MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Am I wrong or is it too soon for most ebook readers

jveenem · 09-28-2007, 11:23 PM

Jeez Louise!

Following a link I got to Tablet Kiosk (is that a brand or a merchant?) and saw their "entry level" tablet with a 12" color screen (is that 12" diagonal? most of the others say 7" ... maybe they are 7" diagonal)

Isn't that what we really want, a big screen that will do EVERYTHING, text, magazine layout and full color?

But the price ... $1,800! Isn't that the reason why you WANT to get a dedicated device? To cut down the technology to ONLY what you want to do and cut the price down with it. Why is it the techology companies always seem to go nowhere with the price? I remember being in the market for a stand alone keyboard I could write on and then later attach it to my computer and download the text to my PC. Great idea. Needs less technology than a PC ... but then why did most of them cost as much as a PC? Even at $300 that seemed excessive as I only wanted a keyboard with some memory in it. I finally found one, a used two year old model AlphaSmart which I got on Ebay for $25 (with $25 shipping ... grrr) But why does one have to buck the whole system to get something?

I've been the Pocket PC route and was dissatisfied, one because it's screen was so small but two all the rest it could do was wasted. I really only wanted an e-reader. The "cut down a PDA to make an E-reader" idea was the idea behind the Franklin Ebookman, no? But why did they price it at the same cost as a PDA? ... infact there were cheaper PDA's. True, the Ebookman finally got dumped and you could pick them up later for $35 ... but, sadly I suppose, by that time I'd found the EBookwise and went with it instead. (The Ebookman for some reason had trouble with some USB's, you apparently couldn't have it from a USB board it had to be from the motherboard, my Windows 98 machine thus was incompatible and the thing refused to work ... broke my heart at the time)

Okay ... so big color screens DO exist ... when will somebody do the rest and for a peanut price. I swear if they do it'll be a revolution. Imagine all those kids who don't need backpacks for textbooks and can read homework AND comics on a handheld device ... somebody will make a billion dollars off that ... but nobody seems to have the brains to do it yet. Instead we get $300 and $600 plain text devices in black and white that are only suitable for afficiandos. The Text'n Tech heads.

That I live to see the day.

Later
JVN

09-28-2007, 11:23 PM	#40
jveenem Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2007 Device: Ebookwise	Whooo boy! Jeez Louise! Following a link I got to Tablet Kiosk (is that a brand or a merchant?) and saw their "entry level" tablet with a 12" color screen (is that 12" diagonal? most of the others say 7" ... maybe they are 7" diagonal) Isn't that what we really want, a big screen that will do EVERYTHING, text, magazine layout and full color? But the price ... $1,800! Isn't that the reason why you WANT to get a dedicated device? To cut down the technology to ONLY what you want to do and cut the price down with it. Why is it the techology companies always seem to go nowhere with the price? I remember being in the market for a stand alone keyboard I could write on and then later attach it to my computer and download the text to my PC. Great idea. Needs less technology than a PC ... but then why did most of them cost as much as a PC? Even at $300 that seemed excessive as I only wanted a keyboard with some memory in it. I finally found one, a used two year old model AlphaSmart which I got on Ebay for $25 (with $25 shipping ... grrr) But why does one have to buck the whole system to get something? I've been the Pocket PC route and was dissatisfied, one because it's screen was so small but two all the rest it could do was wasted. I really only wanted an e-reader. The "cut down a PDA to make an E-reader" idea was the idea behind the Franklin Ebookman, no? But why did they price it at the same cost as a PDA? ... infact there were cheaper PDA's. True, the Ebookman finally got dumped and you could pick them up later for $35 ... but, sadly I suppose, by that time I'd found the EBookwise and went with it instead. (The Ebookman for some reason had trouble with some USB's, you apparently couldn't have it from a USB board it had to be from the motherboard, my Windows 98 machine thus was incompatible and the thing refused to work ... broke my heart at the time) Okay ... so big color screens DO exist ... when will somebody do the rest and for a peanut price. I swear if they do it'll be a revolution. Imagine all those kids who don't need backpacks for textbooks and can read homework AND comics on a handheld device ... somebody will make a billion dollars off that ... but nobody seems to have the brains to do it yet. Instead we get $300 and $600 plain text devices in black and white that are only suitable for afficiandos. The Text'n Tech heads. That I live to see the day. Later JVN