Tianjin Jinke A6 and A9 eReaders Revealed

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Chinese company Tianjin threw their hat into the eReader ring with the Jinke A6 and A6 families of eReaders. They were on display at CES 2010 earlier this month, and while there isn’t anything to make them stand above the rest of the pack, they’re a pretty solid Kindle clone.

The devices will feature a ARM9 processor clocked at 400MHz. While the ARM9 processors are ages old, they’re also dirt cheap and fairly stable, which is why they appeal to these Chinese companies. The Jinke eReaders will have 128MB of RAM along with 2GB of flash memory for storage. Storage can be expanded via a SD card slot.

The Jinke A6 series will have a 6-inch screen (with a resolution of 800 x 600) and the A9 series will have a 9-inch screen (with a resolution of 1024 x 768). The interesting part, tech blog gadgetfolder.com is reporting that the Jinke eReaders will come with a multi-touch E Ink screen, which would be something new for an eReader.

In addition to the SD card slot, the Jinke readers will also come with a USB port, WiFi, EVDO and 3G connectivity. The -k variants of the A6 and A9 families will come with a full QWERTY keyboard, similar to the Kindle, while the -t variants will just have a small 8-way pointer.

While you might balk at the lack of an established content store and delivery system (like the Kindle or Nook), one thing to remember is that piracy is rampant in China and Asia, and most people won’t bother with buying eBooks with an online store. No word on pricing or a release date yet.