Astri MyID Dual-Display Ebook Reader Gets Video Demo; $130-$150 Price Predicted

Astri's MyID dual-screen ebook reader made a discrete debut at CES 2010 last month, offering the E Ink/LCD touchscreen flexibility of an Entourage eDGe only in a far smaller form-factor.  Ebook reader fanatic Nate Hoffelder grabbed some hands-on time recently with the latest MyID prototype, and his feedback is actually pretty good; navigation is straightforward and the hardware is obviously more portable than the eDGe.  It's also got the potential to be much cheaper, too.Video demo after the cut

According to the Astri rep Nate spoke to, the components used in the MyID add up to the equivalent of around $65.  Final retail pricing is expected to be in the region of $130 to $150, which is considerably less than Entourage are expecting the larger eDGe to come in at.  That's despite the fact that you're getting a 4.8-inch WVGA LCD touchscreen and connected 5-inch E Ink panel, the former used for catalog navigation and the latter for reading text.

You can have up to six ebooks open at any one time, and cycle between them using the jog dial, and Astri have been sensible about which display shows what.  There's been talk lately about how dual-panel designs like these are merely bridging formats before true multi-purpose displays – such as Pixel Qi's or Qualcomm's mirasol – arrive on the market, but if Astri can really keep their pricing down we reckon consumers will find pocket space for the MyID.