Another NYT review of the Reader

TadW · 11-24-2006, 01:49 AM

It's definitely a hands-on review, though a rather negative one (i.e. with the focus on things that don't work so well).

Not paying enough attention to the iPod, for one thing. Compared with the elegance of that device, the Sony Reader, which I’ve been test-driving for the past month or so, is a pretty clunky piece of design. It’s small and lightweight — about the size and heft of a pocket notebook — and, in a quaint little nod to the antique technology, it comes housed in a leatherette cover that actually makes it look like a book. But once you flip open the cover, the controls to operate the thing are maddening.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/24/bo...gy&oref=slogin

William Moates · 11-24-2006, 04:05 AM

These complaints could be filed against computer monitors, too:

The typeface is a computerized version of Courier and pleasingly readable, though when you blow it up to the largest of three available sizes, some awkward spaces and line breaks sometimes turn up. The type, which really does look like ink on paper, is at once the Reader’s second-best feature and a slightly disconcerting one, because every book looks exactly the same. ...

As you read along, moreover, it’s hard to know exactly where you are in a book. A little icon at the bottom of the screen tells you that you’re on Page 312 of 716 or whatever, but that’s not nearly as satisfying as being able to eyeball how many pages you have left, or even to feel your progress with your fingers. You can’t skim or flip through easily, though the Reader does have a bookmark feature, nor can you search or make notes. The whole experience is a little like floating through cyberspace.

The Reader is not a book, but a book is not a magazine, and a magazine is not a newspaper. Each medium provides a reading experience, but the reading experience varies. The laments he lists would also apply to newspapers. Do you eyeball your progress through a newspaper? (No, because it's a collection of articles, with the articles broken and scattered throughout.)

William Moates · 11-24-2006, 04:08 AM

BTW, you can log into NYT and other sites with the help of
http://www.bugmenot.com

slayda · 11-24-2006, 10:27 AM

I am enjoying my reader so much that I don't like to even think of reading a pbook again. So there ... NYT.

Aprilbeginnings · 11-24-2006, 01:07 PM

I am enjoying this reader as well and don't have problems with it. I have never had anything else to read books other than computer program readers but that is different. Nothing hand held either and it works for me..... just what I wished for. And I don't require fancy and an overload of things on it, I just want to be able to read my books.

dbunny · 11-24-2006, 03:15 PM

If the book is engrossing enough, who cares what the medium is.

tcv · 11-24-2006, 05:44 PM

The medium can make a difference if it's in a format that's inconvenient to you at the particular moment. I remember I was somewhere and felt like reading something that was in e-format on a computer. Since I didn't have it, well, I couldn't read it. Of course, this isn't a failure or e-tomes, but I thought about it...

11-24-2006, 01:49 AM	#1
TadW Uebermensch Posts: 2,583 Karma: 1094606 Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Italy Device: Kindle	Another NYT review of the Reader It's definitely a hands-on review, though a rather negative one (i.e. with the focus on things that don't work so well). Not paying enough attention to the iPod, for one thing. Compared with the elegance of that device, the Sony Reader, which I’ve been test-driving for the past month or so, is a pretty clunky piece of design. It’s small and lightweight — about the size and heft of a pocket notebook — and, in a quaint little nod to the antique technology, it comes housed in a leatherette cover that actually makes it look like a book. But once you flip open the cover, the controls to operate the thing are maddening. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/24/bo...gy&oref=slogin

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11-24-2006, 04:05 AM	#2
William Moates Zealot Posts: 107 Karma: 35 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Greensboro, NC Device: Sony Librie / Sony Clie / Sony Reader	These complaints could be filed against computer monitors, too: The typeface is a computerized version of Courier and pleasingly readable, though when you blow it up to the largest of three available sizes, some awkward spaces and line breaks sometimes turn up. The type, which really does look like ink on paper, is at once the Reader’s second-best feature and a slightly disconcerting one, because every book looks exactly the same. ... As you read along, moreover, it’s hard to know exactly where you are in a book. A little icon at the bottom of the screen tells you that you’re on Page 312 of 716 or whatever, but that’s not nearly as satisfying as being able to eyeball how many pages you have left, or even to feel your progress with your fingers. You can’t skim or flip through easily, though the Reader does have a bookmark feature, nor can you search or make notes. The whole experience is a little like floating through cyberspace. The Reader is not a book, but a book is not a magazine, and a magazine is not a newspaper. Each medium provides a reading experience, but the reading experience varies. The laments he lists would also apply to newspapers. Do you eyeball your progress through a newspaper? (No, because it's a collection of articles, with the articles broken and scattered throughout.)

11-24-2006, 04:08 AM	#3
William Moates Zealot Posts: 107 Karma: 35 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Greensboro, NC Device: Sony Librie / Sony Clie / Sony Reader	BTW, you can log into NYT and other sites with the help of http://www.bugmenot.com

11-24-2006, 10:27 AM	#4
slayda Retired & reading more! Posts: 2,764 Karma: 1884247 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: North Alabama, USA Device: Kindle 1, iPad Air 2, iPhone 6S+, Kobo Aura One	I am enjoying my reader so much that I don't like to even think of reading a pbook again. So there ... NYT.

11-24-2006, 01:07 PM	#5
Aprilbeginnings Guru Posts: 632 Karma: 404 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Southern CA Device: Sony PRS-500 /prs 650 soon	I am enjoying this reader as well and don't have problems with it. I have never had anything else to read books other than computer program readers but that is different. Nothing hand held either and it works for me..... just what I wished for. And I don't require fancy and an overload of things on it, I just want to be able to read my books.

11-24-2006, 03:15 PM	#6
dbunny Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 18 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Forest Hills, NY Device: Sony eReader PRS-500	If the book is engrossing enough, who cares what the medium is.

11-24-2006, 05:44 PM	#7
tcv Addict Posts: 330 Karma: 596 Join Date: Oct 2006	The medium can make a difference if it's in a format that's inconvenient to you at the particular moment. I remember I was somewhere and felt like reading something that was in e-format on a computer. Since I didn't have it, well, I couldn't read it. Of course, this isn't a failure or e-tomes, but I thought about it...

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