Power-brick maker touts... colour e-book reader

Yours to buy - 10,000 pcs minimum - in Q2

A company you have (probably) never heard of is working on a 13in colour e-book reader it hopes to sell to companies you (probably) have heard of.

The manufacturer is Delta Electronics, a Taiwanese contract manufacturer whose name is likely to be unknown to you unless you're the sort of geek who reads the writing on AC adaptor bricks.

It told Computerworld this week that the gadget uses a display developed by tire-maker Bridgestone, which has had an e-paper subsidiary working on this kind of thing for a while now.

Delta's aim is to persuade another company to rebrand the device under a logo of its own. Until such a customer is signed up, Delta's tablet stays in the lab.

That said, it hinted it might go its own way if it finds no takers. But don't expect to see a Delta e-book reader on shop shelves any time soon - this is a fall-back position and likely to focus on the Taiwan market, where Delta is able to do deals with content providers it knows.

This device's Reg Hardware will-it-turn-up-in-Blighty rating: 50 per cent. ®