Sony LIBRIé e-book reader arrives

SONY, E-INK AND ROYAL PHILIPS Electronics announced earlier this week the first ever consumer application of an electronic paper display module with Sony's e-Book reader, the LIBRIé. E Ink says in its press release that the "revolutionary" electronic ink technology offers a "truly paper-like reading experience". What a world we live in when we can accurately simulate reading a piece of paper.

The e-paper display is reflective and apparently not difficult to read in bright sunlight, or in dimly lit environments. The print on screen is viewable from "virtually any angle," says E Ink.

In a pretty cool feature, the device will only use power when an image is changed, so the user is expected to be able to read over 10,000 pages before the batteries will need changing. However, the gadget does take four AAA batteries, so if you're planning on reading a lot of e-paper, you might not last that long. It should be more than enough for the regular e-paper reader, though.

Sony's LIBRIé is about the size of an average paperback book, and its design shares similarities with that "form factor" too. What's really cool is the feature to download published content from the internet, and read it wherever you like - seeing as the LIBRIé can store up to 500 downloaded books, making it the iPod equivalent for the bookworm.

It's taken a development collaboration started in 2001, involving E Ink, Toppan Printing, Phillips and Sony to get this device right. Now, after three years, the first commercial model has been completed to their liking. Specific sales details, such as when it will be released and how much for, have not been announced yet. µ