Here’s another press release. Today is just one release after another! The rather expensive IREX will be available at Best Buy and will be targeted at newspaper and magazine readers. No picture was included in the release. Given what’s going on in the market now, I, personally, wouldn’t spend this much $ on an ereader today.
Westlake Village, Calif., Oct. 19, 2009 – From the Austin American-Statesman to China’s Zhejiang Daily, IREX Technologies will give readers access to more than 1,200 leading periodicals when its DR800SG eReader hits Best Buy shelves.
Agreements with NewspaperDirect and LibreDigital – two leading distributors of digital content – will give IREX users access to the most comprehensive collection of newspapers and magazines available in the eReader market, up to 1,100 more titles than what is currently available on some competitive devices.
“For eReader users the device itself becomes secondary to the reading experience and the content they can access via that device. A key part of our strategy is to provide no-hassle access to a variety of content, and adding these industry leaders is a significant step in that direction,” said Kevin Hamilton, North American CEO, IREX Technologies. “With our 3G connectivity and easy-to-use device, readers are never far from their local newspaper or their favorite magazine – even if they are far from home.”
NewspaperDirect delivers the world’s most popular newspapers and magazines to millions of readers the way they want to receive them – in print, online, on smartphones and IREX eReaders, wherever they live, travel, work or play.
Providing instant access to more than 1,150 full content digital replicas with enhanced digital features, PressDisplay.com and PressReader from NewspaperDirect offer subscribers the largest selection of titles – recognized as paid circulation by international audit bureaus – in a highly engaging format.
“NewspaperDirect is proud to be a longstanding partner with IREX Technologies,” said Alexander Kroogman, CEO, NewspaperDirect. “Combining IREX’s best-in-class digital readers with PressReader’s superior content presentation capabilities, together, we deliver the consummate, sustainable reading experience medium that must be experienced to be believed.”
For nearly a decade LibreDigital has helped some of the world’s top news publishers, including USA Today, The New York Times and The Washington Post, deliver replicas of their content across an expanding array of digital channels. Content is provided in the open ePub format, which means it can be downloaded on the IREX DR800SG and transferred to a variety of devices, such as a PC or Smartphone.
“Digital consumers want access to their favorite publications at the touch of a button,” said Russell P. Reeder, president and CEO, LibreDigital, Inc. “At LibreDigital, we’re working with the world’s largest newspaper, magazine and book publishers, and now with IREX, to give consumers easy access to content and the high-quality wireless reading experience they crave.”
The IREX DR800SG – a sleek, 8.1-inch, touch-screen eReader – offers multi-mode 3G wireless capabilities from Qualcomm and Verizon Wireless, provides a reading experience akin to a traditional book, and frees up eReader content with an open approach to buying and transferring content. IREX supports multiple formats including industry standard ePub format and multiple DRM solutions, rather than a single, “closed” proprietary format that locks content to a specific device. In addition to content from LibreDigital and NewspaperDirect, IREX users also have access to the Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS) eBookstore.
Pricing and availability
The IREX DR800SG with a leather cover will be available later this fall at select Best Buy locations. The device has an MSRP of $399.99. Wireless access to download content is included in the cost of the DR800SG and no contract is required.
Although a bit high priced, the iRex will at least offer a method (via LibreDigital) to get my New York Times digitally. I wonder if the new Barnes & Noble device and the forthcoming Sony Daily Edition will also offer the service.
The LibreDigital service is an OK service but I can’t figure out why it doesn’t offer hyperlinks to take you to the page where a story continues and to return you to where you were. The iBrowse interface is mediocre at best.
Also interesting, at least to me, is that the digital subscription to the Times is $14.99 per month, whereas it costs me nearly $50 per month for the print version. Is the digital subscription less than a 7-day subscription (e.g., just Monday-Saturday, no Sunday) or is it different in some other way from the print edition?
I would spend the $400 for the iRex because of the New York Times and Barnes & Noble access, although with all the announcements of forthcoming devices, including a touch-screen iRex, I might hold off for a while (I admit I’m not to keen on having to use a stylus to operate the forthcoming iRex — to easy to lose).
Is it really expensive? $400 seems cheaper than Kindle considering the screen size and note capability.
Sooner or later, newspapers and magazines will begin offering this type of hardware as a bonus to sell the software (in this case, the actual content of the periodical). In much the same way that telephones are loss leaders for cell phone companies selling service plans, so too will readers be for newspapers seeking subscribers.