Txtr GmbH, a German based company, was founded in 2008. It is an e-Reading company whose services include an online store for digital books and news, document storage and service, support for multi-devices, and the Txtr e-Reader. Their goal is to increase the way people use electronic content.
The Txtr e-Reader prototype was displayed at CeBit IT Fair in early 2009. The release of the e-Reader was scheduled for the German speaking part of Europe in October 2009. It was to be launched at the Frankfurt Book Fair but was postponed, apparently due to production difficulties in China. The company is currently taking pre-orders for the device. Videos of the Txtr e-Reader can be seen on You Tube.
Txtr has a six-inch high resolution e-ink display which is readable even in bright sunlight, a long battery life lasting for weeks, an integrated 3-D accelerometer which allows for automatic orientation between landscape and portrait mode, built in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, and an open system architecture. Wireless connectivity is provided by E-plus, a German network operator. 3G/GPRS connectivity is an option. Books can be purchased at the Txtr store which has a large assortment of German language e-content as well as English e-books.
The open-source software and Txtr’s support for third party applications are among the things that set Txtr apart from other e-readers. The Txtr Reader uses Adobe Digital Rights Management (DRM) . The Txtr store DRM books can be read on the Txtr Reader as well as Txtr applications on iPhones, and on Macs, PCs, and third party e-readers with Adobe Digital Editions. The built in vLan lets users set up a virtual Lan connecting them to other readers allowing them to easily share books or documents on up to six activated devices. A variety of file types are supported on the Txtr Reader including pdf, HTML, doc, and epub formats. Because of its streamlined design and capacitive slider interface, the Txtr e-Reader can easily be used with one hand. These are all elements that give the Txtr e-Book Reader an advantage over the Amazon Kindle.
Some other details are a 600×800 display, 64 MB SDRAM on-board, and an included 8GB micro-SD card. There is also an online platform where individuals can publish their own texts. The Txtr e-Reader does not have mp3 playback which is a feature present in a number of other e-readers.
The server infrastructure for Txtr’s digital reading service is the Reaktor, which stores and processes documents. It provides a back end for running a digital reading network. Some of the uses for Reaktor include catalog access, e-book upload, management of access rights, and presentation. Reaktor has two parts, the remote procedure call (RPC) and delivery. The delivery part, which is accessed through HTTP requests, handles the upload and download of books, while the RPC part handles everything else. All functionality of Reaktor can be accessed from anywhere on the internet through public API.
Consumers will have a free connection to Txtr’s bookstore, but can also choose to have permanent mobile access to the free content parts of txtr.com through Txtr Pro. A Txtr Pro subscription gives access to RSS feeds, blogs, shared document groups, anything in an individual’s online account, and the ability to synchronize between the online account and the Txtr Reader. The monthly cost for a three month subscription is 15 euros; a twelve month subscription would have a monthly rate of 12 euros. The Amazon Kindle allows free synchronization through Whispersync.
The price for the Txtr e-Reader is higher than the Kindle. In Germany the Txtr costs 299 Euros or $385. The Kindle 3G + Wi-Fi costs 147 Euros or $189 in Germany. It is possible the Txtr will cost less when it is released in the United States.
Books cost more at the Txtr Bookstore than at their competitors’ stores, about $14 a book. At Amazon Books titles average about $9.99 each. Amazon Books also has a larger bookstore with an expansive variety of books, but the Txtr Bookstore is growing and the Txtr e-Reader has the ability to read a variety of e-book formats.
Some price comparison examples follow showing specific titles from different genres at four online e-book stores, Txtr Bookstore, Libre.de, Ebooks.com, and Amazon.
A Duty To the Dead, by Charles Todd:
Txtr: 24.90 euros / $33.06, Libre: 19.85 euros / $26.35, Ebooks: 9.03 euros / $11.99, Amazon: 9.03 euros / $11.99
The Cooking Club Cookbook, by Cooking Club
Txtr: 19.90 euros / $26.42, Libre: 16.69 euros / $12.57, Ebooks: 16.03 euros / $19.95, Amazon: 7.52 euros / $9.99
Anne Frank, by Francine Prose
Txtr: 24.90 euros / $33.06, Libre: 21.63 euros / $28.72, Ebooks: 9.03 euros / $11.99, Amazon: 9.03 euros / $11.99
What do the experts have to say about the the Txtr e-Reader?
Matan Josefsberg, and Expert Author from Ezine Articles, has stated in an article from November 2009, “The Txtr Reader is the best choice for bibliophiles who love the freedom of accessing any document from any device and who want to continue the tradition of book sharing with family and friends.”
Sarah Rotman Epps, an analyst in consumer technology and media at Forrester Research has stated, “Buying and reading books is an inherently social process and the lack of robust sharing capabilities on the (Amazon) Kindle is an obvious weakness that competitors will address.” This is an advantage that the Txtr e-Reader has over some of its competitors.
Epaper Central, a leading website for information and news on electronic paper technologies had this to say about the Txtr e-Reader, “The success of the device will be tied to what their online store looks like and how well it interfaces with the device’s 3G network. If txtr can reach some type of major publishing deal, then it might be able to compete with Amazon’s Kindle.”
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