Foxit’s eSlick Reader to Support eReader Books? [Updated: looks like yes]
Foxit eSlick
Remember when the PDF wizards at Foxit announced their standalone eInk reader called the eSlick? You can pre-order the device now for a non-refundable $50 deposit. The advantage of a pre-order is that you’re locked into the introductory price of $229.99. Foxit figures an MSRP of $259.99 when the expected device ships in March or April, so you’ll have to weigh the potential early savings with a $50 bet. Before you think about that however, you need to consider the content that’s usable on the device.
Obviously, Foxit is sticking with their core competency of PDF support. If you’re not familiar with the company and their area of expertise: They offer various PDF solutions including a free application that I install on all of my Windows devices. It’s called Foxit Reader and is a lightweight application that reads Adobe PDF files using far less computer resources than the native Adobe Reader application.
So Foxit will obviously support PDF files on their eInk device. With their included PDF Creator software, you can easily convert .DOC, .XLS , .PPT, .TXT and HTML files into PDFs that are readable on the eSlick. Where does that leave content with DRM, or Digital Rights Management?
The majority of new and recent commercial titles are protected by DRM. That means you can’t simply by an eBook title and use it on the device of your choice. Amazon’s Kindle mainly supports digital titles from the Amazon Kindle store, for example. Sony’s Reader device works with many of the same titles, but only if you buy them from Sony’s store with Sony’s brand of DRM.
My favorite site for readable digital content is eReader, which is a Fictionwise company, partially because they have software clients for most platforms. I can buy a title from eReader and read it on my iPhone, a Windows Mobile or Symbian S60 handset, a Windows computer or even on my Mac. One title is usable on many platforms. Unfortunately, there are no standalone eBook devices that support eReader. Or is there?
A reader at Teleread apparently caught site of the following news development on the Foxit eSlick site:
“Good news: Foxit is currently working with different content providers for DRM support, including the support for eReader format.”
Looking at the site now doesn’t yield that tidbit of news, but it would be great to hear and would make the eSlick very slick indeed. We’ve got a note in to Steve Pendergrast at Fictionwise to confirm or deny the possibility and will update this post when we hear back. It’s tough to even consider a standalone device if you’ve already poured hundreds of dollars into a particular format.
You could counter that argument with the success of Apple’s iTunes music store, but they’re recently begun the move to DRM-free music that works on most devices in the market. It’s also why I rarely bought music from iTunes; once Amazon’s DRM-free store came about, it became my de-facto music store. While I’d rather not see DRM at all, if I’m going to purchase a standalone eBook device, I’d rather it worked with DRM files that can be used on many different devices. How about you?
Update: Steve Pendergrast from Fictionwise was kind enough to respond to my inquiry. He says he’s unable to comment due to NDAs, which lead me to believe that eReader is support is a very real possibility on the Foxit eSlick. Additionally, I see that Erik from Foxit Software has left a comment indicating eReader support within one to two months. That may mean no eReader content support out of the gate for the eSlick, but not long after product availability. I’m generally a betting man, but for the moment, I’m holding on to my $50 until I see eReader support for sure. I wouldn’t mind a larger, portable display for the few hundred titles I already own.
Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.
I’ve exchanged a few emails with Foxit.
At this point eReader support is still vaporware. I do not mean that as a pejorative; only that Foxit has not yet started porting the eReader software. I have been told they are still waiting on Fictionwise to provide the source.
Now that you have better info, perhaps you could change the title of this post so it is less misleading?
P.S. I just noticed that Foxit changed the eSlick page (probably sometime over the weekend). It used to look a lot different, and it did indeed mention eReader support.
Foxit will be supporting eReader format(DRM). It may be another 1-2 months.
Nate, thanks for the info. I did update the post, but not to make it less misleading. See the update and you’ll understand…
hell this may make me buy an e-reader finally.. very nice development.
