Marvell promises sub-£100 eBook readers

 

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Posted on 3 Nov 2009 at 08:06

Chipmaker Marvell has jumped into the fast-growing eBook reader market, unveiling a platform that the company says will allow for a new generation of faster devices costing less than £100.

Marvell has teamed up with E Ink, a developer of e-paper display technology, to create an integrated application processor. EBook readers based on the technology are expected to hit the market in the first quarter of 2010.

The first devices include the already announced enTourage Edge, a combination eReader and netbook; the Alex reader from Spring Design, and an offering from Plastic Logic.

Marvell's platform is based on its new Armada family of processors, announced last month. Marvell makes a wide array of chips - including those used for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and mobile phone connectivity - which the company says allows it to offer the complete chip solution eBook reader makers need.

The company is also partnering with FirstPaper, which is backed by media giant Hearst, for content and graphics technology.

Weili Dai, Marvell's co-founder and general manager of its consumer and computing business unit, estimated the entry level price point of a eBook Reader based on the Marvell platform at roughly $150 (£92) - cheaper than devices currently on the market, which range upward from $199 (£122).

"We always envisioned that the eBook was going to be a very big, important segment," she says, with applications in consumer, business, education and health customers. The company claims its technology will also allow for faster page loads of less than one second.

Roughly 3 million readers are expected to be sold in the US this year, with sales doubling in 2010, according to Forrester Research.

Author: Reuters