Astak, IREX Launch New E-Readers
Just when you thought Plastic Logic was providing the only real Kindle competition in town, both Astak and IREX have announced their own new e-reader models as well…
"Until now, IREX, one of the early e-reader pioneers (you remember the iLiad, right?), has mainly offered more business-oriented readers that are rather pricey and sold primarily to European customers," writes Crave's David Carnoy. "However, this model is a consumer model that will be sold in the U.S., as well as other countries (here in the States, I suspect it will cost less than $400 and possibly less than $350). Allegedly, the unit will have a tie-in with one of the large online e-book sellers, though IREX wouldn't say which one."
"Astak, based in San Jose, Calif., will ship this month an e-reader sporting a 5-inch screen (without 3G wireless connectivity) called the Pocket Pro, joining the company's earlier model with a 6-inch screen," writes TWICE's Amy Gilroy. "The Pocket Pro supports 20 formats of books in the public domain as well as copy-protected PDF files."
More here from Engadget … more here from Ubergizmo … and more here from Electronista.