Interead, the company behind the COOL-ER line of e-book readers (they also make reading “cool”—at least according to their tagline. But we’re not going to argue with that), have announced that they’ll be unveiling new readers at this year’s CES. Three new reader models are lined up for the year, including a compact model with a 6-inch screen, a version that comes with Wi-fi, and another that comes with a 3G mobile data connection.
The COOL-ER Compact, which comes with a 6-inch E-Ink screen, and a frame that’s only 10mm thick. The compact comes with 2GBs of onboard memory and an SD card slot for adding up to 4GBs more for storing thousands of books. The COOL-ER Connect adds a Wi-fi connection and a touchscreen for easy page-turns and navigation. The COOL-ER 3G adds a 3G connection, allowing users to download more than 1,400 periodicals and more than 2 million books wherever there’s a 3G signal (like Sony’s Daily Edition Reader, this device will connect via AT&T’s 3G network).
Full specs haven’t been released yet, except for the already-existing COOL-ER Classic (which will also be re-launched with new color schemes). The 178-gram Classic comes with a 6-inch E-Ink screen, 1GB of built-in storage, an SD card slot for expansion, and a battery that’s listed to last for up to 8,000 page turns on a single charge. The readers support both portrait and landscape orientations, and the usual formats (PDF, EPub, FB2, RTF, TXT, HTML, PRC, JPG) as well as MP3 audio for music and audiobooks.
Prices for the upcoming models aren’t available yet, although the Classic bears a $250 price tag—significantly cheaper than upcoming Amazon’s $489 Kindle DX (although the DX comes with a larger screen and global wireless connectivity). Price and portability should be this set’s strength though; at 6-inches, it’s easier to pack, the price tag is easier to part with, and they come in different colors (if that matters to you).
They’ll all be launched along with COOLERMatic, a new feature that allows the COOL-ER readers to access thousands of global newspapers, magazines, and Twitter feeds. All of Interead’s readers are designed to work with the company’s own online bookstore (coolerbooks.com) that’s listed to hold more than 2 million titles. To sweeten the deal, CoolerBooks downloads can also be shared with up to five other readers—yes, cheapskate, that means you can now gather all your COOL-ER-using friends and split the price of an e-book five ways.
Tags: eBook Readers, Interead
