News

Samsung announced today the upcoming U.S. availability of the Samsung E6 eReader, a device similar to the Barnes & Noble nook that features E-ink display technology, Wi-Fi, and an electromagnetic resonance stylus for scribbling notes on the 6-inch display's margins and navigation.

As with the nook, Samsung eReader users will be able to access the more than one million ebooks, magazines, and newspapers from Barnes & Noble's online library. Another feature borrowed from the Barnes & Noble's branded device is the ability for users to "lend" ebooks to other Samsung eReaders for up to two weeks.

"We are partnering with the best in the business to offer access to an extensive array of content, and have developed innovative features and technologies designed to make reading that content as personal and intimate an experience as reading a hard copy book has always been," said Reid Sullivan, Senior Vice President at Samsung Electronics America.

Hardware
This Samsung eReader model resembles the nook and Amazon Kindle in form, but its bottom will slide out to reveal small control panel featuring navigation buttons and two internal speakers.

Itis going to feature a 6-inch E-ink display with a 600x800 resolution. This will offer 8 shades of greyscale, as electronic ink screens do not yet support color.

ebooks can be in EPUB, PDF/a, or TXT formats. The E6 will also be able to display images in BMP or JPEG formats.

It is going to have 2 GB internal memory -- which Samsung says is good for 1,500 books -- and a microSD memory card slot, giving up to 16 GB of additional storage capacity.

Users will be able to access Barnes & Noble's Ebook Store over Wi-Fi or a USB connection to a PC.

Despite its focus on ebooks, this device will include an MP3 player, front-facing speakers, a headphone jack, and Bluetooth 2.0 will also be included for using wireless headphones. The latter three will also be used by its text-to-speech technology.

Pricing & Availability
At CES last January, Samsung displayed two eReaders: the 6-inch E6 announced today and the 10-inch E101. Prices announced at CES were $400 and $700, considerably higher than the $260 Nook or Kindle 2, which do not feature a touch display.

It seems Samsung had second thoughts about this price, as today it announced the eReader E6 is going to sell for $300.

It is expected to be released at some point this spring.

Source: Samsung

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