With the Kindle and the Nook hogging the limelight for having shed some extra dollars from their price tags, and with Sony too slashing the prices of all its e-readers, you might be led into thinking that the affordable range of e-readers comprises of only these along with those like the Kobos that were already present. The new Jetbook Mini too has joined the party with an e-reader device in the budget category that goes a bit further by offering an e-reader that’s priced below the magical $100 mark.
However, here’s one more e-reader that has slipped in almost unnoticed to do battle in the budget e-book reader category and has an impressive array of features that could be enough to create a shake up sort of thing in the affordable e-reader segment.
To begin with, the Augen e-reader sports the same looks as the Kindle 2 though the only marked difference is that the former comes in a darker shade compared to the white finish of the Kindle 2 while the display is in color. This when the Kindle 2 has kept it confined to only black and white.
The display in case of the Augen e-reader is in the form of an 6 inch LCD screen though with a resolution of only 800 x 480 pixels. This pales in comparison to even the Pandigital Novel e-reader that has a better resolution of 800 x 600 pixels.
This apart, the Augen has an internal memory of 2GB with a SD card slot that can further expand the storage options. The e-reader is based on the Linux operating system, version 2.6.24.
Among the other features that the Augen includes are WiFi along with a web browser. The e-reader is able to playback video files as well while also incorporating a convenient ‘Text to Speech’ features that will read aloud the e-book when you are not in the mood to read them. The e-reader also allows for note taking as well as editing the text. For contents, Augen has tied up with ebooksmedia where there are a wide variety of e-books on offer though many of the e-books on offer are priced exorbitantly compared to the Amazon or the B&N book stores.
The e-reader is also quite compact, measuring 8.9 x 5.1 x .5 inches while tipping the scales at just 10 ounces. And lastly, coming to perhaps the most important aspect – price. The Augen e-reader is priced competitively at $100 to $130.
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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.
