BookPlace DB50: Toshiba Introduces Android-Based Color E-Book Reader

Following Fujitsu, another Japanese electronics maker is ready to sell color e-book readers: Toshiba announced [JP] the so-called BookPlace DB50 today, a 7-Inch device that comes with direct access to big T’s BookPlace store (which currently offers around 43,000 different Japanese e-books and magazines).

Toshiba says they plan to expand the range of available titles to 100,000 by March this year, the largest in its home market. The store has been available in America since 2010.

The device runs on special versions of Linux (Toshiba hasn’t revealed details yet) and Android 2.3.4 (heavily modified).

It has the following specs:

• 7-inch color TFT LCD with 600×1,024 resolution and LED backlight (touchscreen)
• Freescale i.MX535 CPU (1.0GHz)
• 8GB memory
• 1GM RAM
• IEEE 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi
• 5 buttons: HOME, MENU, BACK, CONTINUE, VOLUME
• Bluetooth 2.1
• micro USB 2.0 slot, microSD slot
• mono speaker (for MP3 playback)
• 7.5 hours battery life
• size: 190×120×11mm, weight: 330g

Toshiba is planning to sell the Bookplace DB50 on the Japanese market on February 10. The price will be US$284 (every buyer will get a US$64 coupon for use in the company’s e-book store).