Hopefully, Sony will come out with a new upgraded model reader in a year or two ...

Wish list:

* Plug-in / detachable keyboard. A small, maybe foldable keyboard, like the old Palm Pilots had, that plugs into the expansion port.

* Dictionary

* Text search function

* Annotation capability

(The above three would, of course, rely on the plug-in keyboard.)

* Ability to install games and apps.

* Open programming interface, with capability of dropping to the underlying (Linux)
OS and program in Bash, and possibly other languages.

* Plug-in modem, with maybe Internet connect capability.

Keyboard I like, but not detachable. Hidden or slider would be better. Otherwise it'll just get lost or left at home.

Plug in modem? Wifi is much better and I would say 99% likely with the next Reader.

Touchscreen would be nice, since any time I hand my Reader to a new person that's the first thing they try to do. It would be good for annotations too.

Games; don't want 'em. That's what God made the PSP for.

Annotation via a touchscreen w/ handwriting recognition would obviate the need for an alteration of the physical form-factor --- this would be my #1 wish and would make it a true replacement for my Newton MessagePad.

Supporting BlueTooth would cover adding an external keyboard, or doing WiFi &c.

William

Games; don't want 'em. That's what God made the PSP for.

Sorry, wrong. God made the DS Lite... Sony made the PSP.

BOb

I would like them to be tougher, cheaper and with a built in LED light (similar to a light wedge). That's all I want in a reader for pleasure reading.

Touchscreen keyboard and extra functions would be better for a folio sized (8.5x11) size that I could use for technical documents, textbooks, and reference books.

A backlight of some sort for reading at night or dimmly lit places would be nice too...

The variety of games would be somewhat limited on an eInk device, since even the new Epson controller can only handle "simple animations".

Oh, and that is what I'd like to see on the next iteration. The controller that is. Along with 16 shades of gray as it is purported to support. I'd also love to see a version of the reader with a larger 8", or even a 9.7", display. Oh, and a real folder structure!

None of this makes my list, except dictionary lookup and some method for indicating for which word I'm searching. Stylus seems the obvious choice. And if we have a stylus, then I see other possibilities, but none essential.

I just want a device to read books with. I use my iPhone for all other things mentioned here. With that in mind, my biggest want is something like on-the-go on the ipods, i.e. the ability to add books to a specific collection without hooking it up to a computer.

On second thought, I like writing down unfamiliar words in my journal du jour and looking them up later.

the ability to take specific quotes or paragraphs and put it in a notepad for referencing.

My wish list...
Search text and dictionary would be very welcome....as long as implementation of them, if I don't use them, would not drain battery faster than 505 right now. 505's battery life is considerably shorter than of 500. When I just bought 500 it had 3 weeks and 505 had only 2 weeks. Don't want it any shorter, otherwise it will loose one of its biggest advantages over other readers.

And of course, please please NO permanent keyboard! I am willing to give up on dictionary and search text as long as the reader does NOT have keyboard!

...A faster processor so it can handle more books.

A faster CPU would very likely mean increased power consumption and a shorter battery life. Would you be willing to accept that?

And a faster processor wouldn't let it "handle more books", unless I misunderstand that expression. A larger internal storage, would.

Sorry, wrong. God made the DS Lite... Sony made the PSP.

BOb


That's true.

Overall, I'm not dissatisfied with the Reader per se, as is. I like the size, I like to read on it, transferring books is no problem, 2GB SD is large enough for sure. I like the deluxe leather case, with the pocket for an extra SD, plus the Moleskine cahier notebook fits nicely in the pocket. I wish it had a pen loop, but I always have a pen with me anyway.

My gripes are the universal gripes of all e-book reader readers... (CONTEXT users?), which I won't renumerate, and which aren't device specific.

Flash RAM is so cheap now that there's really no reason not to have 512MB or 1GB built-in. With that much, the need for using external memory cards is pretty much removed for many people.

A folder-based reader, a-la FBReader, with the ability to read multiple formats.

A user-replaceable battery.

Sorry, wrong. God made the DS Lite... Sony made the PSP.

BOb

Have some karma :)

And a faster processor wouldn't let it "handle more books", unless I misunderstand that expression. A larger internal storage, would.

Well, it would make navigation through the Book list/menus when you have a large amount of books (using that 1GB of internal ram) on your device.

BOb

Well, it would make navigation through the Book list/menus when you have a large amount of books (using that 1GB of internal ram) on your device.

BOb

Does the refresh speed of an eInk screen depend on the CPU speed? I'd have thought that it was primarily dependent upon the physical characteristics of the device - the time taken for all the little capsules to move, or rotate, or whatever it is that they do.

