The Sony DPT-RP1 goes on sale in Japan on June 5th and this model is only available for the Japanese market. It will not have English firmware and there will be no way to use it outside of Japan. Sony says firmware updates will only be pushed out to WIFI addresses in Japan.
The DPT-RP1 features a 13.3 inch flexible electronic paper display with a resolution of 2200 x 1650 and 207 PPI. Underneath the hood is a Marvell IAP140 64-bit Quad-core IoT Applications Processor and ARM Cortex-A53 CPU, up to 1.2GHz, and has a separate power low-power Cortex M3. It has 16GB of internal memory , which is the equivalent of 10,000 PDF Files.
You will be able to connect up to the internet and store your files in the cloud and users are going to be excited that the DPT-RP1 has Bluetooth 4.2, so you can hook up a series of unannounced accessories. This device also has NFC, which means you can unlock it with a new smartphone app Sony is releasing or a by holding the FeliCa card over the digital paper.
Sony developed a new Digital Paper App for desktop to make it easier to convert websites and documents to PDF form and send them wirelessly to the DPT-RP1.
The DPT-RP1 will be available for $720 US in Japan. I have asked around and there is no US release date, but I would not expect it anytime soon. The Digital Paper Unit in the US needs to create English firmware and port over all of the new security enhancements. They also need to create an entirely new website and work out deals with Amazon, B&H and a number of other retailers. I expect it to be available in the US towards the end of the year or early next year.
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.
