Samsung unrolls Papyrus eBook reader details

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 25 Mar 2009 at 10:54

Samsung has released further details of its forthcoming eBook, dubbed Papyrus.

Samsung was showing off the device at its European Forum event in Vienna, ahead of a summer launch in Korea.

In an effort to differentiate the Papyrus from the pack, Samsung has kitted it out with a 6in touchscreen, allowing users to annotate their eBooks and make notes.

This would put it firmly in iRex iLiad territory (pictured) - the only other available touchscreen eBook reader - but Samsung has also set an aggressive price of around $300, which would keep it in line with our A-Listed Sony PRS 505 and undercut the Iliad and Amazon's all-conquering Kindle.

Beneath the touchscreen, the Papyrus will also feature 512MB of on-board memory, though this will come at the expense of an SD card slot. There's also no wireless options, with connection limited to a micro-USB cable.

Aside from its routine duties, the Papyrus will act as a note and memo taker, world clock, diary, calculator, and contacts list, pushing it closer to a modern-day Filofax than eBook reader.

It will also be available in a range of colours, with teal, black and pink demonstrated in Vienna. There's no word on a release in the UK, beyond "eventually".

For reviews of all the eBooks on sale in the UK at the moment, and a guide to getting into eBooks read our feature.