Spring Launches Alex eReaderSpring Launches Alex eReader

Spring Design has started taking pre-orders for the Alex, an electronic reader that offers full Web browsing.

The Alex, first introduced last October, includes a six-inch electronic paper display and a 3.5-inch, color touchscreen for accessing the Web. Spring Design started taking pre-orders for the device on Tuesday, promising shipment no later than mid-April. The Alex costs $399.

The e-reader's touchscreen, based on Google's Android operating system, makes it possible for users to access online audio and video and communicate via Google's Gmail. Digital books can be downloaded through Google's bookstore, which has more than 1 million titles, or any other store that supports Adobe's copyright-protection technology. The Alex supports e-books and documents in EPUB, PDF, HTML and TXT formats.

A key feature of the Alex is what Spring Design calls its LinkNotes technology, which letss book publishers or document authors insert hyperlinks in materials to display Web-based content on the color screen. Spring Design is hoping the feature will become popular in the education market by making it possible for professors, for example, to provide study notes, video illustrations, and audio enhancements to textbooks.

Barnes & Noble's Nook e-reader also includes a color trouchscreen for Web navigation. Spring Design, however, claims in a federal lawsuit filed last November in San Francisco that B&N stole Spring Design's trade secrets in building the Nook. The alleged theft occurred during talks between the companies in early 2009, according to Spring Design.

The Alex weighs 11 ounces, measure 4.7 inches by 8.9 inches and is a half-inch thick. The device uses a Wi-Fi connection for updates, Web access, and downloading books. The e-reader also hnas USB 2.0 connector for linking to a PC and a microSD card slot for adding up to 32 GB of storage. The Alex has 2 GB of internal storage.

In launching the Alex, Spring Design is entering a crowded market that includes not just the Nook, but Amazon's Kindle, which is the market leader, and Sony's Reader. Other e-reader makers include IREX and Plastic Logic, which has yet to release its device, called the Que.