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being patient
I used to do quite a lot of e-book reading by way of a PDF. Having no such device at present, the new e-books are very attractive alternative. HOWEVER, their overall prices are what put me off, (and very likely many like myself).
It brings to mind, (and this is giving away my age), the original digital watch (see Douglas Adams' Hitchikers' Guide...). At the dawn of this current digital age, that original watch was a harbinger of trends to come. It's first 'iteration' used LED's for the display. These were power-hungry and so the first generation battery lasted mere months. I think that the LED's were short-lived, too. That first watch also had only a few functions, and was extremely expensive, costing in the hundreds of dollars at a time when that kind of money might have been comperable to the cost of an e-book reader today. Nowadays, if you hunt, you can find a digital watch with as many functions as you could possible imagine (and some you haven't even dreamt of) with a battery guaranteed for 10 years for a few bucks. How's that for supply and demand? Of course the LED is long gone, replaced by LCD's and backlighting (which is still in development, too!).
So, my dear fellow tech enthusiasts, I offer this note of encouragement to those who, like me, are awaiting the next price drop: time will come when competition, tech improvements (some of which are not even dreamt of as yet) and increased production both drop prices and improve functionality. Never buy 1st generation unless that is important for its own sake.
PS
i've got a lot of mobipocket books, and so wll be looking for the one that allows reading secured files, like ILIAD or BOOKEEN. as of yet, don't think either the Sony or Kindle will allow that.
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