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Aug
13
Amazon Kindle: The Buzz Goes On
Filed Under Kindle, News, Reader, Readius, e-Ink | Leave a Comment
The media buzz on the Amazon Kindle continues at mid-week, following a Citigroup analyst’s positive estimates of 2008 Kindle sales on Monday.
The Top Stocks Blog over at MSN Money staked out somewhat of a contrarian position. Under the headline, “Amazon’s Kindle unlikely to set world on fire,” the blogger noted that although some think the Kindle will have a first-year sales record comparable to that of the Apple iPod, “[o]thers believe it’s wishful thinking to assume John Grisham will ever be as popular as Jay-Z.”
After noting some features of the Amazon Kindle — ability to download books over the wireless Whispernet network, the glare-free screen and enlargeable screen fonts, the Top Stocks blogger held firm to the notion of print-and-paper books: “Doodling in the corners and turning the pages into a flipbook, alas, can still only be done in regular books.”
Jul
15
Polymer Vision Readius: Watch This Demo
Filed Under Demos, Readius, Reviews, e-Book | Leave a Comment
The Polymer Vision Readius has received media attention recently, as its release is awaited.
In this video provided by PhoneMag.com, the Readius is the subject of a hands-on demonstration at Mobile World Congress 2008. Watch this demo to get an idea of how this foldable digital reading device works.
Jul
15
Readius: At the Vanguard of Foldable Reading Devices
Filed Under News, Readius, e-Book | Leave a Comment
The New York Times recently discussed the Polymer Vision Readius in depth, noting that a standard feature of digital reading devices “— their rigidity — is changing. New technologies are developing that make displays flexible, foldable or even as rollable as papyrus, so that large screens can be unfurled from small containers.”
The Readius, the article noted, “designed mainly for reading books, magazines, newspapers and mail, is the size of a standard cellphone. Flip it open, though, and a screen tucked within the housing opens to a 5-inch diagonal display. The screen looks just like a liquid crystal display, but can bend so flexibly that it can wrap around a finger.”
The article stated that the Readius will be introduced in Italy, Germany, and England this fall, and in the USA in early 2009.
We can expect more digital reading devices with foldable or flexible displays, the article added, and (citing iSuppli Corporation analyst Jennifer Colegrove) the market for such devices will likely grow quickly.
Mar
27
Kevin at Brighthand previews the foldable screen Readius from Polymer Vision.
The screen itself has a soft texture, and bends quite easily at the pivot points.
It was very easy to read, although a few problems exist. At each bend point, the screen retains the folded shape with pronounced ripples in the texture of the display. While it doesn’t distort the picture being shown, it does pick up reflections much more than a perfectly flat surface would.
As to whether the Readius will be positioned as a cell phone or as an e-book reader, he predicts that Polymer Vision will market the Readius “as a compact Amazon Kindle competitor, using its internal cell radio for downloading content.”
Mar
18
Does the future look good for the Readius?
Filed Under News, Readius, e-Book, eReader | Leave a Comment
Erica Ogg at News.com finds the Readius by Polymer Vision to be a tantalizing concept:
[Karl] McGoldrick is the CEO of Netherlands-based Polymer Vision, the only company that right now is working on making e-books in a form that’s actually close to traditional books–ones that are mobile, bendable, and, above all, readable.
But the device, called Readius, is not just an e-book reader–it receives e-mail, text messages, and RSS feeds, makes phone calls, and keeps calendar and contact information–in addition to downloading books and newspapers wirelessly.
* * *
Polymer Vision’s vision, which it came up with three years ago (as a business spun out from Philips Research), is finally coming to fruition. The Readius is the size of most small mobile phones, but has a 5-inch screen that folds up to close.
It uses E-ink, the same technology used in the Sony Reader and Amazon.com’s Kindle, but Polymer Vision worked with E-Ink to come up with a thinner version of the technology so it would roll better. In addition, the Readius uses organic semiconductors in the layer underneath the E-ink that process transistors at very low temperatures so there’s no need for glass backing to keep the heat away, like an LCD panel. Also, the organic semiconductor layer is malleable, which allows it to bend when folded, and not break.
Right now, the device is on track for release sometime this summer, though no price has been determined yet.