Does the refresh speed of an eInk screen depend on the CPU speed? I'd have thought that it was primarily dependent upon the physical characteristics of the device - the time taken for all the little capsules to move, or rotate, or whatever it is that they do.

This has nothing to do with the screen refresh. It has to do with the amount of time it takes to read the data from the file system, sort it or organize it into by author or alphabetically or by collection. All that work is done by the CPU. Once it is done, it is displayed on the screen.

BOb

Are you referring to the "spinning wheel" cursor that you get when you disconnect the USB cable and the Reader figures out what you've added or deleted? Yes, that would be quite nice to speed up, I agree.

...destroying all record of what page you were on... yes, please fix that.

A user-replaceable battery.

This is about my only wish, and it's not critical. I use my Reader for reading lots and lots of books and stories. It does that great. The screen size and thin form factor are just right IMO. (A larger screen for pdfs would be a different beast.) It really hits the mark for a leisure reading device.

I don't need no dictionary or lookup, because I just read books. I don't want a back/front-light at the expense of battery power. (No p-books have backlights either.) One of the booklike joys of the Reader is not worrying about power and charging. I get enough of that with my cell phone, camera, portable video games, etc.!

I don't need more memory. My 505 internal memory is about half full, and it has at least 2-3 months' worth of reading. What are y'all reading that takes up so much memory? Or do people want to carry "every" book file with them? That's more of an obsession than a functional /need. Seriously, I have quite a variety for any reading mood, with tons of memory to spare, and no need for memory cards.

I guess I'm just happy with my Reader. :p It is just like a book (OK, many books!) to me, with no techie bells & whistles, nor the accompanying hassles. And the Sony Library software has been glitch-free for me. (Even flashed Cyrillic with no problem.)

OK, I *might* like "official" customizable options like clock display or mapping the menu keys to page turns, but I already have that anyway.

I don't need no dictionary or lookup, because I just read books.

Dictionary lookup is one of those things which you can get on very happily without but, when you get it, you suddenly find that it's just amazingly useful. When I changed from a Sony to a CyBook I didn't think the dictionary would be any big deal, but then I bought a decent dictionary for the Gen3 and I suddenly found myself using it all the time. If you read 19th century books (as I do a lot) you come across all sorts of words that yes, you can guess the meaning of from their context, generally speaking, but it's so nice to be able to easily look up their exact meaning. Not only increases your vocabulary, but enrichens the reading experience too.

This is about my only wish, and it's not critical. I use my Reader for reading lots and lots of books and stories. It does that great. The screen size and thin form factor are just right IMO. (A larger screen for pdfs would be a different beast.) It really hits the mark for a leisure reading device.

I don't want a back/front-light at the expense of battery power. (No p-books have backlights either.) One of the booklike joys of the Reader is not worrying about power and charging. I get enough of that with my cell phone, camera, portable video games, etc.!

I don't need more memory. My 505 internal memory is about half full, and it has at least 2-3 months' worth of reading. What are y'all reading that takes up so much memory? Or do people want to carry "every" book file with them? That's more of an obsession than a functional /need. Seriously, I have quite a variety for any reading mood, with tons of memory to spare, and no need for memory cards.

I guess I'm just happy with my Reader. :p It is just like a book (OK, many books!) to me, with no techie bells & whistles, nor the accompanying hassles. And the Sony Library software has been glitch-free for me.

I am with you on most of the points, except dictionary because English is not my first language and I use ectaco portable dic. and it would be helpful not to have to bring another gadget, but I can live without it :), but the memory issue is a really funny one. I could never understand it at all, because I cannot understand why one would need to have more than 50 books with them at any given point of time.

Dictionary lookup is one of those things which you can get on very happily without but, when you get it, you suddenly find that it's just amazingly useful. When I changed from a Sony to a CyBook I didn't think the dictionary would be any big deal, but then I bought a decent dictionary for the Gen3 and I suddenly found myself using it all the time. If you read 19th century books (as I do a lot) you come across all sorts of words that yes, you can guess the meaning of from their context, generally speaking, but it's so nice to be able to easily look up their exact meaning. Not only increases your vocabulary, but enrichens the reading experience too.

I can see the value of a dictionary if you're a non-native English speaker (like Astra above). But for me, no way. If there was a dictionary, I wouldn't use it. When I read, I *read*. I'm immersed in the story, and it becomes like an internal movie to me. I would NOT stop and look up a word, ever. The reading just flows. And I would not even stop to mark words to look up later. That would kill, not enhance, my reading experience. I cannot imagine reading for pleasure any other way. Even if I had a dictionary in front of me while reading, I wouldn't touch it. Never have, never will.

