Cybook Gen3 eBook Reader

And so continues my fascination with Electronic Ink / Paper.

The French based company Bookeen has developed the Cybook Gen3, an amazing E-Book reader that uses Electronic Ink / Electronic Paper tehcnology. The reader was originally set to be released this month, but the company announced today that the released date has been pushed back until sometime next month. But the good news is that when it does come out, it will support the PDF format which is pretty cool in my opinion.

This past Tuesday, the company posted a YouTube video showing the reader in action. Just watching the video blows me away, the contrast looks unbelievable, and I love how small it is. I guess when I see the pictures, I just imagine it being more like the size of a Tablet PC, and not so much the size of my iPhone.

I really want these eInk eBook readers to come my way because I want one, plain and simple, I want one!

French Newspaper to Debut Electronic Newspaper

I have this never ending obsession with Electronic Ink and E-Paper.

A press release on their site dated September 12, 2007 states that French Newspaper Les Echos, the French leading newspaper in electronic newspaper is partnering with Dutch based iRex Technologies to release the Les Echos Electronic Paper Edition on the iRex iLiad available for French readers sometime this month.

Two different editions will be offered to readers, and will be updated every hour from 7am - 9pm on Monday - Friday via a WiFi delivery system that will allow updates without the need to connect to a PC.

Pilippe Jannet of Les Echos states, "This will introduce a new era of newspaper publishing. It is a tradition of Les Echos to be the first to bring innovative solutions to their readers. With the subscription our readers will get an attractive offer of a year subscription of Les Echos with multiple editions, two free e-paper editions (one dedicated to Personal Finance information and one to Stock Exchange information), an extra AFP edition, some free e-books and the electronic paper device at a great bargain."

As to when newspapers in the United States will begin offering a service similar to this is yet unknown, but I hope it's not too far down the road.

For more info about the e-paper offer at Les Echos, you can visit: http://www.lesechos.fr/epaper/inscription.htm, or just read the press release

Spotlight: E-Ink and E-Paper

I've been watching a little company called the E Ink Corporation, developer of Electronic paper, for several years now and it seems like they're finally starting to move their way more and more into the mainstream marketplace. A while back, Sony released their eBook reader featuring the monochrome technology that reportedly has the same contrast and reflective properties of paper, and reacts to sunlight in the same way paper does, making it an ideal medium for print formats such as eBooks, digital watches, cell phone displays, and in my mind creates new possibilities for WiFi Newspapers down the road, kind of like the live-update newspapers in the movie Minority Report.

Visit their site e-ink.com for more info on the technology as well as samples of products using ePaper. If you're interested in creating your own eInk products, you can purchase a Prototyping Kit from their website.