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In August we wrote about the imminent arrival of a new touchscreen, wifi-enabled eBook Reader from iRex, and now the company is officially launching the product, DR800SG, which has a 8.1-inch screen and costs $ 399 . While Sprint provides amobile service of the Amazon Kindle, the Irex eBook Reader will use Verizon for its 3G wifi connectivity. As with the Kindle, ”free” wireless service plan offers unlimited ebook and periodic downloads and is included in the price of DR800SG.

Irex DR800SD eBook Reader

Irex Representatives earlier stated that it would be teaming up its new eBook Reader with a large retail eBook Store, and not surprisingly, the DR800SG, ends up with Barnes & Noble e-library. To the press and other periodicals, Irex continues an already established partnership with NewspaperDirect, which serves “1140 newspapers from 87 countries in 41 languages in its original design.” Equally important, Irex decided to sign an agreement with Best Buy to sell DR800SG in Best Buy stores across the country.

According to the new times this week, Best Buy is training thousands of its employees in how to talk about and demonstrate devices like the Sony Reader and Irex, and adding a new area to its 1,048 stores to showcase the devices.

Here are the highlights of Irex DR800SG’s:

• 8.1-inch display (E-ink technology used)
• $ 399
• 3G wireless connectivity (Verizon)
• Touch screen with stylus navigation
• 2GB built-in memory (1500 eBooks)
• Supported formats: Adobe PDF, EPUB, Newspaper-Direct, Fictionwise, eReader, TXT
• User Battery Replacement
• Leather Cover included
• Content available through Barnes & Noble store of eBooks, Newspapers-Direct, and Digital Library
• While there is no ability to take notes on the eBook Reader at the launch, Irex says that it will add that function through a free firmware upgrade in the upcoming months.
• Available: Late October

One of the key aspects to spot on the device is to know that it is not using the same touch screen like the Sony Reader PRS-600. This model is designed for use with finger and stylus, but the touch screen can only used with a stylus. The choice to go with this sort of touch-screen is due to the light and change issues that have plagued Sony’s touch screen (an extra layer of glass has to be added to finger based touch screens, resulting in increased brightness and reduced contrast).

So far, Irex, a spin-off from Philips and one of the early pioneers of eBook Reader (remember the Iliad, right?), has offered more to mainly business-oriented readers who are wealthy buyers and are mainly European targeted customers.

At this point, it is unclear what the optimal viewing size will be on the eBook Reader, but some people want screens larger than 6 inches. However, many people think that the DX Kindle, which boasts a 9.7 inch screen is too large. Just 8.1 inches can be the means.

Sony, too, would soon start selling a larger format eBook Reader, 7-inch daily reading Edition (also $ 399), so things are heating up in the eBook Reader market. From the write up of the DR800SG, The New York Times quoted that the market research firm iSuppli said that over 5.2 million eBook Reader will be sold worldwide this year. Probably it will, but the price of eBook Reader has come down significantly for these devices to step beyond niche.

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