While Amazon's Kindle devices are by far the biggest names in ereaders, with E-Ink devices from Onyx and Xiaomi only getting limited attention, a big new device has just been announced which could be a serious rival.
This comes from tech giant Huawei, unveiled as part of its conference at MWC 2022, and it's called the Huawei MatePad Paper. There are some seriously impressive specs here for an ereader, which is why we think it could rival Amazon's slates, particularly the Kindle Oasis.
The Paper comes with a 10.3-inch screen, which is pretty big for an ereader, has support for a stylus and there's a fingerprint scanner built into the power button.
It uses a USB-C port which will allow for quick charging, has an Oasis-like spine to be easily holdable, and has a four-week battery life.
Software-wise, this runs Huawei's HarmonyOS, and includes the Huawei Books app providing you access to over 2 million books. There's support for over 20 languages and the store is accessible in over 170 countries/regions.
More than just books
Display: 10.3-inch E Ink
4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity
26ms low latency
86.3% screen to body
RAM: 4GB
Storage: 64GB
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6+, USB-C
Battery: 4 weeks standby
Colors: black, khaki, blue
Price: €499
There's more than just books though, as this seems like a fully-functioning productivity device with emails, calendars, certain apps available to download from the Huawei App Gallery, handwriting conversion (using the stylus), connectivity between the Paper and a smartphone or PC, voice recording, video playback and more.
Internally, this has 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, so again it's more powerful than the Kindles, but it's quite a bit more expensive too.
In Europe, it costs €499 (roughly $560 / £420 / AU$780) - we're not sure where it'll launch just yet, but given Huawei's track record, we'd take the US off the list straight away.
With nearly two years of pandemic lockdown behind us, lots of companies have been unveiling new workplace and work-from-home gadgets, and the MatePad Paper seems like a tablet-slash-ereader that's designed to be easy to look at, long-lasting and useful...
... saying that, we haven't tested the thing, and won't come to any full conclusion until we've given it a spin. We're fond of our Kindle, and a rival needs to really impress us.
- MWC (Mobile World Congress) is the world's largest showcase for the mobile industry, stuffed full of the newest phones, tablets, wearables and more. TechRadar is reporting on the show all week. Follow our MWC 2022 live blog for the very latest news as it happens and visit our dedicated MWC 2022 hub for a round-up of the biggest announcements
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