Netronix is showing off several new designs for eReaders including a prototype with a 6.8 inch E Ink display, Android-based software, and support for a Wacom digital pen.
While Netronix isn’t exactly a household name, the Taiwanese company designs and manufactures devices such as the Kobo eReader.
Charbax from ArmDevices got a chance to check out the company’s latest models recently.
The new 6.8 inch model has a 1440 x 1080 pixel display, a Freescale i.MX6 Solo Lite ARM Cortex-A9 processor, and software that’s based on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.
It’s not clear if Netronix or any of its partners plans to actually release a device based on this design, but an eReader with support for pressure-sensitive digital pen input could come in handy for folks who like to scribble notes in the margins of books, for students who want to highlight or underline passages, or for anyone looking for a portable device with long battery life that you can use both to read books and to jot notes or scribbles.
On the other hand it’s likely a device like this would cost more than the $119 Amazon Kindle Paperwhite or B&N NOOK with Glowlight.
Netronix is also showing off an E Ink smartwatch and a 13.3 inch eReader prorotype. You can see more in Charbax’s video below.
I actually like the idea of an e-reader combined with a sketchbook. There’s a lot of possibilities there.
Great news. I have long been a fan of Wacom-equipped e-ink tablets. Unfortunately, Irex was the last one to use Wacom – Hanvon and Onyx use a different technology which is inferior in my opinion. I really hope they make this device in different sizes, including 8 and 10 inches.
I really do want one. An eInk tablet with decent specs and audio output — and more importantly, one that’s not hamstrung by someone’s attempt to transform Android into a glorified shopping cart — should make a great car audio player and outdoor web browser, color be damned. Don’t really need the pen, but having something more precise than the kind of blunt-crayon capacitive stylus we have available to us with most devices would still be welcome.
On the other hand…
“The new 6.8 inch model has … software that’s based on
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.”
I’m wondering if Netronix understands what “new” means.
Poor old Sony…I almost feel sorry for them. Go Netronix.
I want one NOW!