Quote:
Originally Posted by plib
Unfortunately by the time you get around to using the spare you'll probably be lucky if the battery will carry half of the charge of a new battery. Lifespan on Li-Ion/Poly batteries is commonly quoted as 3-5 years. Unless the Sony's have replaceable batteries you're not going to have a fully comparable replacement spare.
|
I always factor in battery longevity (as well as the relative availability, expense and trouble of replacement batteries) -- esp. when considering a refurbished or discounted device that has an internal battery and has been out for a few years.
The X50 series seems robust in other ways, and I've read about people replacing the battery successfully here, so I think our friend might be safe.
The question is whether we'll be able to put up with the sluggishness now that processor power in dedicated e-readers is improving.
I've also thought about color (Mirasol, for instance) and improvements in resolution and contrast -- an even more paper-reminiscent experience. These aspects are improved in LG's recent iteration, but that doesn't mean their plastic screens are satisfying to read. We'll have to test that out.
The other way to look at this: The iPad and other such color tablets are handling the effect of reading glossy magazines, while readers and tablets with matte screens are giving us more of the sense of opening a book.
De Chirico felt nostalgia for the infinite, but we seem to be wistful over a medium that only lost currency a few decades ago (and dominance sixty years before that).
Then again, I recently inherited a steroopticon and slides made a century ago. One of the cards is a double photograph of Abraham Lincoln.