Hardware
Polymer Vision Blends E-book and Connectivity
The Readius pocket-sized e-book reader by Polymer Vision has confirmed that they’re still planning to launch in the fall. When I first discovered the Readius back in February, I couldn’t quite get past the way it was being marketed as a combo cellphone and e-book reader. It appears that the company has rightly recognized that the cell phone calling capability wasn’t really necessary, even though the HSDPA support is still quite welcome for acquiring content.
Two features worth pointing out: The Readius supports 16 levels of grayscale and it supports Bluetooth 2.0 EDR, including headset and keyboard. The 16 levels of grayscale outperforms the Amazon Kindle’s 4 level grayscale and the Sony Reader’s 8 level grayscale. With the possibility of Bluetooth input, this transforms into an email client with a 5 inch display that folds into a small package. Attractive possibilities…
In addition to confirming a fall launch of the Readius, Polymer Vision also announced Content World, a portal for the Readius for both free and paid content. The user will be able to download content to her PC and transfer via USB or download directly to the Readius over the HSDPA cellular connection. Obviously that will require a cellular provider service plan, but no announcements have been made about any partnerships with cellular providers.
- Weight: Ultra light. At 115g just one third the average weight of current e-readers
- Display size: Large 5″ display, 16 greyscales
- Device size: The only pocket sized eReader
- Battery life: 30 hours of continuous reading
- Connectivity: Global wireless connectivity, with the greatest coverage of any eReader (Tri Band/3.5G HSDPA). Supporting ActiveSync and USB mass storage (USB FS). Communication with accessories and other devices (Bluetooth 2.0)
- Processor: Powerful processing engine (ARM11 400MHz)
- Storage: Flexible, today commercially available up to 8GB (High Capacity Micro SD)
- User Interface: Just 8 SimpleTouch Buttons
via Slashgear
