Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
When I started reading eBooks in the late 1980s there were no "dedicated" reading devices or commercial ebooks, so it was the availability of handheld devices on which to read public domain texts from PG that was the determining factor. My first ebook reading was done of Psion palmtop devices (a long-defunct British manufacturer of early PDAs), then later on Palm, followed by Compaq/HP Pocket PC devices. The first eInk reader was a Sony PRS-500 in 2006, which I had to import from the US at huge expense.
These days I stick with Kindles, both because I like the devices themselves, and because Amazon make the entire process of buying and reading eBooks so easy.
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I am fairly similar. In the beginning, it was mainly larger computers of various types and mostly text.
Then my wife and I were in a Office Depot near Christmas where we went a lot at that time in the next town, and she found on a reduction table a handheld Franklin (dictionary, thesaurus, translator, etc., with a slot for BOOKMAN cards. -MWD 1470)
The screen was 2 1/2 inches by 1 1/4 inches .
There have been many variations over the years and Franklin has a storied and checkered past especially back in the day about 1982 when it made desktops with pirated Apple II firmware. (had an interesting story for the court) It later went strictly to handheld devices. I got my MWD 1470 about 2001 or so. I have it still over by the desk in my work room.
It was $7 new on that Office Depot reduction table, but you can still buy one today from Amazon for $129 or less for used. Mine works like new.
They now make the devices so it will speak to you and translate, but of course these days a handheld phone will do the same and more. The advantage of the Franklin is that a tiny battery will last for 6 or more years and work in the deepest valley, or forest or on the highest hill.
I loved it and my wife also liked because I didn't bother her so much about how to spell words, etc.
(I just downloaded the manual which I haven't seen in years.)
Anyway that was my start, and then the Kindle KB 3G came out for at the time ONLY $189 and I could get books or magazines anywhere and even read email though that was torturous, and away we went down the rabbit holes.