BeBook 2 will be third eReader from the Dutch Endless Ideas company, and judging by their previous two models, it will likely be an solid product. The BeBook 2 was first announced at the Berlin CeBIT trade show in March 2009, so it has been a long time in coming. We expect it to debut soon--on BeBook's website they claim they will "start the new year with a bang," so stay tuned...
We still know little about the BeBook 2, though it should have WiFi and/or integrated 3G wireless internet connectivity, a touchscreen for navigation in addition to buttons, and support for the popular ePub format, among others. We suspect it will likely work with the impressive array of 23 file formats that the BeBook Mini does, but cannot confirm that. Our one concern from the impressive preliminary specs is the touchscreen--one observer at CEBIT noticed the contrast suffered a bit from the additional touchscreen layer over the e-ink surface, though others disagreed.
The design of the case will change significantly, with softer lines and Kindle-like page turn buttons on both sides. There will be headphone and mini-USB ports again, but this time they will be uncovered, which will mean less hassle to use them.
The company that produced the previous BeBooks for the Netherlands-based Endless Ideas is Tianjin Jinke Electronics Co., LTD. Jinke was founded in 1985, is a high-tech joint-owned enterprise, located in Tianjin, China. Jinke also produces the smaller BeBook Mini (Hanlin V5) and the original BeBook One (Hanlin V3). So far, it appears this new BeBook 2 design is a one-off, inhouse design for Endless Ideas, or at least we haven't seen any similar looking models from Jinke.
Connecting: We are excited as the BeBook 2 will be the first eReader by Endless Ideas which has wireless internet connectivity--WiFi and/or integrated 3G wireless (likely a GSM wireless SIM card onboard) from what we understand. It will use the same data model as the Kindle, so you won't pay anything to download books and unlike the Kindle it will provide news feeds for free. We have no word if there will be basic web browser as on the Kindle as yet, or the 3G coverage areas.
Accessories: Accessories are unknown, but if we had to guess we'd say it will likely have a USB cable, earphones, screwdriver, user manual, quickstart guide, and lanyard. Endless Ideas will likely mirror their existing range of stylish, padded cases already out for the previous BeBooks (for $30 each in black, lime green, pink, sky blue, fiery red, and classic brown).
Price: Pricing for the new BeBook 2 is unknown. We've been impressed by the cheap prices for the previous BeBooks, but with this many features and a touchscreen, we are interested as to whether they can keep the price down for this model.
This long-delayed eReader sounds exciting and depending on pricing may be a serious contender against the market leaders Amazon and Sony.
eBook Reader Basics