The French company Sagem is out to pamper the e-book reading crowd with a new device that can well be considered the gadget equivalent of a beauty peagent winner. Named Binder, the e-reader though is not all about beauty but also of substance of equal measure. For packed within its compact dimensions are features that makes reading e-books a real pleasure.
Also, the Binder breaks convention of being not in the league of e-readers that are based on the e-ink technology. Rather, its one more to boast of the Sipix e-paper display after Asus DR-900. However, unlike the Asus offering, the Binder is in the 6 inch category of e-reader, equipped as it is with a capacitive touchscreen of the same dimension.
The e-reader also boasts of compact dimensions, tipping the scales at around 240 grams, which is the same as the latest Kindle while measuring just 152 x 123 x 10.7 mm. However, that’s enough to pack within it 2 GB of internal storage, Wi-Fi as well as an integrated 3G module. Kindle fans might still be happy as the Binder has half the storage as that of the former though where the latter scores is the microSD option that it includes which can jack up total storage all the way up to 32 GB. In terms of number of books, that’s good enough for a mammoth 12,000 e-books.
The Binder is compatible with TXT, Epub, PDF, HTML, JPEG, PNG, BMP e-book file formats as well as MP3 files. Looks wise, the Binder is all about touchscreen on the front with four swanky buttons arranged towards the top left edge. The buttons sport shades of gray that become increasingly dark towards the top and in fact, look cool against the e-reader’s white coloration.
“The eReader market has developed quickly but until now has been plagued by a simple trade-off – do you want a smaller form factor and less features, or a fully connected experience but with a device that is no longer pocket-sized?”, said Jérôme Nadel of Sagem Wireless while speaking of the device while further adding: “By focusing on the user experience and using the latest technology, we have developed a device that solves this conundrum”.
However, the Binder is unlike what we know of the Kindles or the Nooks in that its purely a white labelled product. What this means is that its like the e-reader is open source as any brand can have the device and bring it to the market with their own logos splashed over it. In fact, the process has already begun as the French retailer FNAC has already got off with it and is currently offering the Binder after having re-named it as the FnacBook. Anyone with 199 euros in France can procure the device that comes with with free 3G from carrier SFR. Similarly, the Binder becomes the eBook in Italy courtesy Telecom Italia. The eBook goes on sale in Italy from November though there is no word yet when the rest of the world will get to have the Binder in their own domestic versions.
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.
