Jumping ahead of the pack of e-readers expected to debut this week at CES, LG, Sprint and Skiff today previewed the Skiff Reader they'll be showing in Las Vegas this week.

The one-pound reader, designed for newspapers and magazines, measures 11.5 inches diagonally and a quarter inch thick, with a resolution of 1200 x 1600 pixels and a touchscreen. Skiff claims that it runs a full week without recharging.

The Hearst Corp. started the project, initially called "FirstPaper," and spun Skiff out as a separate company earlier this month.

Pricing is not yet available, but Sprint plans to sell the devices through its stores later this year. Sprint's also providing 3G wireless connectivity to the devices, which also have Wi-Fi radios.

It's based on a display that LG has shown in recent years at CES, using a thin, flexible sheet of stainless steel foil.

Skiff, a venture based in New York and Palo Alto, Calif., hopes to get its technology and services for distributing content onto other companies' consumer electronic devices.

From today's release:

The Skiff Reader will feature the Skiff service and digital store, allowing consumers to wirelessly purchase and access a wide variety of newspapers, magazines, books, blogs and other content from multiple publishers. Newspaper and magazine content delivered by Skiff will feature visually appealing layouts, high-resolution graphics, rich typography and dynamic updates, supporting key design qualities that help publications differentiate themselves and attract subscribers and advertisers.

Full technical specs:

Physical specs

Device Dimensions:
9 inches (228.6 mm) by
11 inches (279.4 mm) by
0.268 inches (6.8 mm)

Weight:
17 9/16 oz (498 grams)

Magnesium housing

Display

Size:
11.5 inches (292.1 mm) measured diagonally

Resolution:
1200 x 1600 pixels, 174 ppi

Technology:
Rugged Metal-Foil e-Paper Display
Silicon thin-film-transistors (TFT) on flexible stainless-steel substrate
Shatter-proof, crack-proof

Full touchscreen:
Supports both finger and stylus operation

Power

Battery life (approx):
One week of average life (thousands of page turns with periodic wireless use)

Rechargeable high-capacity Lithium Ion battery

Recharging Time:
2-3 hrs.

Connectivity

Long-range wireless:
3G-enabled

Short-range wireless:
WiFi-enabled

Wired (for sideloading content):

USB 2.0 over standard mini-USB port

Storage and audio

Internal memory:
4 GB (with 3+ GB available for content)

External (Add-On) Memory:
SDHC 2.0 standard compliant SD-card slot

Audio:
Built-in speaker

3.5 mm standard audio jack