I am curious if many people actually interrupt their reading to look up words. I've been a voracious reader since elementary school (almost 40 years) and have never done this.

Sure, I do. You immerse yourself in your reading. I porpoise, I guess... hopping in and out of the water.

Sure, I do. You immerse yourself in your reading. I porpoise, I guess... hopping in and out of the water.

"Porpoise" ;) This is actually more interesting to me--reading styles/habits/experiences, moreso than Reader technical features! I never really discussed *how* people read with others, and assumed they mostly did it the same way (i.e.,"immersive" or,as it were, "fully-submerged"!). ;)

For me, DrMoze, it's entirely the opposite. It spoils my enjoyment of a story if I come across a word that I don't know the meaning of, and it bugs me until I can look it up. Being able to look things up "on the spot" for me, therefore, enhances the reading experience.

For me, the lookup procedure would be like watching a DVD and putting it on 'pause' every few minutes to go to the kitchen for a snack. When I read, the individual words disappear and a movie is playing in my head. I literally "see" characters, scenes, etc., and not words on a page.

So far, it appears that I'm in the minority. :^(

We're all different. It's good that we have a choice of devices.

For me, DrMoze, it's entirely the opposite. It spoils my enjoyment of a story if I come across a word that I don't know the meaning of, and it bugs me until I can look it up. Being able to look things up "on the spot" for me, therefore, enhances the reading experience.

I'm currently reading _Treasure Island_. And while I know what most of the words mean, there are a few I don't but think I got the context. However, there are just some phrases I'm not sure of. I doubt a dictionary would help here. Any kind of old english to modern english concordences out there?

BOb

I even look up words in the dictionary when I'm looking up words in the dictionary - just to test Godel's Incompleteness Theorem.

Is he joking? Is he?

So far, it appears that I'm in the minority. :^(

Not really :) I know what you are talking about. That was the main reason why I bought ectaco dictionary vs. looking up for a word manually. It made a huge difference. Another thing is that before I started to read books I like, I spent almost 2 years reading all sort of things, such as Astronomy magazins, Times, some non fiction books such as God's Fingerprints and few others of the same sort and built up my vocabulary (passive). I tried to read The Interview with the Vampire as my first fiction book...boy it was a disaster. I had to look up every fourth word or so and after 50 pages gave up and read it as "it is" because it was destroying the experience. Nowdays, I use dictionary maybe 1-2 time in 30 minutes when I feel like I really would like to know the meaning of the word and sometimes never for a few days. But mostly my big passive vocabulary saves the day for me otherwise I would have to skip the unknown words, although on the other hand I would miss details and it would destroy the experience too :( (if you miss all the small details of the story you miss a lot even though you know what is going on. I am speaking from my experience of watching movies in English. Never go to cinema because they do not have subtitles and I just cannot watch movies in English without subs.)
After reading in English for many years only a few months ago I was reminded for the first time in a long time how it feels when you don't know at least 1-2 word on each page. It did presented a problem. It was Perdido Street Station. It was a difficult read languagewise. If I had to struggle like that with every book I would give up on English and read in Russian. As it is now, I cannot read fantasy in Russian :) It sounds so childish, immature and silly :p

I even look up words in the dictionary when I'm looking up words in the dictionary - just to test Godel's Incompleteness Theorem.

Is this related to tompe's defenestration test? Probably safer.

Yes, safer. His test could result in broken spines. :rimshot:

Does the refresh speed of an eInk screen depend on the CPU speed? I'd have thought that it was primarily dependent upon the physical characteristics of the device - the time taken for all the little capsules to move, or rotate, or whatever it is that they do.

There was some data given in another thread that indicated that the eInk update was much faster then the current update rate. if the is because you have to wake the processor up for page turn or it is beacuse of the speed is hard to say.

I would like larger capacity, say 16G and I want it to be able to access all of my content. So if I put 5000 books on it, I want 5000 books to be accessible. That's it for me.

I'm currently reading _Treasure Island_. And while I know what most of the words mean, there are a few I don't but think I got the context. However, there are just some phrases I'm not sure of. I doubt a dictionary would help here. Any kind of old english to modern english concordences out there?

BOb

Feel free to ask, Bob. I'm pretty well up on that kind of thing!

...
I am curious if many people actually interrupt their reading to look up words. I've been a voracious reader since elementary school (almost 40 years) and have never done this.

