MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Leafing Through Books : Why ereaders aren't worth a 600 y.o technology !

J. Strnad · 01-23-2011, 06:59 PM

Every print book is its own display device, able to display a single title or collection of similar content. Thus, you can customize the display device for that title: A cheap paperback for a novel, which you can put in your back pocket; an 11 x 17" art book heavy enough to whack a mole; or something in between, like a large, full-color reference book.

Problem: Every title needs its own display device, so you end up with hundreds or thousands of display devices.

Any ereader is a single display device, so no, it isn't going to be perfect for every type of content. However, it may be excellent for a particular type of content, of which you can store a thousand or more on the device, which can be downloaded in a minute from thousands of miles away, and which can be made available in the first place, electronically, while a paper version might well be economically unfeasible.

So maybe, instead of having hundreds of different books of varying sizes and shapes, you might have two or three ereaders maximized for specific content. Something designed for research might well be more like a tablet computer than a dedicated e-ink novel-reading device. It might have a nice, typeable keyboard that you don't need on your novel-reader.

But one ereader to replace all books? Nope. Won't happen. Can't.

01-23-2011, 06:59 PM	#40
J. Strnad Guru Posts: 915 Karma: 3537194 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kobo, Kindle 3, Paperwhite	Every print book is its own display device, able to display a single title or collection of similar content. Thus, you can customize the display device for that title: A cheap paperback for a novel, which you can put in your back pocket; an 11 x 17" art book heavy enough to whack a mole; or something in between, like a large, full-color reference book. Problem: Every title needs its own display device, so you end up with hundreds or thousands of display devices. Any ereader is a single display device, so no, it isn't going to be perfect for every type of content. However, it may be excellent for a particular type of content, of which you can store a thousand or more on the device, which can be downloaded in a minute from thousands of miles away, and which can be made available in the first place, electronically, while a paper version might well be economically unfeasible. So maybe, instead of having hundreds of different books of varying sizes and shapes, you might have two or three ereaders maximized for specific content. Something designed for research might well be more like a tablet computer than a dedicated e-ink novel-reading device. It might have a nice, typeable keyboard that you don't need on your novel-reader. But one ereader to replace all books? Nope. Won't happen. Can't.