In the midst of growing interest in eBooks, fueled largely by the launch of Apple's iPad (a tablet PC with a built-in eBook reader), Samsung Electronics is about to launch its new WiFi eBook reader, creating a buzz in the market. On February 2, Samsung Electronics announced that it would launch its new 6-inch eBook reader (model: SNE-60/60K), with WiFi connectivity. SNE-60/60K, Samsung Electronics' second eBook reader, features WiFi connectivity that the first one did not have. Since WiFi connectivity is considered as a must in the promotion of eBooks, the world's largest electronics maker is set to vigorously market its WiFi enabled SNE-60/60K in both online and offline stores in order to take on the eBook reader market.
The newly released WiFi eBook reader is designed to allow users to download eBooks at 50-60 percent of general print book prices in chain bookstores – such as Kyobo Mungo, the largest and most famous book store in South Korea. On top of that, Samsung Electronics has already forged partnerships with major Korean newspapers to enable their subscribers to automatically download and clip news articles of their choice through its eBook reader SNE-60/60K.
Samsung Electronics' new eBook reader comes with 2GB internal memory, which is about 1400 books or more than 24,000 notes. The new eBook reader, with an e-paper display similar to real paper, adopts chic slide-up design so as to make reading and writing more convenient. When the front slide of the new eBook reader is rolled up, users can read books and use other functions without using the built-in stylus; when it is rolled down, the stylus will give users access to all of the functions. Free and open eBook standard ePub, PDF, and TXT are all supported to provide an effective reading environment. In addition, when users come across a word they do not understand, they can click on them with the built-in stylus and look them up immediately in on-board Korean-English and English-Korean dictionaries. Furthermore, Samsung Electronics' new eBook reader, equipped with a TTS (Text-to-Speech) engine, can read audio books aloud with accurate pronunciation, thereby allowing users to listen to audio books through their earphones on the bus or subway. The new eBook reader also features a built-in MP3 player. In addition, thank to the paper-like protection sheet on the screen, users can feel as if they write something with a normal pen on real paper. With the built-in stylus, users are able to make annotations in their reading sections, news articles, and images. Also, they can insert notes onto their reading sections and news articles. In a strategic partnership with Kyobo Mungo, Samsung Electronics came up with its second eBook reader – which is scheduled to sell online and offline bookstores of Kyobo Mungo, starting on February 8.
