My ideal e-Reader

[Kumabjorn]

Much talk about upgrades on the board lately. Made me think about what I really, really wanted my next e-Reader to be like.

I'm a tad ambivalent as to form factor. Sony 350 is what I like for carrying around with me, but truth be told the screen is probably a bit smallish for the amount of text I want on a single page. I have to set it to the smallest font to get the right text amount and that is a bit rough on ageing eyes.

I like the touch screen because it can give you a clean bezel, but I do prefer the side buttons on the K3. I don't like the keyboard on either Sony (on-screen) or Kindle (buttons too small).

Both have external lights, neither is optimal for reading in the dark. Bot have covers (with lights) and they add too much heft and weight. So if I was allowed to design the next generation, here is what I would do:

• 6" screen with touch sensibility that can be turned on or off and possibly be adjusted.
• Page turn buttons on the side of the bezel, one on left for going back (Western books) or forward (Eastern books) and one on the right (vice versa)
• Somewhat lighter* screen than today's e-ink with a 300 PPI resolution
• Four serif and four non-serif fonts to choose from, can easily be changed to user installed fonts.
• A timer clock in case you need to stop reading at a certain point in time.
• MicroSD card supported up to 64GB
• User configured bookshelves with easy to view icons of books
• Configure books to be sorted according to Hewey decimal system if so desired
• Glowlight front lighting and a built-in screen protector that can be slided over the screen eliminating need for cover.
• Support for Bluetooth keyboard for annotations and notes.

Things that are already available like 3G (4G/LTE) and Wi-Fi are self evident.
What have I missed?

*By lighter I actually mean brighter, that is lighter grey or brighter white.

[John F]

I like your list.

My primarily goal is to get a reader for reading sequentially (a novel).

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

[*]6" screen with touch sensibility that can be turned on or off and possibly be adjusted.

Must be adjustable. I would like a mode that tapping anywhere on the screen page forwards.

[*]Page turn buttons on the side of the bezel, one on left for going back (Western books) or forward (Eastern books) and one on the right (vice versa)

Again, must be adjustable. I would like it so both buttons page forward. I tend to change which hand I hold it in, and would prefer not to go through some menus to change behavior.

[*]Somewhat lighter screen than today's e-ink with a 300 PPI resolution

Higher resolution would be nice. Higher contrast would be nice also.

[*]Four serif and four non-serif fonts to choose from, can easily be changed to user installed fonts.

Agree.

Also, I would like customization of formatting: margins, line spacing, font size, paragraph spacing, paragraph indent,..., book title displayed, page numbers, ... And meaningful choices (three choices for line spacing or margins doesn't cut it).

And I don't think I will get this in a "stock" reader. From the way things are looking, I'm guessing my next reader will be some sort of hacked (probably android?) EInk device.

[VaporPunk]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

Much talk about upgrades on the board lately. Made me think about what I really, really wanted my next e-Reader to be like.

I'm a tad ambivalent as to form factor. Sony 350 is what I like for carrying around with me, but truth be told the screen is probably a bit smallish for the amount of text I want on a single page. I have to set it to the smallest font to get the right text amount and that is a bit rough on ageing eyes.

I like the touch screen because it can give you a clean bezel, but I do prefer the side buttons on the K3. I don't like the keyboard on either Sony (on-screen) or Kindle (buttons too small).

Both have external lights, neither is optimal for reading in the dark. Bot have covers (with lights) and they add too much heft and weight. So if I was allowed to design the next generation, here is what I would do:

• 6" screen with touch sensibility that can be turned on or off and possibly be adjusted.
• Page turn buttons on the side of the bezel, one on left for going back (Western books) or forward (Eastern books) and one on the right (vice versa)
• Somewhat lighter* screen than today's e-ink with a 300 PPI resolution
• Four serif and four non-serif fonts to choose from, can easily be changed to user installed fonts.
• A timer clock in case you need to stop reading at a certain point in time.
• MicroSD card supported up to 64GB
• User configured bookshelves with easy to view icons of books
• Configure books to be sorted according to Hewey decimal system if so desired
• Glowlight front lighting and a built-in screen protector that can be slided over the screen eliminating need for cover.
• Support for Bluetooth keyboard for annotations and notes.

Things that are already available like 3G (4G/LTE) and Wi-Fi are self evident.
What have I missed?

