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Old 09-03-2013, 05:38 PM   #1
Katsunami
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The e-reader "Androidified"... would you get one?

The one thing I always see with regard to new e-readers is that people want the software to do specific things. One e-reader can have 20 custom fonts, the other has 20 settings for margins, while a third has 15 settings for line height. That sort of stuff. No reader has everything.

I've read that there are some nice reading applications for tablets, and that some people prefer a tablet for readin because of the choice of apps and their customizability.

Let's say, a manufacturer would do something like this:
  • Create a line of e-readers: 5 inch, 6 inch, 7 inch, and 9.7 inch.
  • Capacitive touch screen
  • Front light, 30 settings, from completely off to as bright as a tablet.
  • The reader has back/forward-buttons, but with a twist. You get 2 faceplates: one completely out of plastic, hiding the buttons, and a face plate that allows you to press them. (Rubber at the button positions, a clicking mechanism, whatever.)
  • NO internal memory. Nothing, zilch. BUT, it will accept SDXC cards up to 2TB.

But most important:

It will run a completely stripped down version of Android, but you won't ever see the operating system. The reader itself would only provide the utter minimal stuff: WIFI connection, handling the front-light, setting page flash (between 0-10); basically, make the hardware usable. (Isn't that what an OS is supposed to do?) Everything, and I mean *EVERYTHING* related to reading would be left to the applications, from choosing reading fonts up to Facebook/GoodReads integration.

The manufacturer of the reader will have a marketplace, but with only one type of applications: reading apps. Anything else is not allowed. Comics, books, PDF's, an internet browser, etc... whatever. People who have a reading app in the Android store could probably port it quite quickly to the e-reader.

Not all reading applications may be free, and some could cost up to $10. The manufacturer itself will have a free reading application in the market, comparable to what a Kindle Paperwhite has to offer now; it won't be installed by default.

If you have only one reading application installed, it will start by default when booting the reader; if you have more than one installed, you can choose which one to start by default, or start none and present you with a choice when starting the device. This way, you could be reading a book in one application, and read a PDF in another.

Of course, this would be a high-end device, with a high-end price: the price will be between $150 and $300 depending on the size.

Would you buy this "Uber E-Reader"?

(People might say: But this is just an e-ink tablet, stripped of everything except a market to install reading applications? Yeah, you'd basically be right. That's why it's an Uber E-Reader, and not a generic tablet.)

Last edited by Alexander Turcic; 09-04-2013 at 06:51 AM. Reason: moved to frontpage
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