Asus has reiterated the planned launch date for its first e-book viewer.

Company CEO Jerry Shen said recently that Asus has entered the final development stages for its Eee Reader.

He once again promised that the gadget will be available by the end of 2009, according to a report by DigiTimes.

It's a statement he's made before - toward the end of August, in point of fact.

A price hasn’t been mentioned yet - we would like to see it come in at £100 - but it’s believed that two versions of the Eee Reader will be launched: one with a 6in display and another with a 9in screen. ®