Alex eReader Orders Begin, Coming To Borders Stores
The Spring Design Alex eReader generated positive momentum after it’s introduction and at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, but lost some inertia after that. Ordering delays slowed up the Alex while Barnes & Noble, Amazon and others delivered their wares and sold titles. That’s a shame since Spring Design worked out two content partners for the Alex in Google Books and Borders. But e-book content without an e-book device is as good as a blank notepad for reading, so potential purchasers have waited for the delayed order process to begin. The wait is over in the U.S. as Spring Design today begins to sell the device online for $359 $399.
I spoke yesterday with Eric Kmiec, VP of Spring Design, about the delays and about the Alex eReader capabilities. Some of the ordering issues revolved around e-commerce website issues, but all the kinks are worked out now. Kmiec told me that orders placed today should begin arriving around the middle of April, which is roughly four weeks out. And part of the delay could be attributed to a unique feature — Alex content is available in local bookstores for readers speaking Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Korean and Hebrew. We’ve already seen how localized e-book content can challenge due to contract distribution rights in various countries.
Kmiec and I also discussed e-book displays and the Android market in general, as both apply to the Alex — in addition to the 6″ EPD or eInk display for reading books, the 11-ounce device also offers a 3.5″ color LCD that runs the Google Android operating system found in many phones. With Android handsets selling like hotcakes, I asked Kmiec if that hurts or helps the Alex since consumers prefer to carry fewer devices. “We find the device to be complementary,” he said, indicating that it’s not a worry or concern. Indeed, the addition of an open mobile platform and secondary screen creates options not found on competing e-book devices.
Authors of e-book content, for example, can add Internet hyperlinks to their books. Spring Designs calls these “LinkNotes” — readers can tap one on the 6″ electronic ink color LCD display and the corresponding web page will open in full color on the second screen. I can personally see the value in that. Just this weekend, I was reading a Java programming book on my Amazon Kindle — yes, that’s how we mobile tech geeks roll on a Sunday afternoon. In several instances, I had to drop the device and go online with my computer to see additional or updated code examples. With LinkNotes on the Alex, I could have simply tapped a link to see this fresh content in the color display. The Alex includes both Wi-Fi and 3G mobile broadband, so connectivity to the web is a non-issue. Kmiec also mentioned the Alex Marketplace for Android, where developers could create other complementary applications for the reader. Guess I’d better get through that Java book in a hurry, so I can build my own app.
Given that Apple is jumping into the e-book market with its iPad, I had to ask Kmiec’s thoughts on the product. He believes that the Alex offers an advantage to avid readers that Apple simply can’t offer. “The EPD display is better,” he told me, “LCD technology isn’t quite there” from a reading perspective. As a long-time owner of a Kindle, I appreciate the experience that eInk displays provide, so I see his point. And with the Android platform on a color touchscreen, the Alex isn’t a one-hit wonder like some other dedicated e-book devices.
Although the big news today is order availability, I inquired about the deal with Borders. Since the bookseller has over 700 traditional brick-and-mortar locations, I wondered if the Alex would appear in Borders retail shops. The answer is yes, says Kmiec — expect to see the Spring Design Alex as early as June of this year. I think that’s key for a chance to compete in the heavily contested e-book market. Many are purchasing Kindles sight unseen, but the Alex offers unique features that people need to see in order to fully understand what the device offers. Of course, if you’re OK with a web-based purchase before touching the device, you can do that now.
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I’ve been waiting for this device to be available ever since it was introduced @ CES. I unfortunately didn’t get a chance to lay hands on it there, but it seems to me to be one of the most exciting ebook devices to be introduced so far, because it’s an open system.
I’ve been looking for a way to implement a feature that seems obvious to me but isn’t (as far as I’ve seen) available on any other device: the ability to print to an eink device directly from a computer, with no extra steps: just “File -> Print”, and if the eink device is attached over USB or present on my home wifi network, it shows up on the eink screen. It looks like Alex is the perfect device to make this happen on!
I’m afraid the color LCD screen will be used for lots of annoying animated ads. That space is too tempting.
Cheaper than an iPad, that is nice, but in this case you get what you pay for. Since the iPad is now the benchmark by which ALL tablets must compare to the conclusion of this implementation: FAIL. Apple summarily kicks this device to the proverbial curb. :-P
I wouldn’t say that. I think that the hardcore e-reader crowd is firmly sold (for the moment, anyway) on the advantages of e-ink over LCD, whether real or perceived, and so the iPad is likely to make only modest inroads with them. (With more casual readers, it may be a different story.) If you’re gonna have an e-ink screen with an Android touch display, this is definitely a better model than the nook, and probably better for the majority of readers than the eDGe, which was designed more for student use. Too bad that Borders’ e-bookstore won’t open until June.
Why waste all that space on an ebook reader with an LCD screen used less often than the e-ink screen? It would have been a better reader if they made the e-ink screen 8 or 9″ like the size of most print book pages.
You, Sir, are correct!