Amazon has just been granted a U.S. patent for a dual screen eReader; and the patent appears to cover the format used by the Barnes & Noble Nook and the Spring Design Alex.
As reported in GoRumors and engadget, the patent was just awarded to “Amazon Technologies, Inc., Seattle, WA” but it dates back to 2006 and could produce a flurry of law suits if Amazon decides to sue its rivals. Specifically, the patent no. 7,748,634 B1 covers:
A handheld electronic device comprising: a housing; an electronic paper display disposed in the housing and having a first surface area; and a liquid crystal display (LCD) disposed in the housing proximate the electronic paper display, the LCD having a second surface area that is smaller than the first surface area of the electronic paper display.
Or Barnes & Noble might just upgrade the Nook to a tablet PC and forsake the eReader format, speculates engadget.
Photo: Nook Wi-Fi from Barnes & Noble with dual screens
