Alex eBook prototype hands-on

This is the prototype that led to the Alex eBook (from Spring Design) that we told you about on Oct 19th. The LCD screen on the bottom runs Android, so it looks like many of the smartphones out there. If you browse the web (via WiFi) and find an interesting page, you can switch to e-Ink mode to read it comfortably. It works really well and the reformatting is very decent. I have not spotted any problems while browsing a few popular sites (NYTimes, CNN…). Obviously, you can use real eBooks too. This was a prototype, so I can’t tell you what the real product performance is, in terms of reactivity. The eBook is powered by a Marvell system on a chip (SoC) that is designed specifically for eBooks. Don’t miss our Marvell 166E coverage - that could become a major eBook enabler.