Creative whips out e-reader at AGM

More than a reader. Or a tablet

By Team Register • Get more from this author

Posted in PCs & Chips, 2nd November 2009 12:14 GMT

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Creative Labs is hoping to grab a piece of the expanding e-reader pie with a net-enabled device it will also pitch as a social networking and general media tablet.

According to the Epizenter blog, Creative Labs unveiled the Mediabook at the Singapore firm's annual general meeting last week.

The device will feature a touchscreen and will be internet-enabled. It will also accept SD memory cards, and will feature text to speech. It will run on the ARM0-based Zii technology the vendor is rolling out across its technology range.

Creative is apparently in talks with publishers to ensure a steady stream of books and magazines for the device.

But according to Epizenter, while the device is squarely in the reader space, it will also act as a general purpose tablet, allowing users to access to surf the web and social network.

What the blog didn't mention was when the device would be likely to hit the market.

This Christmas is shaping to be an e-reader punchout, with Barnes and Noble's Nook e-reader joining the likes of Amazon's newly internationalised Kindle and Sony's established reader on the market. Next year will doubtless see more models hit the market, but by then front runners could be firmly established in the public consciousness.

However, Epizenter points out one advantage Creative has. The firm apparently has a strong base in the country's educational establishment, raising the possibility that the youth of Singapore could soon find themselves doing their learning in partnership with the Mediabook. ®

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