Toshiba is going to be releasing soon the Biblio Leaf SP02 e-reader soon. Now if you are thinking “ho hum, yet another new e-reader,” you are in for a surprise!The Biblio Leaf SP02 is among the very few that can derive its power from the sun! It is one of the very first e-readers to be powered by solar energy.
The main viewing area is made up of a 6 inch monochrome screen offering 16 shades of gray while having a resolution of 800 x 600 pixels. The e-reader packs both Wi-Fi as well as 3G capabilities and includes an integrated calendar, calculator along with notebook function. The Biblio Leaf SP02 is compatible with XMDF, PDF and EPUB file formats.
The number of e-books that can be squeezed into the 2 GB internal storage of the Biblio Leaf SP02 will easily run into thousands though there will also be a few thousands more that can be included via microSD cards. Then the e-reader also has a micros USB port to show off.
Now coming to the most unique aspect of the Biblio Leaf SP02, its solar panel which finds place along the lower right edge on the front surface. However, there are no details available that can quantify just how powerful the panel is or how much of a contribution it can make to the overall page turn figure sans the e-reader’s internal memory. With both power sources combined, Toshiba is claiming a quite healthy 7,500 number of page turns on a single full charge of the battery. And as for its size and weight, the Biblio Leaf SP02 measures 198 × 130 × 9.6 mm while weighing just 295.8 grams.
The e-reader will initially go on sale in the Japanese market only from December onwards with Japan’s second biggest mobile carrier KDDI being the carrier partner. There is no word yet of the e-reader’s price or when it will set sail for foreign shores.
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.