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Weekly News Digest

September 28, 2009 — In addition to this week's NewsBreaks article and the monthly NewsLink Spotlight, Information Today, Inc. (ITI) offers Weekly News Digests that feature recent product news and company announcements. Watch for additional coverage to appear in the next print issue of Information Today. CLICK HERE to view more Weekly News Digest items.

New Digital Reader From IREX Technologies Makes U.S. Debut

IREX Technologies (www.IREXtechnologies.com) has launched its latest Digital Reader-the IREX DR800SG-in the U.S. It will be sold at Best Buy stores beginning in October for $399.99. The sleek 8.1" reader with 3G technology comes with the Barnes & Noble ebookstore of more than 750,000 titles but offers the opportunity for virtually any publisher or retailer to be included. The DR800SG model, which in the U.S. features partners Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, Verizon Wireless, and Qualcomm, is set to be replicated with partners in the U.K. and Europe. The planned launch during 2010 follows the recent establishment of an IREX U.K. office and the recruitment of former Plastic Logic executive David Edgar as U.K. director to bring the model across the Atlantic to the U.K.

Although currently one of the lesser known e-reader manufacturers, IREX has been at the forefront of the industry since it grew out of electronics giant Philips. IREX already retails the world's only "writeable" device for A4 documents, the IREX DR1000. The company works with companies around the world to tailor the device to their specific requirements in sectors including publishing, healthcare, engineering, and law. The company is also involved in projects in the education market across Europe.

NewspaperDirect announced that PressDisplay.com, the largest online newspaper and magazine kiosk (offering 1,100-plus full content digital replicas), is already running on the IREX. NewspaperDirect was an early partner of IREX, announcing in 2008, PressReader for the IREX 1000 series. PressReader is an application that comes pre-installed on the devices, allowing users to download PressDisplay.com's publications to the digital reader, to read at their leisure. The DR800SG provides the same PressReader functionality as the 1000 series, plus full access to the online PressDisplay.com aggregated publication service.

Source: IREX Technologies