In my blog the other day I mentioned that there was an eReader coming out which cost a ridiculously small amount of money. It's called the Beagle, and here's a short video about it:
It's got a fair number of limitations - it can only hold 5 books at a time, it doesn't have any connectors (linking into your smart phone via bluetooth to transfer content across) and it runs on batteries: 2 AAA which seem to last for about ever from what I can tell. It's 5mm thick, and it weighs just 128 grams, making it the world's lightest 5" or 6" E Ink eReader available. It has an 800 x 600 pixel resolution, and there is 4GB of internal memory and it supports both .pdf and .epub book formats, along with all others normally supported by a smartphone, according to Txtr’s website. It won't however be available for sale this side of Christmas, so don't get your hopes up.
This is NOT going to be a 'Kindle killer' despite the nonsense that the Daily Mail is peddling. It does one thing, reasonably well, but the main drawback is the fact that, since it doesn't have it's own operating system just about everything, other than turning the pages, has to be done by the app on the smartphone. However, it's indicative that the market for eReaders is not yet saturated, and there's plenty of room for innovation and expansion. What is important however is that it makes claims that it's only 'rich people' who can afford an eReader fairly nonsensical. I haven't seen any indication of the limitations and restrictions placed on the reader, but I'm just having an interesting daydream of someone going into a library, choosing 5 books, having them transferred onto the Beagle, and taking it away with them. It clearly has the power to be a disruptive technology with the eBook publishing arena, and I look forward to developments with interest.
Interesting that your daydream still consists of someone 'going into a library' to choose 5 books, when surely it's much more likely that this will be done remotely?
Posted by: Will | October 16, 2012 at 02:58 PM
Will - thanks for the comment. The reason that I said that people would have to go into a library was that in my particular vision here a library could loan the reader preloaded with up to the 5 books. Secondly, because it's not that easy to copy books onto the device (needing a smartphone, app and bluetooth)it may be a bit too technical for the average user to do themselves. Ideally of course, if they have their own eReader, remote downloading of titles is certainly my preferred method, and the only sensible option.
Posted by: Phil Bradley | October 16, 2012 at 11:45 PM
Interesting to hear of this new ebook reader coming to the market. I would be interested as its so much cheaper, and I don't mind updating via smartphone and apps. I also don't mind only having 5 books on there. Only downside? Its a shockingly bad advert!
Posted by: Anneli | October 17, 2012 at 03:43 PM