Not only it has a stylus, it also offers on-screen handwriting recognition, and it runs Windows CE 5.0, which might be good news. While I'm not a big fan of Microsoft, I do like Windows CE, as it was designed with performance and optimization in mind. There are lots of applications for Windows CE, and once I almost wrote one myself for my PDA. If that reader allows importing and running standard Windows CE application, it would be quite a powerful and multifunctional device, limited only by its processor speed and very low display refresh speed (it's e-Ink, after all). I'd love to see a possibility for a e-Reader to allow solving a crossword puzzle or playing chess. And with Windows CE there are more chances to see that in reality.
It supports ePUB (Adobe DRM), PDF, TXT, HTXT, HTML, Microsoft Word formats, it plays back MP3, WAV and WMA, and can record WAV. It shows photos in JPEG, TIF, BMP, PNG, and GIF. Document languages supported: German, English, Italian, French, Spanish, Polish, Russian, Portuguese, Chinese and more.
The device costs 279.90 Euro (about $400 USD) at a German dealer Hexaglot. It has German user interface, but seems like the language can be changed via firmware upgrade. Sounds good to me, I think about giving it a try.
Its only drawback is its small screen. 5" is comparable with a PDA (my Acer n311 has 3.7"), and for a comfortable reading experience I'd like something larger. However, in a recent press release Hanvon announced a model N800, which is also run by Windows CE, but has a 8" screen. The price is unknown, but the device should become available in the US this year.
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