Asus DR-950 B&W touchscreen e-reader includes 9" display, text-to-speech
Asus isn't working on just one e-book reader: they're working on a series. Now there's word about the DR-950, which might not be in color, but it looks like a decent (and more importantly, affordable) entry into the e-book reader market.
Details on Asus' second (known) e-book reader spilled this morning. Electric Pig is reporting that the newest e-reader will sport a 9-inch Sipix touchscreen (1,024 x 768 resolution), displayed in 16 shades of gray. The web browser is able to alternate between portrait and landscape display.
Some of the highlighted features include text-to-speech ability (supporting 26 languages), virtual keyboard and an RSS reader. Supported file formats include PDF, TXT, Audible, MP3, ePub, HTML, JPEG, GIF, PNG and BMP.
The 9mm-thin device weighs in at 13.1-ounces. Within that frame, the DR-950 will host 2 to 4 GB of internal memory, Wi-Fi and HSPA (maybe WiMax), a USB port, an SD expansion slot and a 3.5mm earphone jack.
No word on a release date or price yet, but being so gray and rather basic, it could fall below the $200 mark.