04-10-2009, 08:00 AM | #1 |
Wizard
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TechCrunch Tablet
http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/04/09...-little-early/
This device looks great for Comics and technical books and is supposed to be under $300. |
04-10-2009, 08:19 AM | #2 |
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Purdy! I might have to consider one of those instead of a netbook when I get ready to replace my laptop.
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04-10-2009, 10:47 AM | #3 |
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Wow, it does look like a good solution for browsing. Not sure though how the screen would play for ebooks. I do like the e-ink screens for such more than most color lcds.
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04-11-2009, 02:32 AM | #4 |
Wizard
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Persoanlly I dont mind reading on lcd screens as I read on my Touch 3g Phone
but many people have problems with it This can actually very good reader for comics, email, web browsing I think the $300 price point should come down a lot if it is mass produced. |
04-11-2009, 05:31 AM | #5 |
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With that 12" screen one has to wonder what the battery life will be. I suspect very poor.
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04-11-2009, 08:49 AM | #6 | |
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Quote:
If this is designed to be used while tethered to a power cord (USB Charger), it might still work for around the house. One of the mistakes iRex made with the Digital Reader is missing this usage mode (it is possible with the DR, but the device isn't designed to allow it and so the USB socket can break). |
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04-11-2009, 09:01 AM | #7 | ||
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Quote:
Quote:
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07-04-2009, 10:56 AM | #8 |
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They claim it's coming to market for $300. Very curious to see what battery life is like.
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/06/03...nch-prototype/ |
07-04-2009, 11:07 AM | #9 |
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For me at least, the bigger issue is whether it is an ebook reader.
This thing is primarily designed as an internet device. For example, if you want word processing you use google docs or other online services. Following this logic, anything you read would need to be online. Obviously it has some local memory so that it can receive a web page, but I'm not sure that it can actually hold a library of books. Nor do I know whether it can run a local application program to read from that library. |
07-04-2009, 02:25 PM | #10 |
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Why no PixelQ screen? This device begs for it! I would buy it in an instant if it had PixelQ and a good battery. It's just the thing i want: ebooks and web reader, all in one compact shape.
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07-04-2009, 02:37 PM | #11 |
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DG, you're right. A PixelQi screen on this would also (I think) have the advantage of lengthening battery life.
Emelliach, I don't see anything telling what type of operating system this has, but judging by the Intel Atom processor, it should run anything you throw at it, just about. I also don't see where it says or shows any remote storage capabilities, such as an SD card. But assuming those two items, it should make a decent reader if you don't mind the short battery life. I am beginning to need something that will read comics as well as novels - if this had the Pixel Qi screen and/or a more robust battery life I'd be first in line. |
07-04-2009, 03:34 PM | #12 | |
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This is a dupe of a post I just made over at Teleread, but here goes:
Unfortunately for us ebook fans, the way I read it this is ONLY intended to be a web browsing device. They want to simplify the design and make it cheap by concentrating only on web browsing. For every one of us who wants ebook capabilities there is someone else who wants media player functions and another looking for MSOffice. Here are some quotes from a recent NY Times article: Quote:
It's not that I don't want it to have ebook capabilities, its that I don't think it will be designed that way. |
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07-04-2009, 03:48 PM | #13 |
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If it's able to be used as a web browser, it should be able to render books in html format.
dordale |
07-04-2009, 04:17 PM | #14 |
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There are some on-line ebook applications. One is Bookworm and see also Google throws down the gauntlet, announces plans to sell e-Books (NYT).
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07-04-2009, 08:27 PM | #15 |
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Well, I hope I am wrong on this. However, an ebook reader needs to be able to pull an entire book into memory so that the person reading it can take the book with them when they go out of range.
Of course, there is no reason web sites can't publish an entire book as one HTML file. For that matter, it is likely that txt ebooks (ie, Gutenberg) can be pulled in as entire files. However, I don't see it as too likely that Amazon, Fictionwise, etc will get into the business of publishing books as web pages. Depending on how cache is handled, it also doesn't make it easy to bring more than one book with you on trips, etc. I'm sure I will be trying to figure out someway to hack this. It does support USB. There is no reason there can't be a browser extension that interprets epub for display in the browser, and you may be able to plug in a USB key loaded with files. As long as the browser can point to local storage, you could work something out. Hopefully with the help of all of the developers here, it won't be too tough to crack and add in these capabilities. My point is not that it can't be used as an ebook reader, but that it won't be designed that way out of the box. |
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