PRODUCT PEEK
5
B&N E-Reader Sports 2 Screens: E-Ink and LCD
Miracle device rumored to have social networking and go for less than Kindle
By Harry Kimball
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Posted Oct 14, 09 10:32 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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Barnes & Noble’s entry into the e-reader market, supposed to be under wraps until next week, has been ferreted out, and it’s got something no one else has. Rumors predicted color e-ink—not true—but the device has “got something almost better,” Kit Eaton writes: two screens. The gadget has a regular, non-backlit e-ink screen like the Kindle, but below it—voila!—a full width touchscreen LCD display reminiscent of the iPhone.
The LCD takes up a full fifth of the reader’s height, and is rumored to be used for navigation and perhaps even social networking, Eaton writes in Fast Company. What's more, it could go for less than the $259 Kindle. Connectivity details are sparse, but the device will have access to discounted tomes from B&N’s catalog and the Google Books project, notes blogger Anti LumberJack on Gizmodo, who scored the scoop. He (or she) adds, “the name of the gadget, which I cannot reveal and may have changed anyhow, is freaking terrible.”