The next chapter in ebook devices is iriver’s Story. To be launched on 16 September in Korea, iriver’s Story is made to take the market leading Amazon’s Kindle head on. The Story borrows aesthetics from Apple’s minimalistic looks giving the buyers stylish and slick design.

It features a 6-inch display screen, a full QWERTY keyboard, a memory card slot for SDHC cards up to 32GB, and it is PDF, E-Pub, txt, and Microsoft-Office file compatible without requiring a file-conversion system. The battery lasts 9,000 page-flips and it can read e-comic formats. However, there is no word on an eventual WIFI/3G connection which probably leaves the Story a step behind.

iriver has a collaboration with Korea’s biggest book retailer, Kyobo, and there are ongoing negotiations with content providers in the US, Europe, Russia and Australia for when the product goes overseas. Story is priced at $300.

It is a debate as to whether ebook readers will ever reach the same level as users of mp3 players and smartphones, given the dying habit of reading and studies showing that the thrill of reading also lies in turning pages physically, touching the book and smelling the paper. However, the idea cannot be dismissed given the penetrative nature of new technology with the new age.

Via FastCompany / MobileRead