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Spring Design Alex eReader

Based on 13 reviews

Excellent:

1
Good:

3
Average:

4
Bad:

5

Pros

Beautifully designed; very solid feeling; useful secondary touch screen.
Sharp e-ink screen, vibrant color LCD, Displays Web pages on the e-ink display, Lightweight and portable, Plentiful selection of free books, Familiar Android operating system, Surprisingly loud speakers
Flexible, dual-screen design, Integrated touch-screen Android device provides Web browsing and video-viewing capability, Plenty of book downloading options.
E-book reader with Wi-Fi connectivity; separate capacitive color touch-screen pad offers navigation and a virtual keyboard for notes and annotations; 2GB of internal memory (capable of storing 1,500 electronic books) as well as an expansion microSD slo...
Snappier than most e-book readers; larger secondary screen than Nook; best Web experience to date on an E Ink device; Android OS delivers more functionality than competing devices
The color LCD screen allows for multimedia features such as music, WiFi and the ability to watch movies.
Easy to use. Packed with browser, email and access to photos. Crisp screen easy on the eyes. Long battery life.
Android in the roomy touchscreen.
Very readable screen, Comfortable weight and balance.
Sleek design, Intuitive interface, Screen sync between electronic paper display and LCD, Quick page turns, Handles music, photos, and videos

Cons

Lesselegant ebookbuying experience; browser lags; costs much more than its competitors.
Currently no paid bookstore, Overpriced, No 3G available yet, Feels cheaper than the Nook, Hiss in audio, choppy YouTube playback, Unimpressive battery life with screen in use, 2.5mm headphone jack
Expensive, Sluggish CPU, Hissy audio output, Interface can seem obtuse for non-techies.
Very expensive; no access to major e-book store; color LCD appears to have a significant impact on battery life; navigation is hampered by lack of a "home" button; non-standard 2.5mm headphone jack; no support for Word files; no easy way to add new And...
Very expensive; no access to Android store for adding apps; simple tasks can be confusing for those new to Android
The Alex eReader does not provide 3G connectivity and the onscreen keyboard is difficult to type on.
No integrated book store: WTF? No 3G. Inadequate graphics and processing power. Expensive.
Expensive, no 3G.
Speakers aren't very strong, Some glitches in preproduction test model
Borders eBook store not yet ready, No 3G connectivity in this version, Sluggish on-screen keyboard, App store coming later

By About.com on July 26, 2010

With a dual screen that sports a 6-inch black-and-white electronic paper display up top and a 3.5-inch, capacitive LCD touchscreen on the bottom, Spring Design’s Alex was quite the neat concept when it was first announced. But with the release of...

70
By Maximum PC on July 23, 2010

This underdog ebook reader comes at a price In an ebook reader market that’s rapidly approaching the saturation point, a device needs to have a certain set of features to stand out from the crowd. The Alex eReader, a new ebook reader from Spring...

60
By G4tv.com on July 20, 2010

Video Review: Combining an electronic paper display, large color touch screen and powered by Android, the Spring Design Alex eReader offers wi-fi access to over a million books, web browsing, email and music. Kevin Pereira and Olivia Munn review the...

40
By Good Gear Guide on July 02, 2010

What would you get if you crossed Google's Android operating system with Wi-Fi, an e-ink display and a touch-sensitive color display? You'd get something called Alex, an e-book reader with an unusual configuration manufactured by Spring...

80
By Digital Trends on June 28, 2010

Spring Design's innovative Alex offers an unrivaled e-ink Web browsing experience, if you can overlook the high price tag, lack of 3G, and deficiency of modern...

65
By PC Mag on June 02, 2010

Spring Design's Alex is unique among e-book readers, since it includes a built-in touch-screen Android device in addition to its high-contrast e-ink display. Overall, it's a cool niche option, but not worth the added expense for most users....

60
By cnet on June 02, 2010

The dual-screen, Android-powered Alex eReader has some interesting features and good potential, but Spring Design needs to add a real e-book store and lower the...

63
By Computer Shopper on June 01, 2010

If money's no object and you’re seeking an e-book reader that also lets you check e-mail and surf the Web ably, the Alex is a great device—once you get used to its quirks....

75
By TopTenREVIEWS on June 01, 2010

The dual screens, ability to expand memory and a variety of apps make the Alex a prime option for an...

75
By Wired on May 21, 2010

E-mail, photos and a web browser in an e-reader: Wow! That's almost like an iPad. Except it's not. The Alex is a dedicated e-book reader that uses a 6-inch, black-and-white E Ink display but also includes a tiny 3.5-inch LCD touchscreen. The...

50