Fujitsu testing bigger, colored e-paper in Japan

Fujitsu is testing an e-reader device, FLEPia which has all the features to take down the mighty Kindle. Currently limited to certain areas in Japan, the reader delivers train timetables, weather reports in addition to the usual books and newspapers. It is not clear if FLEPia possesses something like Kindle’s Whispernet but it surely has Wi-Fi which is accessible via a dedicated BB Mobile Point at the Termina Kinshicho Fujiya restaurant.

The screen as you can see from the picture, is larger, almost the size of magazine page and supports color which opens a lot more avenues for the publishers than on Kindle. More knockout features are its touchscreen display, USB 2.0, SD slot, stereo speakers, 50 hours of battery life and powered by Windows CE 5 OS.

The price for the working prototype comes to around $900 that makes it far more expensive compared to Kindle’s $359 price tag. But again, we are comparing a prototype to a mass produced gadget.

[Fastcompany via Techmeme]

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