Quote:
Originally Posted by Jmirko
Reading the posts I have a couple of questions lurking in my mind:
1. How revolutionary is the Sony Mobius device?
2. What does it take for it to be successful?
Here are my thoughts:
1. I would argue that this device is great, but not all that different from what we have seen before. Large e-ink readers like the Entourage Edge, the Irex DR1000, the Pocketbook 9-series, the Onyx Boox M92, or the Hanvon Wisereader E920 have been around for years - all of these support handwriting. Sure, 13.3 is larger than 9.7 but is that really what prevented those devices from going mainstream? I don't think so. I think that most A4 documents are perfectly legible on a high resolution A5 screen (without margins). The weight is also very similar. The durability provided by the flexible screen is welcome, but it is really necessitated by the large size itself. I don't think that a 10-inch reader (with a traditional, glass screen) in a leather cover is particularly vulnerable to breakage. Touch + wacom? Agan, wonderful, just like in the Hanvon E920 which came out over 2 years ago.
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Your thoughts?
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I think that the Sony device is different from what we already have, although I would not necessarily call it revolutionary. It has twice the screen area of a 9.7 inch reader. Although some documents may be legible on the 9.7 inch screen, there are many that are not. Even with documents that are legible, having to squint to see small type really defeats one of the main advantages of e-ink, and that is less eyestrain than on a conventional screen. The second major difference between the screen on the new Sony device, and previous e-ink screens, is that the Sony screen is assumed to be less prone to breakage than previous e-ink screens. Many e-ink screens die from minor abuse that LCD screens can tolerate. Further, I have seen plenty of tablets with broken screens. Accidents happen.
I hope that the Sony device is inexpensive. I do not think that it will sell well if it costs more than $400. We know that inexpensive e-ink screens can be made. For example, e-paper screens were used in magazines. Further, flexible e-paper screens have been shown at trade shows for years, so this is far from cutting edge technology.
All of this being said, high resolution screens are expensive. At 150 DPI and 11 inches by 8.5 inches, this screen will have a resolution of 1650X1275. This is higher than most screens on the market, and I expect it to be priced accordingly.