Cool-er: light, trendy, inexpensive e-book reader

[Hatgirl]

Yet another hands-on video, from Electric Pig.

And the Cool-er crowd have tweeted about this thread!http://twitter.com/COOLERebook/status/2241474991

[Godzil]

Originally Posted by igorsk

It also seems to claim that it works with ADE on Mac OSX... if so, that will be the first reader to do that.
They claim to have 750k titles available on www.coolerbooks.com.

Funny I didn't spot this message,

no the first to claim ADE on Mac OS X support is Bookeen for the future firmware of the Cybook with ePub support. By the way I know that Netronix (those who made both the hardware and software of the cooler) have a big bug with Mac OS X support. I hope they correct it before releasing this..

[fugazied]

This looks like the perfect device for the kids in the family. Certainly a lot cheaper and with the price of SD cards, it's pretty easy to store a lot of books on it.

It's also pretty stylish, which the kids would appreciate. Nicely targeted at teen readers I think.

[Robertb]

Dear All:

What if you could instead get a 5 inch device that has the Epson Controller and 400MHz processor for instantaneous page turns, Adobe Digital Editions, Text-To-Speech, MP3 with equalizer, displays 14 formats and 20 languages, comes in 6 colors, and sells for around $200? That is the Pocket PRO.

I am not at all putting down the cool-er. We also make the same exact device as the cool-er. Nice machine. But I want you to know that there is a great alternative also!

[Teddman]

The Cool-er is a good idea, I just question the ability to position it as the low-price e-ink option with higher quality devices like the Sony PRS-505 now selling for essentially the same price point. They really need to hit $150 to get a clear separation from the pack on pricing. Are they still at $249 official MSRP? That's a huge mistake if so.

The Pocket Pro described above is in a bit different situation, because of the smaller form factor and additional features it could work at $199.

[Godzil]

Originally Posted by Robertb

Dear All:

What if you could instead get a 5 inch device that has the Epson Controller and 400MHz processor for instantaneous page turns, Adobe Digital Editions, Text-To-Speech, MP3 with equalizer, displays 14 formats and 20 languages, comes in 6 colors, and sells for around $200? That is the Pocket PRO.

I am not at all putting down the cool-er. We also make the same exact device as the cool-er. Nice machine. But I want you to know that there is a great alternative also!

The Epson controller DO NOT LET the eInk Screen to have INSTANT PAGE TURN, and it will NEVER.

[kacir]

Originally Posted by Godzil

The Epson controller DO NOT LET the eInk Screen to have INSTANT PAGE TURN, and it will NEVER.

Well, RobertB had a working pre-production prototype in his hands for thorough testing. And I believe he put it through a lot of use in order to catch bugs and glitches. Do *you* know something that we don't? Or you just assume that page in e-ink can not be refreshed without inverting the screen.
I know that that RobertB is a marketing and sales employee, and because of this we have to take into account his obvious bias, yet why would he lie to us? We would learn the truth the moment Astak EZ Reader Pocket Pro hits the market and he would damage his reputation beyond repair. And I believe that Pocket Pro WILL hit the market sooner or later.

I have got Sony PRS-500, and when you move the cursor through the menu the display (cursor position) is changed instantaneously. And mind you, PRS-500 uses even older generation of "display controller" than the current devices. In fact PRS-500 uses Field-programmable gate array instead of a "proper" controller.

[Godzil]

I have/see eBook reader prototype with epson inside too, and no, the epson is not a magic chip, the waveform to apply in the screen does not change a lot between the appollo, metronome or the epson. The best refresh time we can get is around 200ms and this value is true for ALL the display chip. The only this the epson have is the ability to update only a portion of the screen (instead of the whole screen on the others chip)

And for the "instantaneous cursor change" it due to the Black and white mode that can run at about 5-10Hz but it's only black and white, and it ghost a lot!

As far as I know the PRS500 use the same controler as the Cybook : the Appollo. The 505 use the metronome, and the 700 the Epson chip (and the kindle 2/DX use the epson too) and they didn't provide "instantaneous page change"

[rhadin]

Instantaneous is in the eye of the beholder. I have a Sony 505 and if I were asked to describe the page turns to someone, I would call them instantaneous. It isn't "true" instantaneous as would be defined by scientists who require extreme precision measurements, but it is instantaneous to most readers. I think most readers (people, not devices) would equate instantaneous with at least as fast as and preferably faster than turning a pbook page.

[sony_fox]

How is this doing on Delivery dates?

my OtherHalf wants a violet one, after being impressed with my 505, but want ot try a different tech, just because really.

Was going to be May, then 1stJune, now end of June ..... ???

[Hajo]

Originally Posted by sony_fox

Was going to be May, then 1stJune, now end of June ..... ???

We are at July, already, but I guess, what they really mean is August.

[netseeker]

Originally Posted by Hajo

We are at July, already, but I guess, what they really mean is August.

August 2010?

[Hatgirl]

Originally Posted by Hajo

We are at July, already, but I guess, what they really mean is August.

Going by the email they sent out, I would expect to be asked to pay for mine next week, and postage ASAP after that.

They say the delay was due to high demand and to ensure the latest firmware was on the devices before shipping.

So far they're only delayed by about 6 weeks from their initial estimate. I'm OK with that.

[Godzil]

I heard from some of my informators, that the real hardware od the cool-ers are not ready... I don't know if it's for real

[Robertb]

Originally Posted by kacir

Well, RobertB had a working pre-production prototype in his hands for thorough testing. And I believe he put it through a lot of use in order to catch bugs and glitches. Do *you* know something that we don't? Or you just assume that page in e-ink can not be refreshed without inverting the screen.
I know that that RobertB is a marketing and sales employee, and because of this we have to take into account his obvious bias, yet why would he lie to us? We would learn the truth the moment Astak EZ Reader Pocket Pro hits the market and he would damage his reputation beyond repair. And I believe that Pocket Pro WILL hit the market sooner or later.

I have got Sony PRS-500, and when you move the cursor through the menu the display (cursor position) is changed instantaneously. And mind you, PRS-500 uses even older generation of "display controller" than the current devices. In fact PRS-500 uses Field-programmable gate array instead of a "proper" controller.

Dear Kacir:

You bring up a great point. I am marketing and sales. That does not make me a lier. However, I also have to be on this forum (unlike other manufacturers who remain off it). I CALL IT like I see it. IF I was to over-represent I would have a ton of Pocket PROs coming back.

You have to remember that the Epson Controller by itself is a good advance but not everything. It is HOW the Epson is utilized with the software and GUI and how the entire PC board works as a unit. No device is as simple as changing one component. Jinke builds MORE eBook Readers that any other manufacturer in the world. They KNOW how to integrate the Epson Into a device to get the maximum out of it. ALSO, realize that they DOUBLED the processor as well to 400MHz!

I did not overstate! I do reiterate, the Cool-er is a fine device. We sell the exact same model. I am just saying compare the specs!!