The Mobileread Interview: Karl McGoldrick, CEO of Polymer Vision

[Alexander Turcic]

Originally Posted by montsnmags

Aye, so I expected, but it's not a PDA or smartphone I want with the Readius. Just the simple ability to dial any number (and keep a store of phone contacts) or receive a phone call is sufficient for me. Can this do that?

Yes. You can connect a Bluetooth headset to the Readius and use it for making/receiving phone calls.

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by Alexander Turcic

Yes. You can connect a Bluetooth headset to the Readius and use it for making/receiving phone calls.

Thanks, Alexander. It was that simple ability to dial a number and receive a phone call that would satisfy my mobile phone needs, while giving me what was primarily an ultraportable reader.

I don't expect it in Oz any time soon (not based on any information - just antipodean experience ), but I am quite excited about this device, and what Polymer Vision are doing. I even think its styling is quite magic - not following the crowd, it has that slightly retro look of an older Olympus (or Philips? ) portable voice recorder.

Cheers,
Marc

[TadW]

Am I the only one who feels relieved that we won't have to deal with a "Readius e-book format"?

I already lost track of all the other formats that are out there...

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by TadW

Am I the only one who feels relieved that we won't have to deal with a "Readius e-book format"?

I already lost track of all the other formats that are out there...

oh no, you are not alone.

[Ramen]

Very nice interview. Obvously, a lot of detals are missing but those will have to wait for the actual launch, of course.

The most exciting part is the SIM-thingie and the SDK. I only need my mobile for phoning (*gasp*) and alarms so this reader might actually satisfy my needs. Given that I'm in the same country as you, Alexander, you are aware of the local availabilty, usability and pricing issues.

Only the non-replacable battery may be a problem but the lifetime of these should be well enough by now, I guess.

[TadW]

Originally Posted by Ramen

Only the non-replacable battery may be a problem but the lifetime of these should be well enough by now, I guess.

Actually, if it is using a Li-ion battery (which I assume), then its lifetime is pretty much defined. Li-ion batteries have a cycle time that is limited to two to three years.

See more on this topic here, and here

But they have one drawback: a limited lifespan. Lithium ion batteries are particularly susceptible to aging; as soon as one leaves the manufacturing line, its countdown begins. A typical lifespan is two to three years, whether it is ever used or not -- as some disgruntled owners of Apple Computer Corp.'s iPod found when their digital music players suddenly went dead. A huge hullabaloo ensued.

[Alexander Turcic]

Is the battery of other e-readers replaceable? I know that I cannot replace the battery of my Sony Reader, unless, of course, I attempt to take it completely apart (which would be a bad idea considering how clumsy I am ).

[igorsk]

Kindle, Cybook and Hanlin (and their clones) have user-replaceable batteries.

[doctorow]

I don't mind that its battery is not (officially) replacable. The Readius is the first of its kind, and for that, it looks already pretty damn sexy.

[sf_reality]

@Marc
As far as I know, you can call with Readius using your contact list, imported from your PC of phone. I don't think you can dial a number, because there is no user input on Readius.
So, you can use Readius both as your only pocket eReader and as your only mobile phone, while travelling.
I'll use it just as my only eBook reader to replace paper books or current eReaders that have the size of a paper book. I don't mind carrying my smartphone in one pocket and Readius in the other:-)

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by sf_reality

@Marc
As far as I know, you can call with Readius using your contact list, imported from your PC of phone. I don't think you can dial a number, because there is no user input on Readius.
So, you can use Readius both as your only pocket eReader and as your only mobile phone, while travelling.
I'll use it just as my only eBook reader to replace paper books or current eReaders that have the size of a paper book. I don't mind carrying my smartphone in one pocket and Readius in the other:-)

Only being able to dial your contacts (as mentioned, I'm perfectly fine with the "import from your PC thing) and not be able to dial a number that's not in that contacts database (and I understand why - I just wasn't completely certain if that was the case), is not optimum for me. However, like using the Iliad as a web browser, it's not the kind of thing that would get in the way of me buying one. To me, it's an exciting device, fitting almost perfectly with my desires in such a thing (I'm not generally fond of "do everything" devices, but a little convergence doesn't hurt). I'd buy one.

So, since you have one, I'd love to hear your reaction to it.

Cheers,
Marc

[mateo]

Hate to be the drag of the party, but what struck me is that it sounds like this thing is going to be locked into subscription-based service. I don't know about you, but I'm not paying $10 a month to get rss/atom news feeds. It sounds like the device isn't going to work with wifi or just uploading via USB. It probably will be after hackers unlock it, but out of the box it sounds like a locked up device. If they have an unlocked version I would probably get one.

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by igorsk

Kindle, Cybook and Hanlin (and their clones) have user-replaceable batteries.

Aside from the iPhone, aren't all cell phone batteries user replaceable? So far all of mine have been.

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by sf_reality

@Marc
As far as I know, you can call with Readius using your contact list, imported from your PC of phone. I don't think you can dial a number, because there is no user input on Readius.
So, you can use Readius both as your only pocket eReader and as your only mobile phone, while travelling.
I'll use it just as my only eBook reader to replace paper books or current eReaders that have the size of a paper book. I don't mind carrying my smartphone in one pocket and Readius in the other:-)

Maybe one of the "8 simple buttons" activates a touch screen keyboard (I hope).

http://www.readius.com/support/faq

Q) What are the 8 simple buttons?

A) Readius has 5 touch sensitive buttons with their respective functions indicated on the display (so-called virtual buttons). It also has an “option”, a “back” button and an “on/off” button. This makes Readius easy to use out of the box.

[mrdini]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

Maybe one of the "8 simple buttons" activates a touch screen keyboard (I hope).

http://www.readius.com/support/faq

No. Think of it like those ATM machines you use. You see the options on screen, & these options are aligned against the buttons at the side of the display.

No touchscreen.