Comments on: New Cool-er kid on the e-reader block

Interead's Cool-er e-reader was supposed to launch in a couple of weeks, but some bloggers in the U.K. decided to post something on the new device a little early. It's chief selling point: the Cool-er costs more than $100 less than the Kindle 2.

[LTCUSA]

Why do none of these "readers" have a backlight for reading in bed?

[mclaurin10]

Because of eye strain / eye fatigue. People can get headaches from reading on a backlit display and they want to make reading on one of these readers as natural as possible.

[Harlan879]

LTCUSA: You should read up on eInk. It's like paper. You don't backlight paper, you frontlight it. You could certainly put a little LED light on your e-reader, but that would take a lot of battery power. The whole point of these things is that they last forever without recharging. Why don't you just get a little lamp next to your bed?

[Spiraling_Shape]

It is tempting at $250, despite the stupid name. If the company didn't try so hard to be cool (and fail), this would fly off the shelves. Also, how fast is the refresh rate?

[rdelfin]

I hear what you say regarding the name being stupid, but I wouldn't discard something just based on a name (that would be even more stupid for me). Just take a look to the success of something named as ridiculously as Nintendo's "wii". I don't think a 'wrong' name can be a deal breaker.

[jlhenry]

There is no refresh rate. E-ink stays until you "turn the page" at which point it redraws the screen and then THAT will stay there until you turn the page again. Devices like this are rated on number of pages viewed per charge. this one is rated at 8,000 pages before needing a recharge.

[amuhsin]

The lack of wireless really inhibits this things growth potential.

[nowimcool]

An e-reader is only as good as it's bookstore, so I searched through it with about 15 titles (most well known) from my own library and only came up with 2 hits, A Clockwork Orange and Crime and Punishment.

Missing were some classics like East of Eden and The Master and Margarita. I also tried Master and Commander, The Source, Life of Pi, House of Leaves, As I Lay Dying and The Wounded Healer - all of which are classics or bestseller and I got nothing relevant. No use in an e-reader with no books to read on it!

[jlhenry]

This one can display EPUB, Jpeg, txt, as well as PDF's. Fictionwise sells books in the PDF formats, and other bookstores sell in the EPUB format as well as Gutenberg.org (they also have TXT, as well as LIT, Mobi, and plucker). SInce you are connecting to the computer to upload books to the device, and from reading their FAQ's it SOUNDS as if (please notice the "as if") you can put e-books on their reader from other stores and websites.

[Jarom05]

Check Netlibrary.org They go through public libraries, Check you local library.

[AlanHub]

wow look at the prices of those books, some are MORE expensive than buying in print

[NervClaX]

They really took a page from the Apple's book on design. They look like e-reader versions of the iPod.

[shadowdean]

meh. not terribly impressed

[lpisme]

The Cooler bookstore does seem a bit limited right now. I looked for Harry Potter and Twilight...nothing but unrelated books. However, I can't wait to see how this develops!! I've been hoping to see an eBook reader that's $250 or less for a long time!! It has all the features I care about (wireless would be a bonus, but I don't really care about that). And, according to the website, they plan on bringing the price down to under $200!!! It's got my attention for sure.

[jlhenry]

JK Rowling will not allow ANY of the HARRY POTTER books to be produced as an E-book.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/141397/harry_potter_ebook_officially_nixed.html

The Twilight books can be found on Fictionwise, and can be bought in the PDF format, which this thing reads.

$250 or less, in the US that is. In Europe it's 225 euros (which translates to about $307).

[Seanhk1976]

A very capable reader in terms of speed (Samsung ARM9 400mhz). Page turn will be more snappy and it will be more capable than some predecessors (cybook, bebook etc @ 200mhz) when it comes to reading heavily formatted and graphic intensive PDF files. A good deal at US$250.

[e1Pete]

I like that that the reader uses Linux, and looks great, though needs to improve resolution and add wiFi and maybe motion sensor to read wide pages. It is the bookstore I have the problem with - I have been waiting for e-book readers so I can carry multiple computer books for reference. Searching the bookstore there are 4096 computer titles - but the list can't be sorted by publication date (the first on the list is from 1998!) - I want to sort by most recent first, most downloaded, highest rated as well as specific search by author or publisher.

[Zen-Masta]

Anxiously waiting for the hands on review.

[Jarom05]

At $250 it is the same price as the Kindle 2 and the Nook, but with a Lynix OS and no Wi-Fi. I would say it is $100 over priced.