Fujitsu’s FLEPia has been in the works for over three years, and will at long, eager awaited last, release the color e-book reader to all the voracious readers who require a little more than the monotony of black and white on April 20. Besides the color screen, the FLEPia has all the other necessary trimmings - 8″ XGA screen, SD card slot, wifi and bluetooth connectivity, a 40-hour battery and is operable either via touchscreen or the physical controls. All in a package half-inch thick - it’s definitely a bit bulkier than the Kindle 2, but I doubt anyone’s complaining much about the specs. Heck, it even runs Windows CE, and as seen in the press shot above, allows internet access while turning you transparent.

What people should be complaining about is the price - a faint-inducing 99,750 yen (around $1000). Keep in mind the high battery life is because the screen is e-ink based, not LCD, but that results in hideous screen refresh times - about 1.8 seconds for a single wipe - kind of putting a damper on that Win CE functionality…

[press release]