It is hard to say, and even with people like me replying "I do!" there's not really going to be any clear consensus. Clearly a lot of people like the dictionary lookup feature (me included).

For me, as with yourself, dictionary lookup while reading has been an inconvenience, even with a dictionary sitting next to me - you're going from one book to opening and looking up another, and I'd likely find it annoying. About the only exception to this was Primo Levi's If This Is A Man/The Truce where precise understanding of meaning was essential to me (and even then I used dictionaries in my PDA phone).

Saying that, the dictionary lookup feature in Mobipocket (I use an Iliad, though it's obviously applicable to the Cybook too) works, for me, seemlessly with the reading experience because you never leave "the book". You tap on a word and then pick the dictionary you want to look the word up in. It shows you the meaning, and then you tap out and you're back in the text you're reading. I never feel I've left what I'm reading.

For me, it's approaching the exquisite reading experience (it's not perfect - it's far more instantaneous and "seemless" on my laptop then it is on the Iliad). As I age (though my years are less than yours - I'm approaching 40), I find a need for precision in my reading experience. I find myself less forgiving on the books I read and less forgiving on my own comprehension (I don't let context or broad definition allow me to pass a word up that may have allegiances and origins behind it that add to, or specify, assumed meaning).

I suspect it's an anchovies thing, and I empathise quite strongly with your "immersive" reading experience, even if I do not experience the dictionary lookups as an interruption myself (people who keep talking to me while I'm trying to read are another matter entirely, of course. ;) )

As for being in a minority, well, if I was you I'd glory in it. It has its negatives (trends tend to follow the majority, for instance), but individuality is a far greater compliment, in my mind, than that overwhelming smear of beige-ness sometimes called "normality".

Cheers,
Marc

I've seen a lot of requests to make the reader more "gadgety" but I think the more important improvements are in terms of readability. Let's have more than just the 4 stock fonts, or allow embeded fonts without slowing down the page turns. Having more than just 3 font sizes would also be nice. Let's keep working on making that background closer to white. I would like to see a page-turn on the top of the device, as that's where I usually have my hand.

Marc,

My experience is the same as yours; the seemless integration of dictionary lookup in Mobi devices makes it no more disruptive than, say, following a hyperlink to read a footnote. It really does work very well indeed.

Custom fonts, true italics, more font sizes and dictonary lookup would be on the top of my priority list. I simply love the fact that I can use my favourite font (Dolly) with the Cybook and have true italics and bold text as well.
(As far as I've heard, the Sony Reader synthesises the italics, not sure about bold text.)

(As far as I've heard, the Sony Reader synthesises the italics, not sure about bold text.)

What does it matter whether it synthesises it or not as long as it is italic? It trully escapes me.

The next PRS needs to have an A4/Letter-sized screen to accurately display pdf.

Regular AAA NiMH batteries would be nice too. If they're good enough for digital cameras, they should be more than powerful enough for an e-ink display. That way we can carry all the spares we like.

What does it matter whether it synthesises it or not as long as it is italic? It trully escapes me.

A real italic font is a lot more attractive to read than a "sloped" normal font, which is what you get on the Sony. Not a big deal, but it certainly looks better.

The next PRS needs to have an A4/Letter-sized screen to accurately display pdf.

There is a market for such a device, but it's a different market to the paperback book device that we have now. One of the reasons I sold my iLiad is that I found it too big to carry around with me everywhere I go, as one can with the existing Sony.

Regular AAA NiMH batteries would be nice too. If they're good enough for digital cameras, they should be more than powerful enough for an e-ink display. That way we can carry all the spares we like.

Do you really find yourself in need of spare batteries on a device which needs charging every couple of weeks at most?

Custom fonts, true italics, more font sizes and dictonary lookup would be on the top of my priority list. I simply love the fact that I can use my favourite font (Dolly) with the Cybook and have true italics and bold text as well.


Custom fonts would be tricky on the Sony. On a MobiPocket device, the user can select the font. On the Sony, the font is specified by the actual book.

I find myself needing to charge the PRS-505 every few days, not every 2 weeks. Maybe I simply read a lot, I don't know. Or maybe this is the excuse I need to get a refund.

How long do you reckon you actually spend READING on a charge, Taylor? If you're not getting, say, 20h+ reading from a battery charge, then I think you've got a battery problem.

I recharged my 500 every two or three weeks when I bought it ten months ago but am having to do so two to three times a week now. I assume that in a few months I will have to replace the battery.

How long do you reckon you actually spend READING on a charge, Taylor? If you're not getting, say, 20h+ reading from a battery charge, then I think you've got a battery problem.

