Bookeen upgrades Cybook Opus; will be released in multiple colors on May 7

With so many electronic reading gadgets out there, it's hard to stand out from the pack. (Unless you're made by Apple or Microsoft, and even the latter isn't gaining much popularity.)

Bookeen has decided to step up their uniquely-named Cybook Opus e-ink reader with some color - although only on the case.

The Bookeen electronic ink device hosts a 5-inch monochrome screen with an 800 x 600 pixel resolution. According to the release, some of the updates include a longer battery life (more than 15 days on a single charge) and a faster start-up time (less than 15 seconds). There's also an optional microSD card slot plus 1GB of internal memory, bringing the grand total of possible portable titles to 9,000.

While color might only be on the outside, the Cybook Opus should be easy to read thanks to several customizable viewing tools, including 12 font sizes, four greyscale levels and an accelerometer for toggling between landscape and portrait modes.

Available in seven shades (black, silver, blue, red, pink, green and orange), the upgraded Cybook Opus will be ready by May 7 for £149 in the UK and $199 in the US, which includes a whopping 150 free titles. Normally, I'd say an e-ink device should have color screen capabilities these days, but with that freebie packages, the Cybook Opus is quite a deal.