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LG will duke it out with Amazon and Apple
KOREAN ELECTRONICS MAKER LG intends to launch its own e-reader to take on Apple and Amazon.
In an interview with Emirates Business LG's CEO KW Kim said, "We will soon launch a new product, maybe by April. It will compete with Apple and Amazon."
Kim wouldn't be pushed further but he did insist that the LG product will be "revolutionary". Of course.
LG has demoed technology for e-readers in the past. In October last year it launched a solar powered e-reader and in December it started manufacturing e-paper displays, the flat screens used in e-readers.
The solar powered e-reader was a niche product with stripped-down functionality so this is the first time LG has announced that it will be coming to market with an e-reader of its own.
If LG wants to take on Amazon and Apple at mass retail we expect its 'revolutionary' e-reader will have to feature some serious bells and whistles to stand out in a market that's getting increasingly more crowded. µ
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Sometimes I use my netbook to log into remote machine via SSH and run software on the remote machine that produces text ouput which crolls up the ssh window. While I am waiting for the remote program to finish I surf the web on the netbook. This is called multi-tasking: ssh client and web browser working simultaneously (or at least time sliced on the local Atom CPU). AFAIK the iPad cannot multitask or time-slice.
So, no, iPad does not compete with netbooks.
I find it amusing to see folks repeating Bill Gates' assessment of the iPad (yukky name!) as nothing more than an eBook reader. It in fact is Apple's counterpoint to the hetbook and can do all the things that a netbook can do. Neither the Kindle, the Sny offering, nor likely the LG will ve anything more than a device fopr purchasing, downloading and reading ePuv books.
While the iPad is an intriguing bit of kut, its completely closed, proprietary structure ios a major negative factor for me, as is the lack of usb ports for attaching external devices for augmenting functionality. No doubt, Apple and its minions will use the spare docking port to deliver some very proprietary and pricey add-ins, but only those that Saint Jobs anoints first.
I might buy one for mobile web browisng, movie watching, music and trivial games, but I'll be purchasing the Apple subsidized entry level model. This just might be enough to counteract the stink of such a closed system. Almost.
Wouldn’t that be nifty? Want a book, just search for it, download it, and minutes later you’re reading it. All without getting up from wherever you’re sitting.
While e-paper does have the real paper "feel", I don't like its monochrome look, and even worse, it's sluggish response time.
LCD may not be the perfect media for reading, but it allow user to do other stuff with their tablet, as web browsing and video watching. So in the end it's much more useful.
I didn't bought Kindle, and will never buy one with current e-paper technology.
The only thing LG has to do to beat the competition is to bring out a 9 inch screen without any bells or whistles for under £100. Then watch the others crumble.