eOneBook has has been discontinued
Dual-screen devices with a hinge that opens and closes like an actual book are a dying breed. The Gvido, with two giant 13.3-inch displays on a nice hinge, was discontinued a couple of years ago, and the music store was shut off. However, it remains a trendy device since the stock is still plentiful in the Good e-Reader Store. The other dual-screen product is a dedicated manga reader called the eOneBook. Progress Technologies, the creator, has just announced that the eOneBook series has been discontinued as of March 31, 2023. They will continue to offer product support until March 31, 2025.
The eOneBook features two 7.8-inch E-Ink screens that display 300 PPI, and its primary purpose is to read manga. Two e-paper displays are enclosed in a paper casing, and the side of the device is made of real paper, including a real spine. It bends and is easy to hold in your hands since it only weighs 530 grams.
When you open the eOneBook, a few buttons are on the left side. Once it turns the page, both E Ink panels are refreshed. There is another button to jump to the next chapter and another to scroll to the next volume. On the right-hand side of the screen is a button to turn the page backwards and jump to the previous chapter. The remaining button changes the text on the screen from Japanese to English. This was an impressive feature because there was no delay in switching languages. The buttons are completely flush with the side of the device, which feels like paper. They are capacitive buttons, similar to how the Kindle Voyage strips worked.
Four AAA batteries power this device for 5,800-page turns. There is no WIFI or Bluetooth. Content comes in proprietary memory cards with an entire manga series. Japan offered nearly 50 series, just a couple worldwide, such as Fist of the North Star and Naruto. They struck digital deals with several publishers that expired since the eOneBook store to buy additional content seems to have closed down.
Michael Kozlowski has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past twelve years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
