Spring Design Set To Begin "Phasing Out" The Alex Reader, Hint A Newer Model Is Coming

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It has been quite a while since we last heard anything in terms of the Alex Reader from Spring Design, and to be honest, I for one had forgotten they were even still around. That said, it looks like the Alex Reader may not ever come away from the current “out of stock” listing.

The details of the demise of the Alex Reader are coming by way of an email that The Ebook Reader blog received after asking when they device would be back in stock. And just for the record, the Alex Reader in both charcoal and white are shown priced at $399 and listed as out of stock. Anyway, without getting that far off track, the response from the Spring Design team was clear in terms of the future of Alex.

“Thank you for your interest in Alex. Spring Design is phasing out the current Alex Reader within the next 6 months. We have not announced the product change and introduce any new product yet.”

Of course, the second part about the new product does leave some room for speculation. Based on that alone, it looks like something will be coming, and assuming that is true, one could think that an announcement would come prior to the final demise of the Alex Reader.

That said, some may remember the Alex Reader for the lawsuit that Spring Design filed against Barnes & Noble. Going back and it turns out that the original Nook was released in October 2009, which was a good while before the Alex Reader began shipping and if you look at them both side by side, well, you will see the resemblance. Anyway, according to the lawsuit, Spring Design shared information with Barnes & Noble and then the design was later taken. That said, the lawsuit is apparently still pending. But in the meantime, we can only hope that should Spring Design be working on a new reader, that they do not share any details before the launch and that they come in much lower than the $399 price tag the Alex currently has.