Wow. I always wondered what the “beyond” was in Bed, Bath and Beyond stores. Today I found out. MobileRead caught a press release from ECTACO that says you’ll find the company’s jetBook on store shelves at BB&B. I’m in the market for a new pillow, so I’ll have to see if my local store already has the $299 e-book device.
Aside from the semi-head-scratching distribution news, ECTACO says that their newest jetBook version supports additional formats: ePub, Mobipocket, PRC and RTF are added to the existing support for txt, fb2, pdf and jpg files. The new format support makes the jetBook a little more competitive against Sony’s Reader and Amazon’s Kindle, but it’s not likely to gain a massive audience.
I like how small this device is though. It has a five-inch display and no keyboard, so the unit measures in at 6″ x 4.3″ x 0.5″ and weighs 7.4-ounces. The display uses a VGA reflective TFT LCD, so there’s no page flash like the eInk devices. At $299, I think it’s a bit over-priced when compared to the Kindle and the benefits that device brings, i.e.: wireless support, online purchases, and a wider collection of current content. Still, you can’t walk into a store to buy coordinating sheets, towels and a Kindle, now can you?
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