The Readius was
first announced in January 2009 by Polymer Vision, a Philips spinoff. The device has a five-inch monochrome display, which, according to the company, offers high contrast and reflectivity along with 16 grayscales. When not being used, the screen rolls up into a package that, at just 4.5 x 2.5 x .8 inches (115 x 57 x 21mm), is as small as an average mobile phone.
Like Amazon's Linux-based
Kindle and a growing variety of other Windows-based e-readers, the Readius uses an
electrophorescent monochrome display sourced from
E Ink Corporation. Electronic paper offers a bright, high-contrast, thin, lightweight display technology that remains legible under "any lighting condition" -- much like newsprint. Once an image has been "printed," no power is needed to hold it, reducing energy requirements by 99 percent compared to LCDs, E Ink claims.
E Ink's electronic paper requires no power to hold images
Source: E Ink Corporation
Unlike other e-readers, however, the Readius features a flexible backplane for its display. Polymer Vision cites a roll radius of only 7.5mm, allowing the device's screen to be rolled up to the diameter of a pen.
The Readius half open (left) and fully open (right)
(Click either to enlarge)Unfortunately, the Readius -- about which we provide further background below -- is on hold due to the bad financial climate, according to a
Wired article by Priya Ganapati. Polymer Vision CEO Karl McGoldrick is quoted as saying that the device, originally scheduled for launch in autumn 2008, is ready to go into production, but "all depends on exactly when the funding comes through."
"This product should have been out in the market last year," McGoldrick is said to have added. "Our display is perfect and the device is solid."
BackgroundThe Windows CE-based Readius combines electronic book reading capabilities with cellular wide area networking. Like the Kindle, it can download content via its cellular modem. In addition, it is compatible with HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) service, and can be used as a cell phone worldwide.
The Readius, which has a custom user interface, can use digital rights management (DRM) for content protection, but is also said to be compatible with open formats such as ASCII text, HTML, and PDF. It will also include email software, an RSS reader, and an audio player. A Web browser is not included, however, likely because of the low refresh rate inherent in "e-paper" displays.
As noted, phone calls can also be made, though the device's eight hardware buttons do not include a numeric keypad. Polymer Vision says calls can be made from a contact list, transferred from a PC via ActiveSync and the device's USB port.
Features and specifications released by Polymer Vision for the Readius include:
- Processor -- ARM11-based, clocked at 400MHz
- Memory -- 128MB RAM, 256MB flash
- Storage -- microSD slot
- Display:
- rollable, using organic thin film transistor backplane with electrophoretic front plane
- 5-inch, 320 x 240 resolution
- 16 gray levels
- Keys -- five capacitive touch buttons
- Wireless:
- WAN -- Tri-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE, dual-band UMTS/HSDPA
- PAN -- Bluetooth 2.0
- Other I/O: USB 2.0, with both client and mass storage device modes
- Expansion -- microSD slot
- Dimensions:
- closed -- 4.5 x 2.5 x 0.8 inches (115 x 57 x 21mm)
- open -- 6.3 x 4.5 x 0.8 inches (160 x 115 x 21mm)
- Weight -- 4 ounces (115g)
Further informationTo see
Wired magazine's item on the Readius e-reader, see the publication's website,
here.
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