Samsung enters crowded eBook market
By Dean • Feb 5th, 2010 • Category: eBook Readers- Photo: Samsung
Samsung – one of the world’s leaders in display technology – has recently decided to step into the already crowded eBook market, and have announced the first of their releases: the E6 and E101. Although the E6 is not as large as other eBook readers, measuring at 6 inches, the E101 at 10 inches is one of the largest screens available.
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The screens of both eBook readers are made of ‘e-paper’, which increases reading visibility in direct sunlight – which should be considered standard. However, a noticeable extra is the electromagnetic resonance pen (or EMR), which enables direct writing by hand onto the display and allows the customisation of notes, the updating calendars, and more. Another nice addition is that the EMR itself is customisable, with a multitude of pen and eraser thicknesses.
Practicality
As all eBook readers should, Samsung’s E6 and E101 both support ePub, PDF and .txt formats and each have a set of onboard dictionaries. However, some nice extras such as the MP3 player and a text-to-speech engine could sway some buyers. Also, because of the e-paper display which reflects natural light, reading is instantly easier on the eyes and the battery consumption is lower than a backlit display, which can only mean longer battery life.
Connectivity
The E6 and E101 are equipped with both wireless capability (Wi-Fi 802.11b/g) and Bluetooth 2.0 (built in). So, some content can be shared with other devices. A partnership with Google means one will be able to have access to more than a million books for free. The Samsung E6 and E101 will only be released sometime in March 2010 and will cost roughly $399 (around £250) and $699 (close to £450) respectively. Whether or not Samsung will establish themselves in this market, one can only guess, but, as far as eBooks go, this is worth a look.
Tags for this article: samsung, eBook Readers
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