Barnes & Noble on Wednesday decided to reach a settlement with Spring Design and avoid a trial over claims it stole the design of the Alex e-reader for the Nook. Under the deal, Barnes & Noble will pay an unspecified royalty amount up front but will otherwise have a royalty-free license for all of Spring Design's patents. The exact payout was kept secret.
Spring Design on Monday told prospective buyers of the Alex e-reader late Monday that the device was at an end. It explained that it was "phasing out" the dual-screen Android slate sometime within the next six months. The replacement hadn't been unveiled yet, it told eBook Reader.
Spring Design's lawsuit against Barnes & Noble for allegedly copying its designs for an e-book reader was upheld by a US District Court Judge late on Monday. Barnes & Noble has now failed to win a dismissal and will have to face the complaints Spring Design is bringing to a judge, including breach of contract, unfair competition and misappropriating trade secrets.
Amazon today was at last granted a patent for the original, late 2007 Kindle. The USPTO filing covers a device with "dual displays" where a second display has elements that control what's displayed for text or other content on the main screen. Drawings with the patent show the original design and claim that its unique strip represents the second display.
Amazon has been talking to game developers to support a new version of the Kindle, leaks from the bookseller pointed out on Monday. The publishers weren't named but would be providing titles in sync with the new e-reader. Amazon hasn't commented on the NYT claims.
Spring Design tonight said the Alex will start shipping as of tomorrow. The dual-screen Android e-reader has faced multiple delays since February but will finally arrive for pre-orders at its lowered $399 price. It will only support Wi-Fi for Internet access at first but should get 3G over EVDO and HSPA later this year.
Spring Design said today that it's now starting to take pre-orders for its Alex e-reader. Originally unveiled late last year, it should now ship "no later than" mid-April. Despite talk of a price drop, however, the company still claims it should ship for $399, or $140 more than the Nook that Spring Design alleges stole its design.
The delayed Alex e-book reader from Spring Design may become available from the company's website on March 16th, according to an unnamed source. Previously, the device was due for a February 22nd release as well as another one during the first week in March, which was also missed. SlashGear hasn't heard what triggered the extended delay.
The small Alex e-book reader introduced at CES has missed its February 22nd launch and its maker, Spring Design, has announced it will be available for pre-order in the first week of March. The dual-screen device has a larger, 6-inch e-paper screen up top and a 3.5-inch touchscreen LCD and allows for reading e-books while browsing the web at the same time. The Alex has a built-in EVDO/HSPA 3G modem as well as Wi-Fi.
Amazon responded to the wave of more advanced e-book readers today by unveiling plans for a Kindle Development Kit. The software tool will give developers a means of producing apps, or "active content," that will sell through the Kindle Store. Although the e-paper prevents video and other fast-motion content, apps will have full access to the 3G link and should work with both the regular Kindle and the larger DX.
Spring Design christened the launch of its Alex at CES with both a major content deal and a release window. The newcomer says its dual-screen e-book reader will get access to Borders' Kobo-based e-book store and will have access to as many as 2 million titles. It not only gives the device a potential edge against the Kindle and Nook.
Spring Design's hopes of quickly banning Nook sales in its lawsuit against Barnes & Noble were dashed today after a San Jose US District Court denied a request for a preliminary injunction. The move will let Barnes & Noble keep selling the e-readers until at least the final decision. In its ruling, the court denied that there was any clear indication that Barnes & Noble was damaging sales of Spring Design's Alex to other companies and that there was a "genuine dispute" as to whether the bookseller had stolen any ideas.
Spring Design late Monday revealed that it has sued Barnes & Noble for allegedly infringing on the design of its two-screen Alex e-book reader. The company claims to have been working with Barnes & Noble in confidential terms since spring of this year but that the bookstore 'stole' the idea, unveiling its Nook reader without telling Spring Design in advance. The latter also says it has been obtaining patents since 2006, well before development of the Nook would have begun.
Spring Design today unveiled Alex, its own take on e-book reading. Beating Barnes & Noble to a dual-screen reader, the design has both a 6-inch e-paper screen for reading as well as a 3.5-inch color touchscreen for navigation and viewing related content. The entire platform is based on Android and is customized to integrate both displays, such as caching a web article to read it on the e-paper screen.