This is great news! It’s smart that Foxit is looking at being able to support DRM formats, potential different ones. Ereader is a great start because, as Kevin pointed out, their format ports to many different platforms, making it one of the most versatile out there.
Thanks for passing this along.
Kevin, I would take that 1 to 2 month estimate with a grain of salt. I have a gut feeling that it will take considerably longer than 2 months. If Foxit knew for a fact that they could have eReader support in that time frame, they would have announced it by now.
I’m not sure if Nate is either really skeptical or if there is reason he is calling it vaporware on multiple websites.
Obviously, it’s not all up to Foxit on creating the eReader software. It will be on eSlick.
I cannot make a lot of comments due to NDA as well, but I can tell you that there will be software updates for eSlick.
Thanks for the update Kevin.
Erik, if I offended you I am sorry. I did make that statement here and on TeleRead, yes. I did it becuase I don’t like third party sites like this one making statements about a product that the developer hasn’t publicly announced( when I first read this post I thought it was a definite statement, not a question).
Admittedly, it is none of my business what is said here. But there will be some people who will buy an eSlick based on eReader support being mentioned here. I would much rather have them find out the information is less than definite before rather than after the purchase.
Erik, (about the word “vaporware”) I will choose my words more carefully in the future. I will also go over and respond to my comment over on TeleRead.
Nate, actually I just was talking with a colleague a few days ago about the word vaporware, so it was fresh in my mind.
The interesting thing is that a coworker and I found this article pretty straight forward.
I do support your point of people buying because of a third party article misleading people. Thanks for that point.
This article had some facts from people and basically stated the same stance that Foxit has. Unfortunately, Foxit cannot make too many solid comments(or promises) but we are working VERY hard on DRM support. So you will see it, that’s a fact. Now, the question really is “when” and that should be answered in the upcoming weeks.
Sorry if I came off harsh Nate, I just wanted to defend Foxit without making exact promises.
Nate, the post title was always posed as a question, mainly because we didn’t know for sure if eReader support was coming to the eSlick device. We asked the Fictionwise folks for comment and updated the post. Nowhere in here did I essentially say: “go order an eSlick so you can read your eReader books on it!” In fact, I alluded to the exactly the opposite with my own dollars in the second to last sentence.
Like Erik, I’m not trying to come across harsh because I’ve always valued your opinions on this and other sites. But I did want to address this concern directly here because we know that folks make purchase decisions based on what they read here. All we know at this point is what I’ve reported above: Foxit says they’re working on it and they also say 1-2 months before we possibly see it. Fictionwise says no comment because they’re under NDA. If I add two and two here, I think it’s a very safe bet to say that eReader support on the eSlick is a real possibility.
Will we see it? Neither you nor I can answer that question and for sake of clarity, I’ll reiterate: I won’t be pre-ordering an eSlick based on the possibility of eReader support. I would buy one once eReader support is officially announced. Hope that helps and that it’s clear to all where I stand.
Wish I saw this post earlier. I would have instantly snapped up one at $229. At the present price of $259 I’m going to sleep on it.
Hey Lance, send sales an e-mail and tell them to pass it to me(Erik). I can get you a good price.
Hi Erik,
I asked for an educational discount and received one, putting me just below the $229 price point. I threw down my credit card as soon as I got the e-mail. I’m thrilled!
Very eagerly awaiting it. Many of my computer science textbooks are $200 each in paperback but available for free as PDFs. Naturally I read them all on my laptop but never really enjoyed it. This eink reader looks far superior to reading on a bright screen and lets me read my books standing on the subway too.
I’m already working on a RSS2PDF converter to make the most out of this. Now, if you can help me out with a deal on a decent cover, that’d be much appreciated. :)
That’s great to hear! You should probably get your eSlick shipped to you in about 2-3 weeks.
Erik, I just asked for the discount that everyone’s been receiving and was denied. Any way you could hook me up with the 20% discount? I’m a college student.
There is no student discount, that’s why you were denied. We will not have a student discount until the price goes to the MSRP. Right now it is a promotional price.