The Onyx Boox eReader

This should get announced in a few days. Here are some promising specs:

1. The specifications page lists 6″, 8″ and 9.7″ screens.
2. The web browser uses WebKit customized for the eInk screen. Using WebKit is pretty impressive - both Safari and Chrome use it too.
3. They have a pretty good looking folders system, and use thumbnails etc. well.
4. Its a touch screen with a pen included and handwriting recognition.
5. Support for Wi-Fi, CDMA, EVDO, and GSM is listed as optional.
6. It supports a wide variety of formats including ePub, PDF, and Amazon’s own Mobipocket (.prc).
7. There’s no keyboard and there’s an iPod scroll wheel type control on the front.
8. There’s a rather intriguing button on the back identical in design to the scroll wheel on the front.
9. They say - “full screen scribble will bring you real handwriting experience - Search, annotate, highlight, and input text easily with a pen.”
10. Also support for multiple languages - English, French, German, Spanish, Arabic, Japanese, Simple and Traditional Chinese.

I particularly like the thought of a 9.7" screen that can display PDFs. As I've said before, the first company to release an affordable eReader that can display PDFs well will likely get my business.

Here's a video about the device. I must say, it looks pretty slick!



It also looks like iRiver is about to enter the fray.

(HT TeleRead)