By James Wells at CES
LAS VEGAS, USA: Samsung has launched its first two e-books, with reading, writing and sharing functionality, at the CES show in Las Vegas. The two potential Kindle-killers are available in 6-inch and 10-inch sizes.
“We’ve used our expertise to create a high-quality e-book with today’s on-the-go consumer in mind,” said Young Bae, director of display marketing, Samsung Information Technology Division.
“Samsung is addressing a common frustration that users experience with many of today’s digital readers with a stylus that allows them to annotate their favourite works or take notes. Coupled with wireless functionality that enables sharing of content, this is a truly multi-faceted device.”
In a point of difference to Amazon’s market leader, the Kindle, the new Samsung E6 and E101 e-books will include a stylus pen, so users can add or change content while using the device. This could involve making notes whilst reading a book, adding an event to a calendar or writing a reminder for later reference.
The inclusion of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi into the e-books allows readers to directly download content, such as books, magazines and newspapers to the devices. Samsung is also promoting this device as having lower power consumption through the removal of a backlight.
Available in the United States in early 2010, these models will be US$399 and US$699. No Australian dates or pricing is available.
Additional reporting by Patrick Avenell