Sony Electronics has announced in Japan a new eReader, the DPT-RP1 that uses a 13.3″ (A4) E Ink-based EPD display with 1650 x 2200 resolution and 16 grey scales. The display has a pen-based touch system and the reader has 16GB of memory and uses a Marvell IAP140 Quad core processor. Wi-Fi support is up to 802.11ac and the tablet supports Bluetooth 4.2.
Sony said that the surface of the display is treated to create a ‘non-slip’ panel to give the same feel as pen on paper. It also highlighted the thin cover, which minimises parallax errors when using the pen. Other features include an NFC unlock system
Battery life is dependent on the use of wireless and also the amount of input. Sony said that with no radios and an hour of viewing and a minute of note taking, the battery would last around 30 days. With radios on, the life drops to around a week.
The device is 5.9mm thick, claimed to be the thinnest tablet device of 10″ or more, and weighs just 349 grams. Pricing is ¥80,000 ($725) and the product will go on sale on June 5th.
Sony said that the DPT-RP1 fonts are well formed because of the resolution and contrast.
