Samsung unveils E6 and E101 eBook readers

CES 2010: With public domain content from Google Books

7 January 2010 1:45 GMT / By Duncan Geere

Samsung, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, has announced its first entries into the increasingly crowded eBook reader market - the E6 and E101.

The E6 measures 6 inches across, whereas the E101 has a 10-inch display. Both have e-paper for visibility in sunlight, but notably include an electromagnetic resonance pen for handwriting on the devices.

The pen can be tweaked with different thicknesses and even has calligraphy settings if you're feeling fancy. It can be used to cut, copy and paste text too, with a pressure sensitivity gauge.

Format-wise, ePub, PDF and TXT are supported, and there's a set of built-in dictionaries, along with an MP3 player and a text-to-speech engine that promises "accurate" pronunciations.

Wi-Fi is present, in 802.11b/g flavour, and public domain content can be downloaded wirelessly through a partnership with Google Books that'll see more than a million books made available for free.

The E6 and E101 will be arriving in the UK in March. No word on pricing, but it's almost certain that the 10-incher will cost more than the 6-incher. Can Samsung's entry in the market help eBook readers take off? Time will tell.

Full tags

Gadgets, eBook readers, Samsung, Samsung E6, Samsung E101, Google, Google Books, CES2010