 10" instead?

01-17-2010, 07:50 PM	#15
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	If the content was optimized for a small screen, IOW, not just PDFs to zoom in and out of, I think that size would be fine for magazine reading. It's the real problem magazines have in transitioning to the digital space: Most of them insist on maintaining their paper formatting, which is the wrong way to go about it. But I agree: If all mag content is still PDF images, the heck with it.

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