I haven't actually monitored it, but would guess "more than I think". A typical reading session for me might start around 8:00pm and last "until the book is finished". 11? Midnight? 4-5 sessions like that in a week is 16-20 hours. I'm also reading entirely off of the SD card, which I heard takes more power (true?), and I also switch SD cards (one for books, another for photos, sketches).

I recharged my 500 every two or three weeks when I bought it ten months ago but am having to do so two to three times a week now. I assume that in a few months I will have to replace the battery.

There's something VERY wrong there. There's no way that a LiIon battery should degrade that quickly. You'd expect it to have around 70% of its original capacity after 3 years, perhaps. Should still be at least at 90% of original capacity after only 10 months.

I would like to have available a solar recharger, then my reader could be as portable as the books it help replace... it could go camping,hiking and to the beach.

There's something VERY wrong there. There's no way that a LiIon battery should degrade that quickly. You'd expect it to have around 70% of its original capacity after 3 years, perhaps. Should still be at least at 90% of original capacity after only 10 months.

I've seen a steady decline since I bought it. All of my recharging is done overnight using the AC charger (not via the USB). Most of my books are on a 2Gb SD card. Do you think I should try removing that card and living on the internal memory for awhile to see if there's a dramatic difference?

I would like to have available a solar recharger, then my reader could be as portable as the books it help replace... it could go camping,hiking and to the beach.
you might want to look at this thread (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21946&highlight=solar) ; before degenerating into unutterable silliness, it was a perfectly serious discussion of precisely that.

There's something VERY wrong there. There's no way that a LiIon battery should degrade that quickly. You'd expect it to have around 70% of its original capacity after 3 years, perhaps. Should still be at least at 90% of original capacity after only 10 months.

90%...I wish. I think my 500 holds charge for no longer than 2 weeks now. It used to hold for 3 weeks when I just bought it.

And yes I am aware of the "Portable AA Battery Charger", but it seem a solar cell could be cliped (afixed) to the cover and go a longway to charge as you read with such a small charge drain...

Feel free to ask, Bob. I'm pretty well up on that kind of thing!

Ok...

"You can lay to that"... Means sort of "On that you can bet." ?

I don't have to book handy... there were a few others... "Durf" I think.

BOb

EDIT: Perhaps I should have started a new thread. Moderators feel free to move to a new thread.

Next time you have the book at hand, dig them out and I'll have a go!

Regarding the dictionary debate--that's the ONLY thing I miss about reading on my Palm. I don't miss it enough to go back, but I sure did like being able to look up a word on the fly.

dordale :)

- RS-232 interface with cable. The connector might be of a smaller size on the device, as long as it plugs into usb and is linux compatible. Make the cable a 20$ option...
- Access to /boot and the boot menu
- Reflash to factory default button, ie make a copy of the OS in a read only chip.

The rest I'm sure the community will do.

Touch screen which can use stylus input and finger input will be nice

I am in agreement with many here. I really miss the ability to look up a word on the fly that I have on my Palm, and the EB-1150.

Here is Amazon CEO Bezos on the reason the Kindle has a look up feature.

Portfolio: Every effort at e-books has failed. Why should this one work?

Bezos: We decided we were going to improve upon the book. And the first thing we did was try to determine the essential features of a physical book that we needed to replicate. The No. 1 feature is that it disappears. When you're in the middle of reading, you don’t notice the ink or the glue or the stitching or the paper — all of that disappears, and you're in the author's world. Most electronic devices today do not disappear. Some of them are extraordinarily rude. Books get out of the way, and they leave you in that state of mental flow.

Portfolio: How do you improve on that?

Bezos: We looked at things that physical books could never do. One of them is that you can look up any word that you're reading. It used to be that if I came across a word that I didn't know, I guessed from context. I'm astonished at what a bad guesser I am. Now that I’m looking up the words, I'm like, "Huh. Really?"

I am not really a bad guesser from the context, but I have been surprised more than once on how wrong I have been.

Wired interview with Bezos found here. (http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/news/2008/05/portfolio_0522)

I agree with a lot of the new features so I woun't double post... okay I'll just add them in the end.

I would REALLY like to see the a new menu option "Top 10" to the root menu option either replacing or adding on the "Continue Reading..." (I've yet to use this feature on the root menu). I typically read 3-5 books concurrently and find it difficult and time consuming to have to navigate each time I want to toggle between books.


