bebook getting wifi, what about cybook ?

[bwaldron]

Originally Posted by tompe

A net connection can be used to enhance the reading experience.

Yes, it can be a nice adjunct if the hardware (interface) was built considering that purpose (I also own a Kindle). The Gen3 was not.

[GeoffC]

no i would not like to see a wifi facility offered with the cybook - seems an unnecessary gimick .... much like the mp3 player it already has ....

[tompe]

Originally Posted by bwaldron

Yes, it can be a nice adjunct if the hardware (interface) was built considering that purpose (I also own a Kindle). The Gen3 was not.

In what way is the txtr-reader built differently in this respect?

I often read sitting near a computer. If the page was synchronized it would be very fast to do annotations or look up word using the computer.

[nelsonescorcio]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

seems an unnecessary gimick .... much like the mp3 player it already has ....

My feeling exacly.

Don't try too hard to be too many things for too many people...

This is an e-book reader. Bookeen should concentrate in what is essential. And at this point, the screen and the software are, in my point of view, the most critical aspects (Bookeen does not control the developing of the screen tecnologie; but it does control it's software - so the later IS the most important aspect at this point).

[laborg]

I would deeply appreciate a wifi connection for the sake of reading newspaper every day.

Using the Cybook as a newspaper reader includes:
1)Boot the computer
2)Connect the Cybook
3)Copy the newspaper
4)Shut down the Computer
every day. In my opinion this is too time consuming to became a daily ritual. Wifi could be really handy in this case. And for once the useless delete button would make sense.

For the record: I wouldn't miss the mp3 player at all.

[K-Thom]

True, WiFi is a drain on the battery. Also true, the way the Gen 3 works right now ( as a hardware) is just fine.

BUT I myself would like to see an upcoming version of the Cybook to be truly "mobile". Right now you need your own PC. For about anything you want to do with the Cybook, espcially in terms of content.

As laborg wrote, reading the newspaper on it would be fine. Or buying some new titles while you're out in the streets. Anyone tried this on the iPhone with Stanza? You won't want to miss this feature once you tried it!

It's definitely not a necessary feature for the Gen 3. But it will become standard in the next five years for any new eBook reading device which wants to survive on the market.

[DDHarriman]

To the question: anyone thinks the gen3 has hope of getting wifi enabled SD card support in future firmware?

The answer is NO! No eBook reader as had that or is expected to have it in the near future. They have something near by from default or they do not and that’s it.

In the future who knows?…
But… my experience tells that all the small devices who (ex: PockePC) had options for wifi plug-in devices have had a early dead - the plug-in offers not the devices themselves, those died from natural causes…

Forget it… it’s not going to happen.

[Godzil]

Originally Posted by DDHarriman

To the question: anyone thinks the gen3 has hope of getting wifi enabled SD card support in future firmware?

The answer is NO! No eBook reader as had that or is expected to have it in the near future. They have something near by from default or they do not and that’s it.

The problem is not from software or anything like this, but purely due to the hardware, like for SD > 2GB. You need special components in the device to support SDIO (i.e. SD card with I/O like a SD Wifi card)

[tompe]

Originally Posted by K-Thom

True, WiFi is a drain on the battery. Also true, the way the Gen 3 works right now ( as a hardware) is just fine.

That is not true if we talk about devices with so short a battery time as 4 days. My N810 stays connected to WiFi all the time and the battery lasts longer than 4 days. The low power consumption mode for WiFi does not drain the battery if you are not using the connection.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by bwaldron

Yes, it can be a nice adjunct if the hardware (interface) was built considering that purpose (I also own a Kindle). The Gen3 was not.

I was thinking about things like page synchronization and showing annotations made on a computer.

[Joerg_Mosthaf]

Originally Posted by Godzil

The problem is not from software or anything like this, but purely due to the hardware, like for SD > 2GB.

This part at least is not quite true, as the new software for the Nintendo Wii shows. They went from SD <2GB to SDHC >2GB with only a software update.

Sometimes at least the perceived hardware limitations are due to software.
For the record - I have no idea what the hardware inside my CyBook is really capable of.

And back on topic: I also think WiFi is not necessary for the CyBook and would only shorten the battery life.
I would rather have better inventory control

[igorsk]

PRS-505 also got SDHC support with a software update.

[EowynCarter]

I would say it's both hardware and software.

[HarryT]

Naturally, one can only "enable" features like SDHC, SDIO, etc, in firmware if the hardware capable of supporting those features in the first place. So yes, it is a matter both of hardware and firmware. I don't know if anyone has "definitively" determines whether or not the Gen3 has an SD controller capable of SDHC or SDIO. Given that the hardware has been upgraded in the last few months, it could well be that current Gen3s do support these features, while older ones do not.

[Einder]

Originally Posted by DDHarriman

To the question: anyone thinks the gen3 has hope of getting wifi enabled SD card support in future firmware?

The answer is NO! No eBook reader as had that or is expected to have it in the near future. They have something near by from default or they do not and that’s it.

In the future who knows?…
But… my experience tells that all the small devices who (ex: PockePC) had options for wifi plug-in devices have had a early dead - the plug-in offers not the devices themselves, those died from natural causes…

Forget it… it’s not going to happen.

Apologies for my first post being criticism - but the Bebook 1 is about to get an sd-card plugin with wifi.. so as to make sure early adapters are not left out of the wifi loop when the Bebook 2 appears, as that will have wifi..

Personally, I'll wait for the Bebook 2 and see what happens. In principal, I am all for reducing ebook-readers to what they are - ebook-readers. No gadgets, just maximize usability & reading experience for the core purpose of the device. But that is not a black-and-white decision. Wifi does add to the experience, exactly because of the newspaper-argument. If I decide to get a Bebook, and if it has something like a 'wake-on-wifi' option, making sure I can grab the device (or better, leave it in my bag) and go, but still have the latest newspaper - that would add *so* much to the experience. Or imagine subscribing to a book before it is released, and just finding it on your reader one morning. Bliss.

The line is drawn, imho, at a touchscreen. Yes, that is a very useful addition, and if offered both a bebook with and one without, I would have to do some serious thinking about which one to buy. But I don't want to be forced to have a device with touchscreen only because the latest model (Bebook or whatever) is only available with touchscreen. It's an extra, and I want to be able to buy a 'stripped' version.