Apple has not revealed Australian pricing for the iPad, but many observers are tipping either A$649 or $699 for the basic Wi-Fi only model.
Samsung’s e-readers appear closer to Amazon.com’s A$301 Kindle reader than the multimedia, touchscreen iPad. Like the Kindle they will have mono displays using e-ink technology; the iPad has a colour LCD display.
News of their impending Australian release was broken by Fairfax journalist David Flynn, after attending a Samsung promotional event in Singapore. He said Samsung hopes to introduce its entry-level E50 reader, which has a compact five-inch screen, at A$299.
Other models include the E60 and E65, both with six-inch screens, and the flagship E100 which sports a 10-inch screen with 825 by 1200 pixel resolution.
Samsung Australia marketing manager Emmanuele Silanesu and director Philip Newton independently confirmed the plans to launch the models in this country, once content deals have been stitched up hopefully in the second half of this year.
