Touch screen tablet - Astri eReader + tablet combo is the most pocketable hybrid

I like daring manufacturers that look always beyond current trends and bring to trade shows amazing prototypes of gadgets that might one day become reality. The same goes for Astri, who presented at CES a prototype of a dual screen eInk reader and touch tablet, but unlike the Entourage eDGe it’s a more pocketable hybrid, and is in totally another class compared to the MSI dual screen netbook tablet.

Astri eReader + touch tablet combo

The two screens of the Astri’s concept are a 5 inch Wacom epaper panel and the other a 4.8 inch WVGA (800 x 480 pixels) LCD running what else than the Android OS. The shown concept is not final in terms of design and functionality, but a mere working sample (not 100% working tough as you’ll see below) meant to attract OEM/ODM contracts from famous brands. The Android ’side’ features the same buttons we find on any Android smartphone so not much news here.

Below there’s a short video presenting the Astri prototype. From what I hear it seems the eInk screen is not touch, at least not yet:

Source: SlashGear, Armdevices

Update: Astri is a Hong Kong based company, founded with the help of the HK government and the dual screen eReader+tablet was not a prototype, but a fully functional product and is called MyID (My Internet Device) and is the third generation of the concept, with the second already delivered to some elementary schools in Hong Kong. [source]