AMD's ElanSC400 microcontroller will perform all central processing functions in the EB Dedicated Reader, managing an integrated circuit board, dual active-matrix LCD screens, a dual screen controller, a PCMCIA port, storage card interface, a high-speed modem and battery power consumption. The Everybook Reader will use AMD's Am29LV-series low-voltage flash memory to store custom system and video BIOS code.

"We have chosen AMD's ElanSC400 microcontroller to be the enabling processor in the EB Dedicated Reader," said Everybook founder and president Daniel Munyan. "The Élan's speed, combination of control features, and its price play a big part in making the EB Reader a viable alternative to traditional publisher distribution channels."

Final design of the Everybook Reader is being handled by JFK Associates (Malvern, PA), an engineering firm specializing in the design of custom motherboards based on AMD processors.

The Everybook reader allows subscribers to browse an extensive collection of books and periodicals in a virtual bookstore setting. Purchases are downloaded in read-only format via a high-speed modem and debited from the customers checking account.

Publishers benefit through reduced book production and shipping costs along with improved copyright and royalty management - savings that can be passed to the consumer. A large-scale consumer shift to electronic books offers the attractive environmental bonus of dramatic cuts in the publishing industries consumption of paper products and output of industrial waste.

The ElanSC400 microcontroller is based on AMD's proven low-voltage Am486® microprocessor core, and integrates virtually all of the peripheral logic required for a PC/AT compatible system onto a single chip. The processor supports DOS, Windows and x86 compatible real time operating systems.