Qualcomm teams with China's Shanda on eBook reader
updated 02:20 pm EST, Mon January 9, 2012
Qualcomm Bambook Sunflower reader pre-orders live
Chipmaker Qualcomm has unveiled a new eBook reader together with China's Shanda, a multimemedia content and social network provider. Dubbed Bambook Sunflower, the device uses a 5.7-inch Mirasol touchscreen and runs on a very customized Android 2.3 OS. The major specs include and are shared with the Kyobo Mirasol eReader and include a 1GHz Snapdragon processor.
The color e-paper screen will be suitable for the content Shanda will let users access, though exactly which file formats the eReader will support hasn't been revealed. Shanda said it has one milion ebook titles in stock.
Pre-orders are now live, with shipping due to start in February. Prices start at a high 3,000 yuan (about $475). There is no indication of a US release. Because of the content partner, it's not likely the ereader will be very open and allow users to sideload much of their own content. [via TheDigitalReader]