DITTO Feature (Just for voting Importance in descending order )
- SONY to compete with Amazon in price/offering ( i know not an 505 feature)
- TOP 10
- Input Device for annotations (I prefer styles but keyboard would work. I do not want something that must be attached I would end up losing it or forgetting it.)
- Dictionary
- PDF secure support (I know this is in the works, but it's not here yet :) )

What does it matter whether it synthesises it or not as long as it is italic? It trully escapes me.
True italics look far better than slanted text. I guess, you'll need to have an eye for it to find slanted text irritating though. I'm irritated by it so that was a reason against the Reader.

Maybe if I compared them side by side, I would notice the difference.
Otherwise I have no idea what you are talking about :)

When I was adjusting to Sony Reader I tried both fonts Times and Swiss. I wanted to use swiss because I believed I liked it more but I have noticed that Swiss italics are a lot less "visible" than Times italic. Swiss italics were there but they didn't really stand out like Times italics. It is like Harry Poter books were italics are very very bad. Since then I use only Times where italics and bold are very clear.

Maybe if I compared them side by side, I would notice the difference.
Otherwise I have no idea what you are talking about :)

The easiest way to notice it is to look at the letter that have different form. For example an italic a usually has a different form than a slanted a.

Hi, I'm a former lurker here, but I felt I had to throw in my two cents on this one..........Santa, will you please make the new reader with a back-light or some kind of lighting that allows you to read in the dark? And if I'm really good will ya throw in a touch screen?

BTW thanks to all of you on the forum, you were a big help to me when I was trying to decide which reader to go with, and still a big help when I need info!

A hold switch would be nice. The unit tends to switches pages when put into a bag with other items. Sony should integrate this hold into the power on/off switch. Also better power management would be great for the SD slot.

A hold switch would be nice. The unit tends to switches pages when put into a bag with other items. Sony should integrate this hold into the power on/off switch.I don't know about the 505, but on my 500 all the "power switch" does [once the unit is on] is lock the buttons and blank the screen.

Maybe if I compared them side by side, I would notice the difference.
Otherwise I have no idea what you are talking about :)


I've attached an illustration which shows the difference.

Compare the letters "f", "a", and "g" in the italic font to that of the synthesised one - you'll see that the letters are formed in different ways and (to my mind) look a lot more attractive in the "genuine" italic font.

A hold switch would be nice. The unit tends to switches pages when put into a bag with other items. Sony should integrate this hold into the power on/off switch.

The power button that both 500 and 505 have is the hold button. It function is not to turn off the reader. The reader is always on. When you use power button, you in a sense activate a hold button which prevents accidental use of buttons and clears a screen.

How your unit manages to turn pages when put in a bag I cannot imagine...

I've attached an illustration which shows the difference.

Compare the letters "f", "a", and "g" in the italic font to that of the synthesised one - you'll see that the letters are formed in different ways and (to my mind) look a lot more attractive in the "genuine" italic font.

I see. Yes it looks nicer :) I see the difference.

Thanks for the pic. I wanted to ask someone here to produce something like that but didn't want to bother anyone.

[EDIT] However, I have just made a quick trial:
http://inlinethumb52.webshots.com/42227/2086456900045508969S200x200Q85.jpg (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2086456900045508969QzOtsa)

Except "f" the rest os the letters looks OK :) although not as good as true italics. In your example the difference is a lot more noticeable. Maybe it depends on base font and that's why I don't use Swiss because Times fonts present synthesised italics a lot better.

How your unit manages to turn pages when put in a bag I cannot imagine...

IF you don't use the "hold" switch as you call it... it is pretty easy to push one of the 0-9 buttons along the bottom of the screen on the 500 since that is where you pick it up. These buttons jump in the book to the percentage based on the number.... so, if you press the 3 it just 30% into the book.

This used to happen to me and I thought the reader was forgetting the location. Once I realized what was happening I always used the "hold" switch before closing the cover I never had this problem again.

BOb

I've attached an illustration which shows the difference.

Compare the letters "f", "a", and "g" in the italic font to that of the synthesised one - you'll see that the letters are formed in different ways and (to my mind) look a lot more attractive in the "genuine" italic font.
Harry - I remember that we discussed this issue and I am 1000% with you.

I think if Steve Jobs were to be the PM, this would definitely not happen... Geez. Sony should get some typographist on the team since they were designing a *book reader*.

IF you don't use the "hold" switch as you call it... it is pretty easy to push one of the 0-9 buttons along the bottom of the screen on the 500 since that is where you pick it up. These buttons jump in the book to the percentage based on the number.... so, if you press the 3 it just 30% into the book.


BOb


Sure. I just cannot imagine how one can put the reader into a bag without "switching it off"? I have never done it even by mistake. It applies to any gadget. I finish using it, I switch it off.

