Recently, a multi-function e-book reader Wink has been launched by Bangalore-based digital publisher EC Media International that supports 15 languages and also offers over 200,000 book titles on debut. It is a first of its kind in Indian market and so considered as India’s first e book reader. This e-book reader is designed primarily for the purpose of reading digital books and periodicals but people can also listen to music, check their mail or play games on Wink eReader. To display content to readers, the Wink uses e-ink technology.

In a language of the user’s choice, Wink has promised to bring in more books and other reading content from all over India, opening up the possibilities of access to all those books that are never found in India. A multi-function e-book reader offers number of advantages, for example portability, strain-free readability even in bright sunlight and substantial battery life. To access at least 200,000 titles from various publishers, EC Media has a tie-up with Ingram, a US-based digital aggregator or warehouse. Also, it has tied up with publishers including Penguin, Permanent Black, Roli and Oxford University Press to upload titles on Wink’s portal.

From EC Media’s soon to-be-launched service Winkwire, users can enjoy reading a wide range of content including both international and regional e-book titles, e-newspapers, e-magazines and journals, across 15 languages. Wink encompasses www.thewinkstore.com that permits users to access the online store from the Web portal or the device portal (through the catalogue present on the device). It is instinctively designed for preview of content, easy downloads and secure payment transactions.

Wink is available with internal memory of 2 GB that could be expandable up to 16 GB. Also, it is able to support file formats like txt, pdf, rtf, doc, html, wolf, chm, fb2, djvu for content reading, and play multimedia files of the format mp3 and aac. The battery life of Wink is extremely high as one can leaf over 8000 pages with a single backup as per the makers claim. It comprises of 400 MHz ARM9 processor, Internet using GPRS with Quadband.

Basic model of Wink having a six-inch screen will be priced at Rs 8,000 while the nine-inch advanced version will cost Rs 22,000. EC Media has expected to sell 25,000 units by the end of the year.

Wink XTS: Specifications:

Technical Specifications:

Reader-A has the following specs in terms of dimensions, weight and display:

• Display: Gray Scale: 16-Level Gray Scale
• Resolution: 800x 600 pixels
• Dimensions: 185mm (L) x 124.6 mm (W) x 10.9 mm (H) and weighs 260 grams with battery
• Screen Size: 6” measured diagonally.

Reader-B has the following specs in terms of dimensions, weight and display:

• Display: Gray Scale: 16-Level Gray Scale
• Resolution: 1024 x 768 pixels
• Dimensions: 262mm (L)×170mm(W)×11.9mm(H) and weighs 430 grams with battery
• Screen Size: 9” measured diagonally.

Other Specifications:

• Onboard Storage :2GB
• Micro-SIM card slot
• USB 2.0
• Audio playback: MP3 and AAC
• 3.5-mm stereo headphone jack
• External: SD expandable up to 16 GB
• 400MHz ARM9 processor
• Life supporting turning over 8000 pages or music playing for 10 hours
• Charging via power adapter or USB to computer system
• Operating System: Works on a Linux Core
• Wireless: 802.11 b/g, GPRS with Quad Band Support (850, 900, 1800 and 1900)
• Text formats supported: TXT, RTF, PDF, DOC, HTML, WOLF, CHM, FB2, DJVU

EC Media also plans to tie up with authors to release serialized novels in the detective and romance genres which will be priced at Rs 5-10 per download and these will be updated every week. DC Books has 7,000 Malayalam titles and all of which will be available on Wink to assist capture a wider section of readers.

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