Bookeen’s Cybook Orizon to launch in Europe next month

Bookeen’s blog has a piece on its new Cybook Orizon e-reader, which is due to launch in Europe in mid October, with pre-orders available starting September 25. The blog post is, predictably, written in PR-speak (“Bookeen, the European leader of the ebook reader market…”) but it does have a few interesting points.

The Orizon features a 6” Sipix touchscreen and wifi connectivity, as well as an “unrestricted web browser that allows you access [sic] the website of your choice with no limits, and download content that’s readable on your device.” The device is quite thin, too, being only .29”/7.6 mm thick. Michel Dahan, Bookeen’s cofounder, reports that the Orizon’s touchscreen does not suffer from the glare of previous touchscreens. This would put it on a par with Sony’s new touchscreen reader.

But someplace else it’s on a par with Sony is the price, which is listed as 229.99€ (approximately US$298 at current exchange rates). Of course, this is a European price, and I would expect it to be perhaps $50-$100 cheaper if it launches over here—but that still prices it considerably higher than the Kindle or Nook. If Cybook can’t get the price down further, is anybody going to be interested, or is it just going to blend in with all the other readers that aren’t Kindle, Nook, or Apple? Of course, given the Kindle’s late start in Europe, perhaps the environment is different over there.

Sipix (page warning: features obnoxious Flash introduction with loud music) has been working on e-ink screens for quite some time (we covered them back in 2008), and their screen also powers the Asus DR-950 and the Jinke A9. It will be interesting to see how their screen stacks up against the Kindle’s Pearl screen.