Hm... I'm suprised no one mentioned "true" standby as a feature request for the next reader. As astra said, the standby we have is basically a hold button that blanks the screen too. The reader still consumes power.

I want the next reader to have a true standby mode that actually powers it off (and I'm not talking about a 3 min long boot up). I'm puzzled why they didn't do this for the current versions... just park everything in RAM + the processor register context to it's solid-state memory and voilà, real standby mode. This would do wonders for battery life.

And a dictionary would be lovely, too. But no integrated keyboard, a touchscreen would be much better.

Also, the number one request: FOLDER SUPPORT! Would give up everything for that.

I want the next reader to have a true standby mode that actually powers it off (and I'm not talking about a 3 min long boot up).

You just can't have it both ways. You want it to use no power when you are not using it, but you want it to be instant on when you want to use it. I'm not sure that is possible.... even the fastest device needs some startup time.

BOb

You just can't have it both ways. You want it to use no power when you are not using it, but you want it to be instant on when you want to use it. I'm not sure that is possible.... even the fastest device needs some startup time.

BOb

Of course it will need some startup time, but I believe with register context parking, they could push it to under 3 seconds. The biggest slowdown would be RAM loading, but it's not like the reader uses a whole lot of RAM... in fact, how much does it use under normal operation? Anybody?

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heh.... ascii wishes... we really are geeks on this forum.

As has been said repeatedly, an A4 device would not be a replacement for the current "pocket-sized" reader; it would be a different device for a different market. I wouldn't want an A4 reader - far too big to carry around.

As has been said repeatedly, an A4 device would not be a replacement for the current "pocket-sized" reader; it would be a different device for a different market. I wouldn't want an A4 reader - far too big to carry around.

I absolutely agree. It would be a completely different device for a completely different audience. The main things Sony needs to focus on and improve are battery life (it's great, but it could be even better) and readability (italic fonts and better contrast).

Agree (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showpost.php?p=188691&postcount=23)

I have good eyes. :eek:

I should have been more specific - I would like a higher resolution display capable of displaying an A4-sized document in a readable (albeit tiny) way.

I would then be able to read scanned texts without having to worry about conversion. I am a student and often get assigned scanned pages from magazines and books that I would like to be able to read on my Sony Reader.

I use libprs500 and pdflrf where I can, but some scans are junk. These I print two-pages-per-page, so I am used to reading tiny text.

I agree that an A4-sized reader would be a different device completely.

I'd like longer battery life. They could achive this in two ways. 1) a larger battery. 2) Coat the leather cover inside and out with photovaltaic solar cells and have it charge the reader where it connects to the reader.!! :bulb2:

:sunny: + :book2: = :tup:

I want Sony to pay Kovid some cash, and then pay him to support calibre as the official software of the Reader, integrating the store, news subscriptions, auto-sync, reading lists, and a snappier interface.

I also want to be able to delete from the device and I'd like more built-in memory so I don't have to stick in a memory card.

I want Sony to pay Kovid some cash, and then pay him to support calibre as the official software of the Reader, integrating the store, news subscriptions, auto-sync, reading lists, and a snappier interface.

I also want to be able to delete from the device and I'd like more built-in memory so I don't have to stick in a memory card.
Amen to that! Calibre blows away Sonys software. The included software is almost useless. I have DSL and just trying to browse Sony's store from the software is so slow that it rairly finshes loading a page. Of course there store is that slow when just viewing with a browser half the time. I've tried to buy several books from there site & have never been able to complete the transaction. I do't have this problem with any other sites period.

Touch screen feature would be nice!

Touch screen feature would be nice!

I strongly disagree. Hardware buttons work a lot better than a touch-screen for a book reader. Do you really want fingerprints all over a screen that you're reading from? I'd find that unbearable myself.

I want Sony to pay Kovid some cash, and then pay him to support calibre as the official software of the Reader, integrating the store, news subscriptions, auto-sync, reading lists, and a snappier interface.

I have already paid Kovid a bit, perhaps other people could do the same. I suspect (not speaking for him) that he might be happier keeping it as a hobby/part time job and let Sony deal with the support grind. But I'm sure that would also be possible. I'm equally sure that he'd release another tool because the Sony process overhead would annoy him :)

I also want to be able to delete from the device and I'd like more built-in memory so I don't have to stick in a memory card.

Deleting from the device would be cool. But more memory... nah, $20 for a 2GB SD card is fine by me. Better management of the library it can hold right now would be much more useful.

