A slim ePaper e-reader with a touchscreen display and handwriting recognition

(ASUS)

E-reader technology is rapidly advancing, bringing digital books to consumers en masse. The e-reader sector is gearing up for a bumper season with many new additions arriving on the market from various electronics companies, all experimenting with their own take on the technology.

ASUS unveiled their first e-reader at the 2010 CeBIT on March 2. The ASUS DR-900 e-reader is a lightweight device measuring just 9mm thick.

The device is equipped with a 9-inch, 16 shades of grey ePaper display with a resolution of 1024 x 768. It is touch-sensitive and, unlike most touchscreen readers on the market, is able to decipher handwritten text input.

The ASUS DR-900 provides users with up to two weeks of battery life on a single charge, and has a removable battery so you can carry around a spare if you are thinking about doing some heavy web surfing on the go.

Additional features include built-in WiFi for web browsing, optional 3.5G connectivity, built-in stereo speakers, and compatibility with file types such as PDF, TXT, MP3, unprotected ePub, HTML, JPG, GIF, PNG and BMP formats.

ASUS is among many companies showing off new e-reader technology at the 2010 CeBIT. ONYX International's BOOX e-Reader, MSI's color e-Reader and BeBook's second edition e-Reader are some of the devices to watch for.

ASUS DR-900 pricing and availaibility information is expected to be released shortly.