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Shelly Palmer Radio Report – March 22, 2013

About six months ago, a new e-reader was announced that would shake up the scene. The Txtr Beagle would be a no-frills reading experience. It didn’t have a touchscreen, a backlight, 3G or even Wi-Fi, and would need two AAA batteries to work. Why would anyone want it? Because it was only going to cost 15 bucks. Well, the Beagle finally went up for pre-order and it turns out it’s going to cost 70 dollars, not 15. Who knows what changed, but Amazon sells its basic Kindle, with Wi-Fi built in, for the same price. But the bigger question is: Does it really matter at all? With Barnes & Noble rumored to possibly eliminate its entire Nook line, e-readers are in limbo right now. Tablets are getting cheaper and phone screens are getting bigger, and all of these devices can access e-reader apps from every e-book seller, including Amazon and Barnes & Noble. In a world that doesn’t really need e-readers anymore, the Txtr Beagle has absolutely no place.

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More Stories By Shelly Palmer

Shelly Palmer is the host of NBC Universal’s Live Digital with Shelly Palmer, a weekly half-hour television show about living and working in a digital world. He is Fox 5′s (WNYW-TV New York) Tech Expert and the host of United Stations Radio Network’s, MediaBytes, a daily syndicated radio report that features insightful commentary and a unique insiders take on the biggest stories in technology, media, and entertainment.