History: Samsung Ebook Readers
This is a page of background notes that I wrote for my review of the Samsung E65. It was written to the best of my recollection. It’s not completely accurate nor is everything in context.
These are just my notes, and they are not to be considered published material. Check with me before you use any details.
Samsung have had a troubled history with ebook readers. They had first released a couple models in their home market (South Korea), but things didn’t go so well when they tried to enter the US, Europe, and other markets.
Samsung tried to get into ereaders in a big way, and they launched 4 models at CES 2010. I have the E65, and it was one of 4 that Samsung had on display. There was a 5” model, 2 6” models, and a 9.7” model. Only a 6” model and the 9.7”were scheduled to be released in the US market, though, and neither were actually sold.
E101
Samsung had a 9.7” model at CES 2010, and I believe it was called the E101. It was their first disaster. So far as I know it never hit the market anywhere. Do you remember what happened a few weeks after CES 2010? Yes, the E101 was the iPad’s first victim. The iPad cost only $500, and the E100 had a retail of $699 (this was announced at CES 2010). Yeah, that worked out well.
E6
The 6” for the US market was called the E6, I believe, and it was Samsung’s second disaster. It survived the iPad, but it fell victim to the ebook reader price war of June 2010. It also wasn’t released in the US because with the new lower price point it cost too damn much.
E65
At least 1 model was sold in Europe (and possibly elsewhere), and that’s what I have. I picked it up on clearance a bout a month ago. The original retail was 299 euros, and I got it for half that plus shipping.
In case you were wondering, yes, that clearance price is more than the retail price if the Kindle. Are you beginning to grasp the scale of the disaster that is Samsung’s ebook readers?
E5 (or E50)
I never found out what happened to Samsung’s 5” ebook reader. It doesn’t seem to have been reviewed by any gadget blog, nor has it shown up at MobileRead.
P.S. If you find evidence that all 4 models showed up at a trade show during 2010, it wasn’t a sign that they entered the local market. One thing I’ve figured out is that most trade shows were handled by Samsung Global, not the local division. For example, there were 4 models 9n the Samsung booth at CES 2010 but only 2 were referenced at the Samsung press conference. Samsung Global stocked the booth and Samsung USA held the press conference.
P.P.S. If you know that the E5 or the E101 were sold somewhere, please let me know.
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