Foxit eSlick- cheaper ebook reader alternative
Foxit Software are the folks behind Foxit Reader, a free PDF reader that is a great alternative to the standard Adobe Reader. The folks at Foxit know text file conversion and formats and in a surprising twist are going to introduce an electronic ebook reader in January.
The eSlick will be short on bells and whistles but it will only set you back $229 in January and $259 shortly after that. It’s a simple device with a built-in MP3 player, 128 MB of memory, SD slot (2 GB card included) and a 600 x 800 screen. It appears to only read PDF files and Foxit is including software to facilitate creating your own PDF files to put on the eSlick.
Full specs:
Screen:6″ E Ink® Vizplex screen 600 x 800 pixel resolution at 166 dpi, 4-level gray scale
Size: 7.4″ x 4.7″ x 0.4″ (188×118×9.2mm)
Weight: 6.4 ounces (180g) battery included
Color: Black/Gray/White
Connectivity: USB2.0
Operating System: Embedded Linux
Supported Formats:
- eBook Formats: PDF, TXT, Any printable document(after converted to PDF using included software)
- Sound Formats: MP3
Internal Memory: 128MB
Storage Memory: SD Card (2GB included. Supports up to 4GB)
That’s not significantly cheaper than the Sony reader (I have seen it for around $250).
Mmmmh. I like the device but I think it is too expensive. for $150 it would be better.
And is it PDF and TXT or is it only PDF?
They should really open it up to read more file formats (at least add .rtf, .doc, .html, …)
I think it’s great to see a software company actually break the confinds of the screen. Not sure it’s the best move, only time will tell. As far as the device is concerned it looks like a neat gadget. I read books on screen all the time. Bought an MSI Wind for that reason, but my wife ganked it, and now I’m left with no ability to read. So looking at something like this is an option to me. Would I spend $229? No…too high. I’d spend $150 (like SiteCharts said). Converting PDF’s is easy and I’d imagine their software will soon have a ’send to device’ type of feature.
I look forward to picking up a used one on ebay!
That’s just way too much of a cost. The idea of reading PDF on a device is cool (I have tons which I will read) but I am not paying $200 plus.
When are they going to make an eink device that supports ereader? That will be my kick butt ereading device.
@arif — you can read pdf files on the Sony Reader as well. In my experience, it doesn’t work all that well unless the doc is specifically formatted for a device with this (relatively low) resolution
This looks remarkably like the Bookeen Cybook, which can certainly handle a lot more formats than just PDF and text.
Oliver – I thought the Sony eReader reflows PDFs as does this machine?
I bought one of these, and it doesn’t work. The screen freezes and it won’t turn off or on. I’ve been in touch with Foxit tech support, and they’re terrible. I tried calling them twice, but got an answering machine. The next time I tried, I got a recorded message that my phone number had been blocked. What kind of company does that? I sent them an email, but it takes 24 hours for them to respond, and all they say is “turn the machine off.” I have repeated 3 times that I can’t turn the machine off. The on/off button doesn’t work and it’s been stuck on the same page for 3 days now. I have a $250 piece of junk.