I have already paid Kovid a bit, perhaps other people could do the same. I suspect (not speaking for him) that he might be happier keeping it as a hobby/part time job and let Sony deal with the support grind. But I'm sure that would also be possible. I'm equally sure that he'd release another tool because the Sony process overhead would annoy him :)



Deleting from the device would be cool. But more memory... nah, $20 for a 2GB SD card is fine by me. Better management of the library it can hold right now would be much more useful.
$20 for 2GB??? That way way high. There going for $7 at Wal-mart and i've seen them as low as $4 online. I just got a class 6 8GB for my digital camera for $29 and it included a SDHC reader. Genaric brand obviously.

Deleting files is a need; or at least a "moving to read directory" feature.
Also, could be interesting ask for "deactivate and activate" memory cards? I keep out mine because i read (and tested) they draw energies quicker.

$20 for 2GB??? That way way high. There going for $7 at Wal-mart and i've seen them as low as $4 online. I just got a class 6 8GB for my digital camera for $29 and it included a SDHC reader. Genaric brand obviously.

Yep, my wife just bought 3 (2GB) for $6 I think she said. And these weren't some off brand, they were Sandisk.

BOb

I strongly disagree. Hardware buttons work a lot better than a touch-screen for a book reader. Do you really want fingerprints all over a screen that you're reading from? I'd find that unbearable myself.

I agree!
Please, no touch-screen for eBook reader

I agree!
Please, no touch-screen for eBook reader

I third the motion. My PDA and cell phone screens are a mess due to the stylus touching it everyday.

I use my Reader for reading books and stories. It does that great. The screen size and thin form factor are just right IMO. (A larger screen for pdfs would be a different beast.) It really hits the mark for a leisure reading device.

I don't need more memory. My 505 internal memory is about half full, and it has at least 2-3 months' worth of reading. What are y'all reading that takes up so much memory? Or do people want to carry "every" book file with them? That's more of an obsession than a functional /need. Seriously, I have quite a variety for any reading mood, with tons of memory to spare, and no need for memory cards.

OK, I *might* like "official" customizable options like clock display or mapping the menu keys to page turns, but I already have that anyway.

Agree. I don't need to have 3 years worth in reading time in my reader.

What I would like to have is the option to transfer files between the reader and the sd card, so that I can remove the already read books and add new ones from the sd when I need them. I use the SD just for storing, but if you want to read any book from there, it will deplete your battery. This is not an issue if you have a laptop or a PC, but when you go on holidays it can be a nuisance.

Faster page turns for files with embedded fonts would be very nice.

A couple of dictionaries (English-English and English-X) would be nice, I think, for foreign and English speakers (try reading Master and Commander without one). I used to read in my Dell Axim X50v and had a dictionary program called Lexisee with which you were just two clicks from any explanation/translation. I seldom used it, but when I needed it, I got the result so fast I didn't need to reread anything. Depending on the book you pick, the dictionary can make a difference.

The clock display, I already got, thanks to Wolf, and the font editing too, thanks to Covid, to the point that my lrf look exactly as I want them. Could be improved, of course, but it is not worth my time.

As for all these other wishes like light, extra battery, extra memory, faster ram, touchpad, etc. I would say a firm no to all of them. I don't want a light that would add weight and subtract autonomy, I don't have a problem with battery life as it is, the internal memory of my reader is half full at the outmost, as I don't need to have more than 10 books on my reader (right now I have 16, but only for the sake of having them, not out of probable need of reading them). The card slots hold the original grey plastic pieces and are taped to prevent dust from entering. I don't want a faster ram that will eat my battery and I sure as hell don't want a touch pad or an stylus.

The only thing apart from the above I would like is color. Still, If I had to pay more to have the color screened reader, I don't think I would.

Ability to add your own fonts (thereby adding multi-language support for most, if not all, languages). ETA: actual font family support as pointed out by others. I want REAL italics.
Support for formats like epub or mobipocket.
Kindle-like wifi is nice but not necessary.
Software even remotely approaching Calibre's ease of use and convenience.
Better contrast screen?

It seems to me a lot of people (with their annotation, touch screen, text input and whatnot ideas) actually want a Iliad. Or am I missing something?

I've considered those features, considered the price of the Iliad, and bought the Sony.

I'd like support for folder-based library browsing and large libraries (having it not rebuild the entire database every disconnect would be nice), but that's about it.

It seems to me a lot of people (with their annotation, touch screen, text input and whatnot ideas) actually want a Iliad. Or am I missing something?

There's no doubting that the Iliad is impressive when it comes to features, but I think what most people really want is an Iliad at Sony price, size and battery life.