Future electronic readers

[jbcohen]

I read an article in PC World last night about the newest round of micro processors from Intel and AMD. This article says that due to the new processors we can look for new kindles, Sony PRSs, B&N Nook's that have 1) better resolution on the screens (they will be better at showing graphs, illustrations and digarams then current models are); and 2) have lower power rquirements (your batteries will last approximatly 30% longer then your current models do). I have been reading about work going on in the memory chip market that explained that the work has not yielded any real improvement in speed as yet but may do so in the future. Showing that your Kindle 4 will not be any faster to load the books then the kindle 3 is, same goes for the future Sony PRS readers (what ever model number Sony choses to give the new models) and the new Nook Color 2 (I am assuming that B&N will make use of Amazon's naming convention). The article said to expect the new processors to be pressed into service in new gagets (code word for electronic book readers) within two months.

[ProfCrash]

Actually, Amazon does not call their Devices K1, K2, or K3. The most recent device is the Kindle. Users tend to refer the the various generations that way so that it is easier to understand what device you might need help with.

If you go to the Kindle Page for Amazon they have the Kindle WiFi, Kindle 3G, and Kindle DX. I wonder what they will call the new Kindle with Ads...

[mldavis2]

One thing that is on the horizon is a dual layer display. One will be similar to B&W eInk, the other capable of color. Whether it will be an eInk type of color or LCD is not clear yet, but it sounds interesting. One screen could be backlit, the other eInk with the power savings.

[taustin]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

I wonder what they will call the new Kindle with Ads...

I dunno what Amazon will call it, but I know what I will.

[mentored1]

I know this might not be in same vein as you're discussing here, but as I was reading I wondered about a very different type of e-reader platform: consoles.

Has this been discussed on here? There is a huge market in the internet-connected Xboxes, PS3s, and Wiis out there. Why not have a e-reading application on the consoles? People would love to sit on the couch and read something on a big-screen HDTV... wouldn't they?

With the use of credits like MS Points and Wii Points, buying would be fairly simple. The concept is already there in the built-in marketplace systems.

Any thoughts?

[Worldwalker]

Consoles are, at least for me, lousy for reading text. They have all the disadvantages of a computer with none of the advantages (high resolution, etc.). And you can't sit in a comfortable chair and read however you feel like; you're tethered to that TV. Even reading the news on my Wii feels kind of awkward.

That said, I was surprised to find out how good an e-reader my Nintendo DS Lite is. I got the ebook collection for it pretty much on a whim ... I just had to see ... and while I certainly wouldn't want it as my primary reading device, it's nice to be able to pull it out of my pocket (it can go more places because it occupies such a small pocket) and read when I couldn't easily cart my 505 with me. I would love a program that would let me load my own books on there for easy portable reading -- I think they're missing a big bet.

Like that art studio program ... great, it will teach you to draw. Looks interesting, but not interesting enough to buy. But if it would let you transfer your sketches to your computer, I'd be on my way to GameStop, because I'm forever sketching things out on napkins and the like (yes, really!) and I'd love to have a way of doing that on my DS and using the sketches later on. Everyone else who needs to sketch things at random times would probably want one as well.

Nintendo, I think, can't get past the idea of the DS as a toy for children. Sure, it's a great toy (the calendar can make me grow old, but it can't make me grow up) but it has the potential to do things far beyond that.

And I think consoles suffer from the same problem. They're great as dedicated game computers, but they could do a lot more. However, the people calling the shots -- Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo -- have set up their developers' pricing and approval structure so that only games, and specifically games for their target market, can be produced. That's too bad, because there are some possibilities for quite a lot of other things.

I don't think large-screen ebooks, though, are likely to be one of those things. Now, if it was more of a coffee table book kind of thing, that might be cool on a HDTV, but you're still running into the resolution problem.

As it stands, I'll take my 505, my DS, and my computer for reading books, and reserve my consoles for playing games.

[Penforhire]

Hmm, E-Ink doesn't need more battery life unless you're talking about the wireless or IR touch-screen drains. It is still an order of magnitude greater than, say, tablet PC's. Page turn speed is always nice but is the current generation an issue? I say no. Memory? Not a problem today, at least for those of use who avoid PDF's.

More than anything else I can think of, we need lower prices and higher screen durability. It will not be a mainstream commodity until readers drop well below $50 and don't break so easily. Color and higher resolution would be nice but the conversion of todays paper-based ecosystem will not become the dwindling minority until readers get both dirt cheap and child-resistant.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by mentored1

I know this might not be in same vein as you're discussing here, but as I was reading I wondered about a very different type of e-reader platform: consoles.

Has this been discussed on here? There is a huge market in the internet-connected Xboxes, PS3s, and Wiis out there. Why not have a e-reading application on the consoles? People would love to sit on the couch and read something on a big-screen HDTV... wouldn't they?

With the use of credits like MS Points and Wii Points, buying would be fairly simple. The concept is already there in the built-in marketplace systems.

Any thoughts?

Doesn't work for me any more then reading on my computer screen ever has -- which is never if I don't have to.

My Xoom however is different as it is portable and readable like a book.

[JeremyR]

Originally Posted by Worldwalker

Consoles are, at least for me, lousy for reading text. They have all the disadvantages of a computer with none of the advantages (high resolution, etc.). And you can't sit in a comfortable chair and read however you feel like; you're tethered to that TV. Even reading the news on my Wii feels kind of awkward.

Well, actually, the PS3 and 360 do output at high resolutions. I have my 360 hooked up to my PC monitor, actually. And if you have a HDTV, they use it. Some games even go up to 1080p, though most are 720 (or somewhat less). But a book reading app would could do 1080p on either...

