Sep

Good E-Reader IFA 2010 Exclusive: iriver Story Touch Edition previewed

The iriver Story Touch Edition is another e-reader that was found making a bold style statement under the bright show arc lights. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said of the e-reader’s display which could have easily done with a bit more of contrast and clarity. The 6 inch e-ink screen having a resolution of 800 x 600 pixels is touch sensitive, which means a light tap or a swipe of the finger is all that is needed to get things done on this device. The resistive touchscreen layer on top of the screen further impacts readability leading to the scenario where users will perhaps like to have a bit more out of the display.

These apart, the build quality of the e-reader is top notch and is nice and compact as a whole while the software too proved to be up to the job. There is a built in accelerometer that ensures the display changes orientation automatically as the e-reader is flipped around. The e-reader also incorporates a stylus that can also be used to make on-screen inputs. The stylus, which slots in neatly on the top of the screen is great for making notes on the screen and can be fun to play with drawing shapes on the screen.

Storage capacity of the Story Touch Edition is a quite generous 2 GB, which means a thousand and a few hundred more e-books can fit in nicely. The Story Touch Edition with Wi-Fi along with a light weight browser and a specially made email app is in the works while its the versions of the e-reader sans Wi-Fi that will go on sale first. The price of the non Wi Fi model has been fixed at €229 when it goes on sale in Europe and Korea as early as next week itself.

However, with cheaper options available from Amazon while Sony too having launched their refurbished line up of e-reader that now include touchscreen across the entire range, it remains to be seen if iriver can make a serious sales pitch for itself.

Sovan Mandal (1912 Posts)

Sovan Mandal is the senior tablet and tech corespondent for goodereader.com. He brings a international approach to news that is not just applicable to the North American market, but also Asia, India, Europe and others. Sovy brings his own writing flavor to the website and is interested in Science Fiction, Technology and Writing. Any questions, send an email