Quote:
Originally Posted by ShellShock
I could not agree more. Plus the long battery life - I do not want a battery draining light. My fear is that in the coming years "progress" will mean that will no longer be able to buy a reader without a touch screen, light, wifi, e-ink (eek) etc etc, and will end up with a product that has all the bells and whistles the marketing geeks can think of, but is no longer a great reading experience, requires recharging every day, and has a screen that needs constant cleaning (at least with my greasy paws).
I miss my Psion PDA - a great device in a great clamshell format, which I don't think has been bettered. But it is no longer supported, supplanted by so-called better brands. The same could happen with e-readers.
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Your Psion may no longer be supported, but did it stop working?
There's no reason to think that your 505 won't continue to work for many years to come, especially with the need to recharge the battery only once every few weeks.
I agree that once the marketing department gets its hands onto something, many of the benefits of the original get lost.
However, in defense of the 700, the improved interface, the ability to take notes, etc. are wonderful things, and you don't have to use the lights if you don't want to. Keep a battery-operated booklight with it and you should be able to read in all the situations you could with the 500. Admittedly the 505 with the higher contrast screen can be read in less ambient light than the 500 or the 700, but if you don't use the light with the 700, the charge will last close to the charge on the 500 and 505.
New bells and whistles are fine *if* the designers remember to make them user switchable, like the light on the 700. There's no reason to use it if you're looking for longer battery life, and while some of the price of the 700 did go into the light, the other benefits make it a worthwhile device even if you never use the light.