Cybook ebook reader goes on sale

While many will concede the ebook reader market has been dead for some time, there are still a few companies out there struggling to make a living. Case in point: the new Cybook from French based Bookeen. Its global launch happened yesterday, with the $499 device currently for sale on the company's website. The Cybook is about the size of a piece of paper (8" x 10.1") and 1" thick. It weighs approximately 35 ounces and sports a 10", 600x800 color LCD which is touch screen sensitive and can be displayed in portrait or landscape modes.

The Cybook runs off of the Microsoft Windows CE operating system and can support the e-book formats PRC, PDB, HTML, TFT and TXT. Besides acting as an ebook reader, the Cybook can also be used to edit Microsoft Office files, surf the web, listen to audio files and act as a digital photo display device. It has a built in PCMCIA expansion card slot and can run for up to five hours on one charge of its battery.