After what seems like a veritable AGE in tech terms, Fujitsu has finally announced the launch of the FLEPia in Japan. Not to be confused with mini video camera FLIP, the device is the world’s first ‘e-paper mobile terminal’ to display greyscale and color images in 260,000 colours. This basically means that it’s a Kindle competitor, allowing you to electronically view content on something that resembles a thinner, super-sized iPod with a massive screen (8 inches to be precise).
The FLEPia, developed in 2007 (but first making an appearance back in 2006) was predicted to blow all other readers out of the water by displaying colour, something the Kindle just can’t do. Previously, commercial samples of FLEPia were available for purchase on a limited basis for corporate use only, as part of field trials. But now, it has been launched for pubic consumption with a whopping $1,000 price tag.
Feature-wise, it’s pretty impressive, with a first tick in the box for a predicted battery life of up to 40 hours of continuous use. Though it has to be said that the iPod boasts this as well, but doesn’t deliver. However, the FLEPia does not require power for continuous display and only consumes power during a ‘re-draw’ (turning of the page for instance). It’s a smarter use of power, so could live up to expectations.
It features both Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity (which will inevitably have an affect on battery life), enabling users to download and access content from any desired location. This comes as no surprise as many e-reader brands are looking to Bluetooth to counter Kindle's in-built mobile connectivity. Similarly, Amazon must be considering integrating WiFi/Bluetooth into the next release of the Kindle to help reduce the running costs of their own Whispernet.
Anyway, back to the FLEPia – it can hold up to 4GB of data (the equivalent of 5,000 conventional paper-based books, if each book is 300 pages long) at 600KB per book. I’m not sure about it being ‘environmentally friendly’ though, when you take the manufacturing and shipping processes into account. Sounds like spin to me.
There seems to have been mixed reactions to the introduction of such e-readers. Half of the commentators are excited, hailing the FLEPia and Kindle as the most life-changing gadgets to be released since the iPod. Yet, the other half pines for the sheer simplicity of holding paper in your hands. Of course, given the recent trend for digitalising our entire lives, the ability to carry your entire bookcase with you (especially when travelling, as is the iPod’s real forte) will probably drown out cynics eventually.
The FLEPia can now be pre-ordered from Fujitsu Frontech’s online store (due to ship April 20). You can also purchase e-books from the largest e-book online retailer in Japan (which is oddly not named in any official documentation) and download the e-books directly into the FLEPia. It will be able to display PDF, TXT, HTML, Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, XMDF ebook formats as well as practically all image-based ones.
You can also download the iKindle from the Apple App Store, as Amazon has released a Kindle application for the iPhone. It allows iPhone and iTouch to view Kindle books on their handsets. An odd move, some may say, as it’s only a few days since the launch of Kindle 2.0. Anyway, it’s free, so is worth a look regardless.