Archive for September 17th, 2007

When it rains it pours.  Lately, it seems like news of a new e-book device surfaces daily.  Pretty soon we will be faced with so many buying decisions.  To add to the confusion I will throw in another choice.  By the end of the year there will be another E-ink device on the block.  It is Jinke’s Hanlin V9 .This reader will have a flexible plastic screen measuring 10 inches. Formats supported include PDF, DOC, HTML, TXT, and CHM.  I haven’t seen anything on the price, but I m guessing that it will cost at least $450.  It doesn’t have a touch screen, but if it does come in at that price or lower, then it may be a viable alternative to the iRex iLiad that costs $700,.  If you want a reader with a touch screen you won’t have to wait too long.  By the end of January 2008, Jinke plans to release the V9t (pictured), which is basically the V9 with a touch screen.  The only drawback I can see from the specs is that both readers only support SD cards up to 2GB capacity.  The third model V9c due out at the same time as the V9t tops out at only 1GB.  I don’t know if these devices will arrive to market on time, it seems that most readers don’t, so take these dates with a grain of salt.  If you are not in the market for a large screen device, Jinke has a couple of models out now, the V3 and V8.  These are selling for $329 and $299 respectively.  You can read about hands on experience with the V3 here on Mobileread.  I strongly suggest reading this thread before buying.  Apparently Jinke still has some devices in stock that don’t have the Vizplex screen and unless you specifically ask for it, you may not get it.  Also, from what I read on the thread, there is $20 charge for the upgrade.  Circumstances may have changed so ask questions before you decide to go for it.