New ‘Alex’ eBook reader boasts Google Android & dual screens

What could improve eBook readers like Amazon’s Kindle 2? Spring Design thinks it can by offering an additional screen that functions the same way many cell phone screens do today: touch and color. That’s the idea behind it’s new eBook reader, Alex, which puts a black and white e-ink screen on the top and a color touchscreen below it.

In theory the convergence of multiple, related devices into a single unit makes sense but there are tradeoffs. The color touchscreen takes more juice than its e-ink counterpart, which overall will likely lead to shorter battery life for the Alex. It also creates a longer form factor which could be awkward to hold and read like a traditional paperback book. But, the convenience is unmistakable.

Some material on the web is text rich, and quickly transporting that text to an eye soothing e-ink screen would be refreshing for heavy readers. Spring Design’s Alex does that by hyperlinking multimedia between screens. The additional screen also sets web surfers free by allowing them to go anywhere online through Google’s Android operating system, according to a company press release. “. . .  Alex dynamically transforms the reader’s experience with images, videos and notes inserted as 'Web grabs' or with custom text created by the user or other secondary authors pertaining to the subject being displayed.”

Manufacturing a device like the Alex takes more plastic and parts though, which increases the number of books it would take to neutralize its carbon footprint. That’s always been a supplemental benefit of the Amazon Kindle 2, and one reason some schools are using it to replace textbooks.

Amazon has certainly sparked some intense interest in the eBook reader space and it’s exciting to see that story unfolding with new competitors entering the space on what seems like a weekly basis. A truly revolutionary device will put color e-ink into the form factor of a cell phone. That creates greater readability, sustainability and low power consumption all wrapped into one.