It's just the Wii doesn't, being slightly less powerful than the original Xbox...(which actually could also output some hi-res stuff, IIRC)

[grumpy3b]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

I read an article in PC World last night about the newest round of micro processors from Intel and AMD. This article says that due to the new processors we can look for new kindles, Sony PRSs, B&N Nook's that have 1) better resolution on the screens (they will be better at showing graphs, illustrations and digarams then current models are); and 2) have lower power rquirements (your batteries will last approximatly 30% longer then your current models do). I have been reading about work going on in the memory chip market that explained that the work has not yielded any real improvement in speed as yet but may do so in the future. Showing that your Kindle 4 will not be any faster to load the books then the kindle 3 is, same goes for the future Sony PRS readers (what ever model number Sony choses to give the new models) and the new Nook Color 2 (I am assuming that B&N will make use of Amazon's naming convention). The article said to expect the new processors to be pressed into service in new gagets (code word for electronic book readers) within two months.

I do not want to come across as dismissive but PC World is not nor has it ever been the place to go for technical expertise or advice. Unless things have changed significantly I would not put much stock in their analysis of the situation. Existing CPU used by device makers are not running on the sort of architecture needed to support Intel or even AMD processor. This would mean tossing all investment in the BIOS and chipsets already in use.

Just don't think companies are going to be willing to just dump all they have invested. I am sure Amazon spoke with both AMD and Intel only to be rebuked. So development evolved on less idea CPUs. We might see new slate devices running these new CPUs from Intel and AMD but eink is not likely to benefit to a significant degree as the reason the screens are slowish is the display list device not the CPU. As the display controller evolved so has page turn technology. Eink panels have been shown to be fully about to run video though not a full page video which also points that its not the screen limiting speed. It all falls back on the display controller unless of course some of the processing is pushed off onto the CPU from the display controller. I honestly am not that intimate with the details of processing on readers running eink panels so I am not sure if there is a graphics subsystem to handle the processing for the screen or it's sent to the CPU then back to the display controller for final processing before sending it off to the screen.

It would be great to see more powerful reader devices if a person needs one, but for recreational reading the current technology is sufficient for the task. It is only when looking to add functions that there exists some significant processing short comings.

Oh and about resolution, as I understand the status quo, they have hit a physical limiting barrier due to the physics of the eink design and the particle size. That is one of the challenges in trying to design a color panel using the same design as current panels from eink. A fancy new faster CPU can't, in general, change the laws of physics. Were that it could.

[Giggleton]

Originally Posted by mentored1

I know this might not be in same vein as you're discussing here, but as I was reading I wondered about a very different type of e-reader platform: consoles.

I like reading on eink, of course we must ask ourselves what is a console??

Here is the Bible available from the Xbox Marketplace

I'm not too sure about leisure reading on "consoles" Frankly at this point I'm not too sure about "consoles" in general.

[jbcohen]

I think a trend in IT is coming into play here producing what mentored is seeing. Over the past four to five years there has been a lot of talk in the IT (a fancy way of saying computers) industry of what they referr to as Computer Convergence. In other words PCs are moving to the center of everything that we see and do around the home from delivering content to delivering things that we need to live. In fact the only thing that the IT industry has not figgured out how to acomplish yet (as I think they will figure it out) is how to deliver all of your utilities via the internet. At the moment the only utilities that are not provided digitally via the internet has been electricity, gas and natural gas. I think all of us can see why that has been a stumbling block. At the moment you can get your phone service provided via the internet via residential VOIP, this is something new for residential customers but hardly new for business customers.

VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol and is the way that the analog voice is encapsulated in a digital packet and transmitted over an digital network to an analog device and reconvereted to an analog device. Rather simple if you know how its done. VOIP can provide better dervice then the traditional phone service, called POTS for Plain Old Telephone Service, can becuase of a simple physics rule that analog signals degrade over distance. Have you ever shouted to someone down a hallway or over a park only to have the other person not hear you. What is going on is the sound of your voice is attenuating or going away over distance. Well digital signals don't do that, how do you turn part of a bit off? A bit can't be half on and half off, doesn't quite work that way. So a VOIP is acutally better service and much cheaper to provide since the network is there already and you need not rent a seperate channel.

IT jornals are telling me over the next few decades the family PC is going to be taking on more and more jobs around the home and doing more for you. A pal of mine has a digital thermostat and digital butler (he calls it), the thermostat is connected to the internet and he can email the thermostat orders of when to turn the heat on or off. His digital bulter will turn lights on or off acording to emails recieved from him. The butler also has voice recognition so he comes home and tells the PC to turn off things or turn on things, sort of reminds me of Captain Piccard of the Starship Enterprise E talking to the computer. What the maker of the digital butler has not figgured out how to do is how to tell the stove or microwave to do things.

[DiapDealer]

VOIP can provide better service then the traditional phone service, called POTS for Plain Old Telephone Service, can becuase of a simple physics rule that analog signals degrade over distance.

Except when the power goes out in your house or your battery goes dead! Nothing beats a plain-old corded phone plugged into a POTS land-line for emergencies (not to mention uptime).

[Worldwalker]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

IT jornals are telling me over the next few decades the family PC is going to be taking on more and more jobs around the home and doing more for you.

It's one of those "I'll believe it when I see it" things because such predictions have been made for at least the past 50 years. We still don't have flying cars, either.

[carpetmojo]

Originally Posted by taustin

I dunno what Amazon will call it, but I know what I will.