Same old. Same old. Limited onboard storage. No removable storage.

[SeaKing]

Pretty much the same old. Same old. Limited on-board storage. No removable storage.

I think that the old, "very old it seems to me," problem of limited on-board storage and no removable storage is still thwarting the use of eReaders as all purpose devices, at least straight out of the box, so to say.

Sure there are workarounds, but the better choice is to buy from a regular tablet maker that isn't trying to sell a commercial cloud in the sky that you must have internet available to reach.

[pidgeon92]

Why should an ereader have to be an "all-purpose" device? I like having a single purpose device that does nothing but put text on an easily readable screen.

[whitearrow]

Assuming you are talking about the Fire(s), I agree with you to a point. For a power user, the limited onboard storage isn't going to cut it. My current tablet is a Toshiba Excite, which has a full sized SD slot and USB host capability, which means storage is basically unlimited.

For certain users, though, who want a simple interface and don't see the need to carry around 30 movies or 1000 songs? These are probably good enough and at the right price.

[SeaKing]

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

Why should an ereader have to be an "all-purpose" device? I like having a single purpose device that does nothing but put text on an easily readable screen.

All purpose in the sense being discussed doesn't mean the device has to be able to drill fence post holes in the ground.

It does mean that your eReader can have access to your books no matter where you are, without cell phone service or wifi service. It means that you can store your library in easily accessible form on the device or in your pocket and peruse it whether on top of a mountain, in the middle of a desert or if the power goes out in a hurricane or storm.

[rkw]

Don't forget the never mentioned requirement for content from Amazon on your KF devices that you connect to the we at least every 30-days or most of your content and ever apps will stop working until you do allow the DRM to refresh itself.

This NEVER happens to any content or software on my other Android devices. Heck, I don't think it even happens on iOS devices.

This one caught me with my pants-down on a trip where I knew I was going to be out of town and contact so I began setting my KF up with content over a month prior then just let it be other than charging only to find pretty much nothing worked save a few apps I bought from Google Play and side-loaded to the KF.

[Pinkie]

I have a Nexus 7. Nothing I saw today would persuade me to trade it in for a Fire. The new Fire is cheaper, but it has a crippled Android system, and the specs of the Nexus are better than the Fire, except for the storage. I've solved the storage problem on the Nexus by adding an On The Go cable and a 32gb flash drive, but I haven't needed more than 16gb so far.
I've been moving away from eink readers towards tablets recently, and I'm thinking of selling my keyboard. When I got it, I loved it, but I like my Nook Touch better (smaller, sturdier, expandable storage), and I only use that on long journeys and in the bath (The Nook Touch also has physical page turn buttons).

[teh603]

Originally Posted by rkw

Don't forget the never mentioned requirement for content from Amazon on your KF devices that you connect to the we at least every 30-days or most of your content and ever apps will stop working until you do allow the DRM to refresh itself.

This is why I stopped thinking about getting a Kindle and decided to start shopping for an Android tablet instead. I can just download the Kindle app and use that to make sure my ebooks are formatted properly.

[JD Gumby]

Originally Posted by SeaKing

Pretty much the same old. Same old. Limited on-board storage. No removable storage.

I think that the old, "very old it seems to me," problem of limited on-board storage and no removable storage is still thwarting the use of eReaders as all purpose devices, at least straight out of the box, so to say.

Eh. Amazon's got that ecosystem they want to lock you into. Doesn't excuse the Kobo Arc's lack of removable storage, though - they don't *have* an ecosystem to lock people into, just books. (and, yes, the lack of a microSD slot tosses both into the Never Buy Under Any Circumstances pile for me. Even if I just used either as an ereader, that lack still hurts as keeping my sideloaded library on a card is far more convenient and with no risk of loss if I have to factory reset - had to factory reset my Kobo Touch far too many times to ever trust internal-only storage)

[Barty]

Apparently, mobile devices obey the anti-Moore's Law.

[Sydney's Mom]

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

Why should an ereader have to be an "all-purpose" device? I like having a single purpose device that does nothing but put text on an easily readable screen.

Yes! I added email on my fire, and I have to figure out how to take it off. Can't stand the constant emails!

[pidgeon92]

Originally Posted by SeaKing

It does mean that your eReader can have access to your books no matter where you are, without cell phone service or wifi service. It means that you can store your library in easily accessible form on the device or in your pocket and peruse it whether on top of a mountain, in the middle of a desert or if the power goes out in a hurricane or storm.

Seriously? C'mon. You can stuff a good 1,000 tomes on 2GB. For most of us, that is at least ten years worth of reading. If you're climbing Everest, you can load it up before you get to base camp.

[bhartman36]

Do we have confirmation yet that the new Kindle Fire (any model) doesn't have USB host mode? If it's got USB host mode, that solves your problem right there.

AFAIK, it's based on Jelly Bean, so it should have host mode.

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

Why should an ereader have to be an "all-purpose" device? I like having a single purpose device that does nothing but put text on an easily readable screen.

In what way does removable storage turn a reader into a multipurpose device?

[HarryT]

This is not "News". Moved to "General Discussions".

[afv011]

Originally Posted by bhartman36

AFAIK, it's based on Jelly Bean, so it should have host mode.

That's incorrect, it's based on ICS.