The Gear Diary crew at CES will be visiting with Spring Design later this week, but we already know a bit more about the Alex Reader: it is going to have easy access to Google Books, immediately boosting their book inventory base to over 1 million titles.

Google books is powering a few stores (Barnes and Noble, Sony, Shortcovers/Kobo), with Amazon being the only major eBookstore to not have Google Books access. Hopefully the boasting rights of that many zeros can help propel the Alex forwards in the sea of eBook readers coming out at CES; we’ll have more information after Judie gets to meet with them, so stay tuned this week for more Alex-related news, and check out the Google Books press release below.

FREMONT, Calif. – January 5, 2010 - Spring Design, developers of the dual screen multimedia Alex™ eReader, today announced they have entered into an agreement with Google that gives Alex users access to more than one million Google Books online or downloaded using Alex’s integrated Android Web browser and search applications.

Alex is the first and only open Google Android-based eReader platform with full featured Internet browsing, WiFi connectivity, audio and video playback and image viewing in popular formats, and the ability to run a growing number of Google Android applications.

With the Alex touch screen browser, users can access the Internet to search and read eBooks directly on Alex’s eReader’s 6″ EPD (Electronic Paper Display) screen while browsing in full color on the Internet simultaneously.  Users can click on hyperlinks within online books that lead to relevant web-based information or multimedia content found online to enrich their reading experience.   EPUB digital books can be searched and downloaded using Google API applications provided by Alex’s eReader.

“We are pleased to work with Spring Design and the Alex, which is an exciting new reading device, that combined with a wealth of free public domain books from Google, provides great value to eReaders,” said Google Product Manager, Brandon Badger. “Our relationship with Spring Design is helping to expand the number of ways people access eBooks and search for information online, whether for business, education or entertainment.”

“Our agreement and strategic alliance with Google opens the doors to more readers around the world,” said Dr. Priscilla Lu, CEO of Spring Design.  “We are excited to be part of Google’s initiative to digitize and deliver the world’s books and look forward to the markets and opportunities these efforts will open up for readers as well as independent authors.” 

About Spring Design:
Spring Design Inc., founded in 2006, designs and delivers eReader products to the eBook market.  Its Alex eReader is the first multimedia, Android-based, dual-screen eReader with a full-function browser.  It offers a hyperlink publishing tool, “Link Notes”, that links eBook text to related video, audio, notes or web addresses. Spring Design Inc. is located in Fremont, California with engineering offices in Taiwan and China. Spring Design’s innovative patented technologies incorporate the seamless interaction of dual display and multi-online access in a single device, benefiting and leveraging the technology and resources of the Web to enhance the reading experience.  For more information please see www.springdesign.com