Digital Paper E-Book Reader

Why do the Japanese get all the cool stuff first? I first saw this effort announced in Nature news last fall, so it I'm happy that it is coming to market so fast. But why not in the U.S. first for once? [Via RLG Shelflife]

Sony, Philips and digital paper pioneer E-Ink are launching an electronic book reader called Librié, which is the size of a paperback book and can hold 500 texts in its memory. The display has a resolution of 170 pixels per inch -- about the same quality as a newspaper, says E-Ink. The Librié weighs about 300g (about 10.5 ounces), including four AAA batteries and a front cover. The device uses battery power only when text is refreshed, which means it should be able to display about 10,000 pages before it needs its batteries changed. The Librié is 13mm (about half an inch) thick and its screen measures 15cm (about 6 inches) diagonally. It's due to go on sale in Japan in late April for $375.

Posted by Tom on April 01, 2004