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I'm not interested in a dedicated reader. I specifically want a multi-function device. I'm also not interested in a converged device. The problem is form factor. We tend want our cell phones small, but that means a small screen, and too much of what I do wants a bigger one. A device with a screen that met my requirements would be too big to be a phone.
My cell phone is the smallest, cheapest low end monochrome device Nokia makes. All it does is place and receive calls and SMS messaging, and that's all I want it to do. It lives in a holster clipped to my belt.
My current usual reading device is an old Palm OS PDA. About half its purpose in life is to be an ebook reader, and there are about 4,000 volumes occupying most of a 2GB SD card. One advantage is the ability to read just about everything, with ePub the only major format it doesn't handle. (But ePub sans DRM is easy to convert to a format it does view.)
Aside from viewing ebooks, it also has the standard Palm OS PIM functions - Address Book, Calendar, Memopad, Todo list, and software for viewing and editing Word documents and Excel spreadsheets, writing documents with a good word processor, displaying photos, viewing videos, playing MP3s, serving as a handy reference on a variety of topics using databases that aren't ebooks, is capable of going online to browse the web and get email (though I seldom do), and oh, yes, it plays games. It has a folding keyboard for instances where text entry is required. I got it as a replacement for an earlier device that failed, and chose the one I did specifically to get the 480x320 screen it offered. It's a bit on the large size to carry in a pocket, but that's not how I normally carry it. (I got cured of that when a couple of older PDAs failed the "Drop Test".)
I'd like an even bigger screen. I don't have problems with an LCD screen, and don't care that hard about battery life. I already have a reflex of charging things like my PDA and cell phone daily. It's no problem to add another device to the list.
What I'd really like, no one seems to make at the moment. I want a device in two parts, each of which will operate stand alone, but will work together if both are present. One part would be a cell phone, tiny and light. The other would be a tablet with a relatively large color display that did everything else.
The tablet would perform normal tablet functions and connect via wifi, but could use the cell phone as a modem to a 3G network if a wifi hotspot wasn't handy. Add a folding keyboard for things that require any extensive text input, and there's a potentially very nice combo that could replace a laptop with a lighter more portable device.
When I travel, I'm willing to carry a phone and a tablet. I'm not willing to carry a phone, a tablet, and a dedicated reader.
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Dennis
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