For its first e-book reader, Samsung Electronics has crumpled up and cast aside its catchy codename and gone downright bureaucratic.
Formerly known by the working label of Papyrus, the new SNE-50K reader will initially be sold only in South Korea, starting Wednesday. But the device may reach other markets across the world sometime next year, said a Samsung spokesperson.
Unlike larger readers such as Amazon's Kindle, the SNE-50K was designed by Samsung to be compact, sporting a 5-inch screen and weighing 6.5 ounces. The device will come with 512MB of memory and offer a resolution of 600x800 pixels.
Borrowing some features from a PDA, the SNE-50K will support handwriting recognition, so users can write and store memos, manage schedules, and view calendar appointments. The device will also let people read text files, PDFs, and Microsoft Office documents by converting those files into a viewable BMP graphic format.
The reader will sell for 339,000 Korean won, or about $270.
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(Credit:
Pocket-lint.com)
Samsung's upcoming e-book reader, the Papyrus, had its debut at CES in January, but the stylish looking device is now making the rounds in Europe with some new details in tow. What's interesting about it is that it seems to have quite a bit of PDA in it as Samsung's gone with a touch screen (an aluminum stylus is included), and is bundling some utility applications such as a calculator, scheduler, and contacts. The Papyrus is an A5-size e-ink device (it's 5.8 inches by 8.3 inches while the entire Kindle 2 measures 5.3 inches by 8 inches with a 6-inch screen).
Samsung's new e-book reader will come in several colors and is initially set to launch in Korea in June. The company is reportedly looking toward a future release for the U.K. first, and then the U.S.--but that may be months away. While no pricing has been set, word is the Papyrus will come out with a sub-$300 price tag. That's good because it allegedly only comes with 512MB of internal memory and no SD expansion slot.
Aside from the fact that Samsung may have a problem with Sharp already having a Papyrus electronic dictionary, the real question is what sort of e-books and documents you'll be able to read on the Papyrus--and whether Samsung has an e-book store in the works.
Somehow, I doubt that even at the cheaper price point this will be a Kindle 2 or Sony Reader killer, though hopefully it will get enough attention to encourage Amazon and Sony to drop their e-book reader prices a bit. What do you think?
(Source: Gizmodo via Pocket-lint)
(Credit:
I4U News)
Crave is tempted to issue a challenge to tech manufacturers: Take 5 minutes and actually name your product, rather than spit out a serial number like some convict from A Clockwork Orange. It's Marketing 101 (which we never even took).
Sharp is at least one company that has figured this out, as evidenced by its "Papyrus" line of electronic dictionaries. And its latest model seems as creative as its name, at least on paper (sorry), though it's apparently available only in China. It has two screens--the main display and a smaller touch screen in the touchpad area, where a stylus can be used to write characters for the dictionary to translate, according to I4U News. We might have to sign up for some language classes just to try it out.
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