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Old 12-31-2011, 03:18 PM   #2
delphin
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Posts: 434
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Device: SONY PRS-650
Quote:
Originally Posted by multiprose View Post
i want to do minor editing of text documents. is there any eink reader that allows this thru a connection of an external keyboard thru usb or bluetooth?
Obliviously, to support an external keyboard the reader's OS needs to have either Bluetooth drivers or a USB port that supports USB OTG Host mode.

I am not aware of any mainstream device (Kindle, Nook, Sony, etc.) that meets these requirements out of the box, and though you may be able to hack one of them, or find a lesser known eInk device that fits the bill, I am not sure that the results would necessarily be to your liking.

I say this because I assume that the whole reason you are looking for external keyboard support is because you want easier text entry then that offered by either the Kindle's small built in keyboard, or one of the touch readers on-screen keyboards, while preserving the portability and battery life of an eInk device.

Even the best eInk screens update very SLOOOOWLY compared to LCD's, so you would have a fairly significant lag in seeing what you are typing. Also, the fact that the eInk screen has to at least try to update for each character that you are typing will pretty drastically cut down your battery life (so with heavy note taking you would probably have to recharge every day anyway).

So, even if you succeed in hooking up an external keyboard, I am not sure that an eInk device will ever meet all of your requirements due to their other built in limitations.

So if your note taking requirements are really so extensive that you are thinking that you need and external keyboard, for the best possible text entry experience I would consider an Android tablet with a nice sharp LCD screen that supports a Bluetooth keyboard, and just deal with the somewhat shorter battery life.

On the other hand, if you are doing field work out of doors and full sun readability is your number one concern, then you may still want to pursue the eInk option, and hopefully someone will chime in here with an eInk device with the required Bluetooth or USB OTG hardware and driver support.
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