Its looking like the tradional maker of Computer Hardware such as Motherboards is jumping on the E-Reader Bandwagon. Asus tells us they are aiming for a May 2010 Release and a price tag of about 250 Pounds, or 350 US Dollars.
The thing that we find most alluring about the DR-950 is just how thing it really is—just .35-inches despite the 9-inch, 1024×768 display.
Other things we like about the Asus 950 E-Reader include 2-4GB of storage, an SD card slot, Wi-Fi and HDSPA, a USB port and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
The Big Rumor is that Asus wants to use the Barnes and Noble E-Book Store you can read more about this on the Good E-Reader Blog
One of the most interesting facets of Asus jumping into the E-reader wars is that it is not using tradional E-INK they are using something named SiPix Microcup electronic paper, which purports to be more a more energy efficient alternative. More informatin on the SIPIX Microcup paper can be found on our E-Reader Forum.
One application of the SiPix Microcup® is flexible, low-power electronic paper module. This module is highly reflective and may be used to produce with paper-like readability. Unlike existing display technologies, SiPix e-paper has image memory – the display content remains after the power has been removed. Due to this benefit, extremely low-power portable devices may be created. Because of the Microcup® architecture, SiPix e-Paper is known to be environmentally robust and highly resistant to impact and pressure.
Fabrication
Under the influence of an applied electric field, the charged particles migrate through the dielectric fluid. If the white particles are at the visible surface, that area of the display reflects a white color to the viewer. It will also display such colors as Red, Blue, green, Yellow, so you will more colors coming out on the Asus E-Reader which does something very interesting making a departure from E-ink to something that actually displays colors, while maintaining an E-ink disposition.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
