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The Cheapest E-Book Reader Ever?

By Andy Sim - on 11 Oct 2012, 2:50pm

The Cheapest E-Book Reader Ever?

Image credit: Txtr

Amazon's Kindle would probably come to mind when the topic of e-book readers is raised. Priced at US$69, the 6-inch Kindle is also one of the more affordable e-readers around; but not if electronics firm Txtr can help it.

The German company unveiled the Beagle recently -- a basic e-reader which features an Electronic Ink screen similar to that of the Kindle. The Beagle's biggest draw, however, lies with its staggeringly low US$13 (about S$16) price point. And as with most wallet-friendly items, don't expect this e-reader to come with the fancy frills found in Barnes & Noble's Nook Simple Touch or Amazon's latest Kindle Paperwhite.

For starters, the Beagle carries a smaller 5-inch screen with a resolution of 800 by 600 pixels, compared to the Paperwhite's 6-inch display. The e-reader also lacks an illuminated screen, which suggests that ambient lighting is needed in the dark. It has a storage capacity of 4GB without any card slots, and is powered by two AAA batteries instead of a rechargeable pack. According to TechSpot's article, that's supposed to provide more than a year's worth of reading time, or approximately 12 to 15 books.

Reportedly, the reading companion doesn't provide 3G or Wi-Fi capacities either. However, Txtr has cooked up an Android 4.0 application which enables users to transfer content from a handset to the unit using a Bluetooth connection. The Txtr Beagle will make Europe its first stop before trickling down to other regions. You can catch it in action via the promotional video embedded below.

Source: The Huffington Post and TechSpot

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