MWC: What device highlights did you miss?

So, early last week I predicted that...

How Wireless Will Pave the Path to Neobank Profitability

I'm delighted to bring you an opinion...

An end of an era: Vodafone UK turns off 3G services

I thought it was worthwhile highlighting this...

Readius: The standout device of Mobile World Congress?

Image

While I’ve been nodding gently and with reasonable excitement at the likes of Samsung’s new handsets, Nokia’s announcements (the N96 does look gorgeous) and Yahoo’s oneConnect strategy.

But nothing new or totally unexpected has really caught my attention. At least that was the case until I came across Readius from Polymer Vision. I didn’t get an announcement, a release or anything about this! In fact I almost missed it!

Versions of the device have been around since last year’s 3GSM — however the current version looks very much ready for production. Here’s hoping. I’ve no word on whether you can buy one yet.
The concept is pure genius.

Image

Readius is a small device, 115 x 57 x 21 millimeters (when closed). It’s principally an e-Reader, although it also functions has a tri-band handset allowing worldwide calls — and of course, ‘high speed instant updates’ from ‘personally selected news sources’ (like SMS Text News!).

You can read for up to 30 hours on one battery charge (no word on call time). The fold-out screen has ‘twice the surface area of the current largest phone display’ (the iPhone is 3.5″ in case you were wondering). Bluetooth 2.0, 256mb of internal storage (up to 8GB with MicroSD), and it’ll function as a mass storage device when connected to your PC.

I’m sold. I really like the concept.

A few sites around the world are reporting that the Readius should be available to the public mid-2008. There is, alas, a dearth of current information. I’ll try and find some more soon.

6 COMMENTS

  1. It looks cool – if only I knew anyone who read e-books. I love the big-screen RSS and clear display, but I don’t think I could carry another device just for that… 🙁

    @ SE Fanboy: Thought you might say that! 🙂 Hardware by HTC, OS by Microsft… not much SE about it though is there?

    Ben Smith’s last blog post..Mobile World Congress: Look Ahead

  2. Im in a presentation on this as I type.. Definitely the sleeper hit of the conference.

    If you could purchase them at stand I’d have one right now.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Recently Published

MWC: What device highlights did you miss?

So, early last week I predicted that next to nothing from Mobile World Congress would break through into the mainstream media. I was right,...

How Wireless Will Pave the Path to Neobank Profitability

I'm delighted to bring you an opinion piece from Rafa Plantier at Gigs.com. I think it's particularly relevant given the recent eSIM news from...

An end of an era: Vodafone UK turns off 3G services

I thought it was worthwhile highlighting this one from the Vodafone UK team. For so long - for what feels like years, seeing the...

Mobile World Congress: Did the mainstream media notice?

I resolved this year to make sure I wrote something - anything - about Mobile World Congress, the huge mobile industry trade show taking...

NordVPN: Thanks again, Revolut

When I upgraded to Revolut's Ultra offering, I did so with a strong focus on the Financial Times digital subscription which normally retails at...

Revolut’s Roaming eSIM: 1 week later

This week I have been using Revolut's new eSIM capability whilst I was in Sweden for Stockholm FinTech Week. I'm an Ultra subscriber so...