$13 E-Reader
10-11-2012, 07:05 AM
#1
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$13 E-Reader
http://mashable.com/2012/10/10/txtr-beagle-e-reader/
$13 Txtr Beagle Is World’s Cheapest and Smallest E-Reader
If you thought the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite e-reader was a great deal at $119, take a look at the Txtr Beagle Read|Only, undercutting it by more than a C-note — it sells for a mere $13.
As you might expect, for such a rock-bottom price you’re going to have to make some sacrifices.
If you just want to read text and you can live without a touchscreen, 3G, a backlight and Wi-Fi — and you don’t mind inserting three AAA batteries once a year — this 5-inch, 4.5-oz E Ink device with its 800×600 screen might be the e-reader for you. The Txtr Beagle’s 4GB of storage will give you room for a boatload of books, and its 5mm thickness is almost razor-thin enough to give you a paper cut.
Why is it called Txtr Beagle? No, it’s not named after Charles Darwin’s ship, but one reason could be its resemblance to a pet beagle for your smartphone. Its Bluetooth radio communicates with a Txtr app on your iOS or Android smartphone, dutifully fetching books for your reading enjoyment.
German company Txtr already has its own Txtr E-book Store via apps for iOS and Android, so that end of the business is ready to go. But the company hasn’t said when we’ll see this bare-bones book reader on the market. It did mention it’s working on deals with smartphone providers to include the reader as an accessory for a variety of smartphones.
We’re looking at the beautiful colors and simple design of this Txtr Beagle with considerable trepidation, keeping in mind the old adage of “you get what you pay for” proves itself to be true more often than not. Could this be an exception? Will the company actually be able to deliver this e-reader for $13 — just about the same price as a single e-book on Amazon — that even undercuts Amazon’s rock-bottom-priced $69 Kindle?
If you thought the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite e-reader was a great deal at $119, take a look at the Txtr Beagle Read|Only, undercutting it by more than a C-note — it sells for a mere $13.
As you might expect, for such a rock-bottom price you’re going to have to make some sacrifices.
If you just want to read text and you can live without a touchscreen, 3G, a backlight and Wi-Fi — and you don’t mind inserting three AAA batteries once a year — this 5-inch, 4.5-oz E Ink device with its 800×600 screen might be the e-reader for you. The Txtr Beagle’s 4GB of storage will give you room for a boatload of books, and its 5mm thickness is almost razor-thin enough to give you a paper cut.
Why is it called Txtr Beagle? No, it’s not named after Charles Darwin’s ship, but one reason could be its resemblance to a pet beagle for your smartphone. Its Bluetooth radio communicates with a Txtr app on your iOS or Android smartphone, dutifully fetching books for your reading enjoyment.
German company Txtr already has its own Txtr E-book Store via apps for iOS and Android, so that end of the business is ready to go. But the company hasn’t said when we’ll see this bare-bones book reader on the market. It did mention it’s working on deals with smartphone providers to include the reader as an accessory for a variety of smartphones.
We’re looking at the beautiful colors and simple design of this Txtr Beagle with considerable trepidation, keeping in mind the old adage of “you get what you pay for” proves itself to be true more often than not. Could this be an exception? Will the company actually be able to deliver this e-reader for $13 — just about the same price as a single e-book on Amazon — that even undercuts Amazon’s rock-bottom-priced $69 Kindle?
10-11-2012, 08:29 AM
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This directly impacts my company, so I follow this stuff pretty closely.
Consider this:
A local school district actually delayed their start this fall because of a budget crisis. If they purchased these units for $13 (retail) and received a discount from MacMillan for using eBooks, they would immediately see a savings by investing in technology. MacMillan and other academic publishers have a huge interest in converting schools to a digital platform. This wil likely accelerate the acceptance of digital media in our school systems and beyond.
Consider this:
A local school district actually delayed their start this fall because of a budget crisis. If they purchased these units for $13 (retail) and received a discount from MacMillan for using eBooks, they would immediately see a savings by investing in technology. MacMillan and other academic publishers have a huge interest in converting schools to a digital platform. This wil likely accelerate the acceptance of digital media in our school systems and beyond.
10-11-2012, 01:52 PM
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This directly impacts my company, so I follow this stuff pretty closely.
Consider this:
A local school district actually delayed their start this fall because of a budget crisis. If they purchased these units for $13 (retail) and received a discount from MacMillan for using eBooks, they would immediately see a savings by investing in technology. MacMillan and other academic publishers have a huge interest in converting schools to a digital platform. This wil likely accelerate the acceptance of digital media in our school systems and beyond.
Consider this:
A local school district actually delayed their start this fall because of a budget crisis. If they purchased these units for $13 (retail) and received a discount from MacMillan for using eBooks, they would immediately see a savings by investing in technology. MacMillan and other academic publishers have a huge interest in converting schools to a digital platform. This wil likely accelerate the acceptance of digital media in our school systems and beyond.
I like the sound of this!
10-11-2012, 08:37 PM
#5
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Made in china by people happy to get super-low wages
Sold at a near break-even price but make it up in volume
Shipping impossibly cheap subsidized by the government
That's how.
Sold at a near break-even price but make it up in volume
Shipping impossibly cheap subsidized by the government
That's how.
10-11-2012, 08:48 PM
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Your point?
It's a German company, BTW. The founders got their bank roll when they developed navigation systems that later sold to one of the major companies (Motorola I think?). They boomed big-time in 2011 when 3M invested in the company.
It's a German company, BTW. The founders got their bank roll when they developed navigation systems that later sold to one of the major companies (Motorola I think?). They boomed big-time in 2011 when 3M invested in the company.
10-12-2012, 08:20 PM
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10-12-2012, 10:37 PM
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Sometimes I have to read customer e-mails at work, it pisses me off a little but I still read through stuff like that. Improper grammar is like ebonics: I can understand it, I can even speak it . . . but that doesn't mean it doesn't suck.
10-14-2012, 04:20 PM
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I cannot even into words.
What I meant was:
Also squinting at a screen for long enough to read a novel would actually pillage my eyes. Plus old people think that you're texting your friends a web page and uploading e-mails to google.
What I meant was:
This is cheaper to buy than it costs to print a decent book. I don't even know what is going on anymore.
Also squinting at a screen for long enough to read a novel would actually pillage my eyes. Plus old people think that you're texting your friends a web page and uploading e-mails to google.