Hanvon Color eReader Up For Pre-Order With Hybrid Pen/finger Touchscreen

Hanvon's color ereader isn't expected to arrive until Q1 2011, using E Ink's freshly announced Triton e-paper display, but the company is apparently already taking pre-orders. Tipped for February 2011 delivery, the first version will be WiFi-only and is priced at 3,500 yuan ($528); it will be followed by a 3G model for around 3,800 yuan ($574).

The device has a 9.7-inch display capable of showing (muted) colors and basic animations, though the underlying E Ink technology is still insufficient for smooth video playback. Instead, it seems Hanvon will be targeting ebooks and business use, suggesting it could be used for viewing and editing PowerPoint presentations while on the move.

That's aided by a hybrid touchscreen supporting both electromagnetic pen and finger touch input, a notes app and address book, along with text-to-speech and Chinese-to-English translation. There are also some basic games, according to Hanvon's press release, though they're not specified. North American availability is presumably still expected in March 2011, though a more affordable price tag of $440 was initially suggested for the WiFi + 3G version of the ereader.

[via DigiTimes]

Press Release:

Hanvon Grandly Launched the World's First Color Electronic Paper Book

(November 10, 2010, Japan) Hanvon Technology Co., Ltd. (Hanvon) was established in 1998 and is a high-tech enterprise that is dedicated to the development and production of intelligent products, technologies and services in the field of man-computer interaction. In the global handwriting recognition market, Hanvon always is a leader. In 2008, with its strong technological strength, Hanvon entered the e-book market. With a full range of technological integration capabilities, it has developed a variety of e-book products and occupied 95% of China's e-book market and become a global leading e-book manufacturer. In order to better develop international markets, on November 10, 2010, Hanvon grandly launched the world's first color electronic paper book at the FPD International Exhibition in Chiba, Japan.

The Hanvon color electronic paper book is the world's first large-screen high-resolution color e-book. It is one of preferential high-end business and office products. The whole e-book is equal to the size of the A4 paper. Its screen uses the latest Triton screen launched by E-INK, having a wholly new window-type user interface and an electromagnetic pen + finger touch, making the operation more conveniently and smoothly. Compared with the traditional black and white E-INK screen, Hanvon color e-book can restore the true feelings of paper reading to a greater degree. Meanwhile, it inherits all the advantages of the E-INK screen. This product can support a variety of formats, speak in TTS voice, comment in PDF at any time and make instant Chinese-English translation. It can allow users to feel like reading color paper documents. It also contains notes and address books to provide better business and office services to users. It has WIFI and a 3G wireless network to make users enjoy online life anytime and anywhere. With the constant development of e-book and screen technologies, Hanvon color e-book can now become one of paperless office devices. At the same time, it can replace the function of printers and has a variety of small game features to provide users entertainments at their spare time.

With the rapid development of high-tech electronic technology, Hanvon has become a star brand in the e-reader market. Hanvon electronic paper books not only have advantages in quality, functionality and the performance vs. cost ratio, but also integrate Hanvon handwriting technology to facilitate users to comment, modify and excerpt contents and can read and write. The Hanvon electronic paper book is not only a revolutionary e-reader but also your private library that can go with you at any time. It can enable you to carry thousands of electronic data with you and easily read them anytime and anywhere. In order to meet the needs of e-reading in more human ways, Hanvon will continue to be dedicated to the research and development of color e-books to provide consumers with more perfect reading experience.