14 DAY TRIAL // The Alex e-reader is just one of the now numerous devices that manufacturers are offering as a means for users to acquire and read books in electronic format. This particular device, however, seems poised to become the successor of the Nook in terms of availability, having been delayed repeatedly and still not making it to the market. Now that the latest availability date has been missed, Spring Design, Alex's maker, is hoping it will have it ready by “early spring”.
The Nook, the e-reader developed by Barnes and Noble was faced with similar delays in its early days, but those were caused not by technical difficulties or inability to meet the official launch dates, but by the strong customer demand that exceeded inventories.
Alex, however, was initially revealed as far back as October 2009, but the product has not even become available for order, having been delayed on repeated occasion. Last time it was postponed, it was supposed to come out during the first week of March. That week has already passed, but Spring Design seems to have again delayed the launch. Now, the targeted time frame is early spring.
It is unclear why exactly the launch was once again delayed, perhaps a Spring Release would be more in tune with the company's name. Unfortunately, consumers that were hoping to get their hands on the Android OS-running gizmo will have to resign themselves to waiting a while longer. Fortunately, spring could be said to have already arrived, which means that the wait might finally end soon.
The Alex E-reader has an SD card slot and can connect through WiFi, 3G, EVDSA/CDMA and GSM. The device uses a 6-inch e-paper display and a 3.5-inch color touchscreen for navigation and will be priced at $399 when it finally becomes available. When it does, it should start selling through the company's official online store, although the page dedicated to Alex doesn't seem to have noticed the passing of the first week of March.