Spring Design's Alex Is an Android-Powered, Dual-Display

E-Ink/LCD E-Reader

You might be wowed by the fact that Spring Design's Alex
e-reader runs Android, or includes both a 6-inch e-ink
display and a 3.5-inch LCD screen. But the best part is that
those screens have the ability to work and interact with one
another -- kind of like a Nintendo DS.

Imagine reading a news story on the e-ink display that
happens to have a video clip associated with it. You could
hit a button to play that video on the LCD screen below.
Perhaps you want to add a few notes, images or links of your
own to a book you're reading. You can tag certain passages
with "web grabs." Or maybe you're browsing the web on the LCD
screen and you see a story you'd like to read. You can send
it up to the e-ink display for a bigger view that also
conserves battery life.

But, not meant to just work in tandem, both the components of
Alex can function on their own as well. The secondary LCD
screen is actually part of an integrated mobile Android
device that operates with a fair degree of autonomy, and lets
you browse the full Internet (as well as accessing the rest
of Android's non-phone features) over Wi-Fi or cellular data
(3G or EV-DO). Plus Alex comes with an SD card slot for
storage expansion.

Geared to give devices like the Kindle a run for its money,
Alex is pretty similar to the rumored Barnes & Noble eReader,
which is also fueled by Android and has an secondary LCD
screen. However, the screen on Alex is larger, and is
seemingly equipped with more functionality.

Spring Design is currently working with content partners and
plans to release Alex by the end of 2009.