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Old 02-04-2006, 08:16 PM   #1
Alexander Turcic
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As E Ink approaches the performance of newspaper

Sun reporter Frank D. Roylance confirms what we knew all along, namely that E Ink technology is ready for take-off. In his article Spreading the e-word he mentions three upcoming products based on this much hyped technology:
  • The Sony Portable Reader PRS-500, a paperback-sized dedicated e-book reader that has a 170 pixels per inch resolution and four levels of greyscale. Available for USD $349.99 (check Teleread on vanishing prices) this spring.
  • The 4-inch square Weather Wizard station by Ambient Devices, a wireless weather station that displays a five day forecast. Available for about USD $100 this spring.
  • The Lexar JumpDrive Mercury USB stick that features a unique on-board storage capacity meter.

I stumbled upon one interesting comment made by Ben Bederson, director of the Human-Computer Interaction Lab at the University of Maryland, who argues that the Sony Reader display is narrower and shorter than the ideals for easy reading, "which means the viewer will be navigating too much with the eye from line to line, and with the machine from page to page." It's obvious Mr Bederson has never tried to read a full-length e-book on a PDA.

Meanwhile, The Times sounds a lot more enthusiastic:

Because each virtual page of the display contains slightly fewer words than a normal page, the speed of each "turn" must be fast or the flow of reading is broken too easily. A turn that took a second made an earlier version [the Sony Librie] unusable.

The half-second that it now takes to update a page feels about right. The first three pages of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code took only a second or so longer to read than using the paperback version.

The "killer application" of the Reader is probably more on the software side. The latest device has none of the restrictions that dragged down earlier versions. It is more open in what files it will handle and can store indefinitely about 100 books on a £30 memory chip.


Related links: Sony's new e-book reader officially announced, Sony Reader vs. iRex Iliad e-book reader, Poll: Which e-reader would you choose?
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Old 02-04-2006, 08:16 PM   #2
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Overview of current E Ink-based applications:

Sony Portable Reader PRS-500:


iRex iLiad:


Ambient Weather Wizard:


Seiko e-paper watch SVRD001:


Lexar JumpDrive Mercury :


Toppan/E Ink electronic paper color prototype:


"Rollable Display" Pocket e-Reader Concept READIUS


Large-Scale newspaper:
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Old 02-05-2006, 12:19 AM   #3
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Something like this would have been really nice to have in my school days. I imagine that it would hold all my texts and additional lecture notes and articles and readers I had to carry. I wonder how the schoolbook oligarchy would've tried to justify their prices then.

It'll be nice that this technology will be non-foreign to the school districts when my eventual kids grow up.

I wonder why there are page turns at all. Do these devices not scroll? Are the files like PDF's where it's more a picture of the page instead of a text file?

I'm happy also to see the color prototype. Greyscale monochrome is really blah. I'm glad that you're keeping us abreast of these technologies, Alexander. It's attention like this that seperates MR from other communities.
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Old 02-05-2006, 01:23 AM   #4
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Quote:
It's obvious Mr Bederson has never tried to read a full-length e-book on a PDA.
I have. Several times, and I don't do it anymore for the exact reasons he described. It can cause incredible eye-strain.
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Old 02-05-2006, 02:05 AM   #5
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My primary use for my pda *is* to read ebooks.

I use an ipaq and mobi reader, with the font size about that of my index finger nail (I am 21). I find it easier to read then dead tree, except when in direct sun light.

Granted, I can only read about a sentence before "turning" the page, but it is something which one gets use to very quickly.

Personally I can't wait for these devices to be released, and hopefully with a developer friendly SDK.

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Old 02-05-2006, 03:08 AM   #6
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Why not scrolling?

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I wonder why there are page turns at all. Do these devices not scroll? Are the files like PDF's where it's more a picture of the page instead of a text file?
Need page turns instead of gradual scrolling because battery runs down for each change (and only on each change). Sony says 7500 refreshes before you need a recharge. If it scrolled, you'd go through that in a few minutes.
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Old 02-05-2006, 05:30 AM   #7
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A "page turn" is also more natural to our reading habits than endless scrolling.
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Old 02-05-2006, 05:45 AM   #8
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For me, the next page button is the most important part of the interface other than the main display. I'm not sure I would be comfortable with the Sony placement for a long reading session.
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Old 02-05-2006, 05:53 AM   #9
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Sony is notorious for its jog dial button. Why did they drop it for the Reader? The Sony Reader Thumb will be unavoidable with the current button layout.
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Old 02-05-2006, 11:31 AM   #10
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I hear the Seiko e-paper watch will cost $2231 USD!
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Old 02-05-2006, 11:57 AM   #11
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I hear the Seiko e-paper watch will cost $2231 USD!
A bargain
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Old 02-05-2006, 01:05 PM   #12
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Scrolling uses Batteries

The reason these don't have scrollers is that the whole idea of e-paper is that it uses no power when displaying something, only when changing it. the page turn interface capitalizes on that and makes it much more efficient than constantly scrolling. It seems that scolling would use a lot more processing power as well, whereas the page turns would just be quick processor tasks.

Also, it makes it feel much mole like a book than scolling, but I think the real thing is the battery life.
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Old 02-05-2006, 04:13 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by freespace
My primary use for my pda *is* to read ebooks.
Try reading a pda while wearing polarising glasses.
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Old 02-05-2006, 04:25 PM   #14
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Never tried polarized glasses, but that might be an interesting experiment. But as far as eye-strain, I find that in indoor situations a pda with a good screen is less eye straining than regular books. I can adjust the font as needed, and can pick a font that isn't so "busy" looking. But in outdoor situations it's generally not very useful.

And I would expect that an e-book will be much easier on the eyes than a pda or a paper book, as long as the font choices are decent.

It would also be really nice eventually as I get older to be able to choose big print e-ink and not have to buy those special book editions to help the eyes. Really big print is pretty silly on a tiny pda screen!
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Old 02-06-2006, 09:52 AM   #15
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That is another question about the Sony that we really won't know until people get their hands on them. Is the font selectable? Can the size be changed? Is it universal, or does the content need to be authored in such a way that the fonts can be changed?

On the same topic, if pdfs are displayed as static pages, will there be a zoom option?
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