» Aluratek Jumps in with $179 Libre eBook Reader PRO, Reflective LCD Display

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Aluratek Jumps in with $179 Libre eBook Reader PRO, Reflective LCD Display

Dec 8, 2009 | 0 Comments |

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By Staff Writer – John Federico (@gadgetboy)
Aluratek Libre eBook Reader PRO
The eReader market is starting to remind me of the MP3 player market, circa 2005 – every startup electronics manufacturer is trying to get a toehold as a second tier player and capture some market share.

With that in mind, I’m not really inclined to write about many of them unless they have truly differentiating features. The Aluratek Libre eBook Reader PRo has two.

First is the price: $179 for a 5-inch eReader makes a nice stocking stuffer this holiday season. Plus, it supports all common formats including Adobe DRM (for both ePUB and PDF) ePUB, PDF, FB2, TXT, Mobi, PRC and RTF, plays MP3 audio and displays BMP, JPG, GIF and Animated GIF (‘cuz you never know when you want to watch a grayscale animated gif).

Second is how they arrived at that price. Instead of the typical pricey e-ink screen, this eReader uses a monochrome reflective light LCD display technology which the company claims offers the same readability and appearance of printed paper. Given that the display has no backlighting, the company also claims 24 hours of battery runtime.

That, my friends, is impressive – and innovative.

To sweeten the deal even further, the Libre comes in white or black with a 2 GB SD card pre-loaded with “100 of the most popular downloaded books of all time.” Er, we’ll have to wait and see what they might be.

It lacks any wireless capabilities, but if you’re looking for an entry-level eReader at an entry-level price, this could be for you.

I haven’t had my hands on the device, but this is one booth I will visit at CES this year to grope the gadgets.

[Source: BusinessWire]

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