*By lighter I actually mean brighter, that is lighter grey or brighter white.

I'd certainly love the ability to install my own fonts + a lighter screen with better ppi density. The rest, meh, some of them might be useful but not enough to justify any increase in price. Maybe the glowlight...

[Format C:]

I'd add:

160GB at least fo internal memory

"lighter" is not enough: it needs to go from paper white to pure black with no less than 254 gray levels in between (512 is better, of course). You should be able to look at a B&W photo and say "I don't miss paper anymore".

I'd say "no touch at all", but I'm afraid that's where the market is going...

I'd buy two version of the reader: 6'' single screen and A4 screen format, foldable in two when in landscape mode (I can use one A4 page or two A5 side by side)

And, of course, it comes with a fully customizable HTML5 user interface and with a free SDK to make my own software.

Software updates will keep it compatible with every file format in the world.


Am I asking too much?

[Rob Lister]

Nook, simple touch

exactly like it is now but

minus vender layer of lock-in, advertisement, etc: if I want B&N opinion, I'll ask them. If I want them knowing what I read, I'll tell them.

Add the ability to download books wifi from my home server: connecting with a usb cable is bothersome.

Add full file manager functionality: I shouldn't have to connect to a computer to delete books. There should be no hidden files.

[RainingLemur]

My ideal reader:
- Vibrant color eInk display
- Flex lighting
- SD support
- File manager ability
- Collections in collections
- No twitter/facebook/social network stuff
- No touch screen
- Ability to install custom fonts
- Cappuccino dispenser

That's not too much to ask for, right?

[Kumabjorn]

I like the cappuccino dispenser. That way i would never have to get off my fat ass.

[Penforhire]

I want a roll-up display so I can carry an 8" or so more easily than today's 6" models.

[pwalker8]

Right now, the only thing that lacks for the iPad is a good book organizer a la Calibre. I'm not super picky about the reader. For actual reading, I find the iPad, Kindle Fire and Sony 505 all good enough, depending on where I am at. I just need something to lets me decide what to read next.

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by Penforhire

I want a roll-up display so I can carry an 8" or so more easily than today's 6" models.

Me too, but I figured that is at least 20 years away, the other stuff I wanted is available now (I believe).

[VaporPunk]

Originally Posted by RainingLemur

My ideal reader:
- Vibrant color eInk display
- Flex lighting
- SD support
- File manager ability
- Collections in collections
- No twitter/facebook/social network stuff
- No touch screen
- Ability to install custom fonts
- Cappuccino dispenser

That's not too much to ask for, right?

I find it interesting that you and Kumabjorn want SD/micro SD in your ideal reader. Either y'all read an insane amount of books or listen to them. I still use my PC to organize my library (+ local backup) and just never foresee the need to have huge amounts of storage onboard the reader. Tablets + msd, big yes. eReader, a gig or 2 is more than enough for even the longest vacation.

I'd rather have the cappuccino dispenser...

[Kumabjorn]

The main reason is that I read books in several different languages, thus I also have reference tomes in those languages; encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesaurus, reference works etc. A decent encyclopedia can easily pass 100 MB, add to that some reference works in specialty fields that are only available as PDFs and you will soon find that the standard 2 GB doesn't really go that far.

[VaporPunk]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

The main reason is that I read books in several different languages, thus I also have reference tomes in those languages; encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesaurus, reference works etc. A decent encyclopedia can easily pass 100 MB, add to that some reference works in specialty fields that are only available as PDFs and you will soon find that the standard 2 GB doesn't really go that far.

Makes sense. Thanks for clearing that up, Kumabjorn.

[Yapyap]

Originally Posted by RainingLemur

My ideal reader:
- Vibrant color eInk display
- Flex lighting
- SD support
- File manager ability
- Collections in collections
- No twitter/facebook/social network stuff
- No touch screen
- Ability to install custom fonts
- Cappuccino dispenser

That's not too much to ask for, right?

Oh yes. That, all that, except I'd like mine with a caffe latte dispenser instead.

And a 7-8'' unbreakable screen, please. I can manage just fine with the current 6'' and 10'' would be a bit much for me to read novels on, but just a bit more screen space than the current 6'' would be nice.

[tubemonkey]

I want a Galaxy Player 5.0 with an eInk screen