On September 24th, at the "New York is Book County" book fair in New York City, the next generation Rocket and SoftBook Readers were unveiled.   The new readers, REB1100 (similar to the Rocket) and REB1200 (similar to the SoftBook) will bear the RCA brand name.  This is because RCA is a subsidiary of Thomson Multimedia, which was contracted by Gemstar, the parent company of NuvoMedia and SoftBook Press, to manufacture the new readers.  No reason was given as to why the familiar Rocket and SoftBook names were abandoned for the more lackluster alpha-numeric names.  The new readers will be available for purchase around Thanksgiving through many of the outlets that carry RCA brand items.

REB1100- The next generation Rocket reader will have a 5.5" diagonal monochrome screen and weigh 17 ounces-- 5 ounces less than the original model.  The 8MB of memory can hold up to 8,000 pages of text, with optional SmartMedia memory upgrade cards available.  The battery life will be about the same at 20-40 hours, depending on the level of backlighting in use. 

Unlike the Rocket Reader which uses a 9-pin serial cable, the REB1100 Reader connects to the computer either via a USB or infrared port.  However, a computer and Internet connection is only optional, since the new reader has an internal 33.6K modem which allows for downloading over analog phone lines.  Although early announcements of features included the capability to play MP3 files, this feature appears to have been abandoned.  The price of the REB1100 reader will be $299-- $100 more than the original Rocket Reader.  For more details, see Gemstar's website at  http://www.ebook-gemstar.com/devices/1100_intro.asp

REB1200- Perhaps the most exciting feature of the next generation SoftBook Reader is the 8.2" diagonal color screen.  At 33 ounces, the new reader is 8 ounces lighter than the original reader.  The 8MB of memory allows for the storage of 5,000 pages of color text and images and is expandable to 128MB (130,000 pages).   EBooks can be downloaded onto the REB1200 via either an internal 56K modem or ethernet connection.    As with the REB1100, the initial asking price of the REB1200 will be $100 more than the original SoftBook Reader at $699.  For more details, see Gemstar's website at http://www.ebook-gemstar.com/devices/1200_intro.asp

One of the more popular features of the Rocket Reader was the RocketWriter utility which allowed users to reformat their own texts and load them onto the Rocket.  The RocketWriter utility will not be available to users of the new readers, which has caused quite an uproar from loyal Rocket users.

Fears that personal credit card information was easily obtainable from the readers has led Gemstar to include password protection to both readers.  The password is necessary in order to gain access to credit card information, as well as for making purchases on an account. 

Originally, a SoftBook title could only be read on a SoftBook Reader and a Rocket Reader could only read a Rocket title.  Gemstar is in the process of reformatting its titles so that any Gemstar ebook can be read on either the REB1100 or REB1200 readers.    Any new titles released will continue to be compatible with the original Rocket and SoftBook Readers.  The release of the new readers around Thanksgiving will be accompanied by the publication of several new titles in Gemstar ebook format by popular authors, such as Ed McBain and Robert Ludlum.  For more details, see the Forthcoming Ebook-only Titles column of this newsletter.