The announcement that Asus was getting into the eBook reader game was a bit of a surprise, but not an unwelcome one. Now that new hands-on pics have hit Flickr, it looks like our initial enthusiasm was founded.

What's most alluring about the DR-950 is still the thinness—just .35-inches despite the 9-inch, 1024×768 display.

It's also one of the first mass market black and white eBook reader's I've seen that doesn't use e-ink. Instead, Asus is using the unfortunately named SiPix Microcup electronic paper, which purports to be more a more energy efficient alternative.

Other specs include 2-4GB of storage, an SD card slot, Wi-Fi and HDSPA, a USB port and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Pricing and timing are still up in the air.

Honestly, there are a lot of these hitting the market these days, but given that pioneering Asus did in the early netbook days, we'll give them the benefit of the doubt that they're bringing something exciting. It certainly looks that way so far. [Asus UK Flickr via Engadget]