An Android operating system with twin screens

E-book readers are meant to be the next big thing in the UK, but we have found the early models to be lacking in functionality. The Sony Digital Reader looks good but the e-ink display takes too long to turn a page for our liking. The Kindle’s wireless downloading capabilities are intriguing, but the device is still has a limited list of functions.

This may be set to change, as a press release from chip manufacturers Marvell has announced that the company is about to unleash a new chip for e-readers that will boost their power and allow them to perform a variety of more complicated tasks, much like a netbook.

The company claims that the new Armada processor will offer extended battery life, faster page loading and improved connectivity via Bluetooth, 3G networks and Wi-Fi.

The first of this new breed of e-readers is set to go on sale in February 2010, and will be known as the enTourage eDGe. The device will run on an Android operating system and sports twin screens: an e-ink page on the left and a colour touchscreen on the right.

Here’s some of the blurb from the press release:

“The enTourage eDGe™ color touchscreen is a whole netbook, ready to play movies or MP3s, organize your books, notes, and pictures, or let you instant message your friends. The screen is 1024 x 600 pixels, or 10.1 inches measured diagonally. You can view images from the e-book you’re reading on the color display. You can open a virtual keyboard and type instant messages or emails. The netbook includes an audio recorder to capture lectures for later playback or sharing. It also has a video camera to record still images or movies as MP4s or 3GP files. You can plug in headphones or a microphone or use the built in speaker and recorder.

The netbook functionality comes with web browsing, audio/video record and playback, an email function and contacts list, a calculator, an alarm clock, and a library function to manage your books and files. The enTourage eDGe™ uses the Google^® Android^® operating system, so you can add other applications you need.”

This sounds much closer to my idea of the perfect e-book reader, or at least one that I could justify spending upwards of £150 pounds on. Marvell has indicated that this second generation of e-book readers will be “competitively priced”, and the enTourage eDGe is available for pre-order now on the product page for $490 (around £300)

There’s also an interactive demo to give a flavor of how it feels to use one.