The problem is that things like the eBookWise are known quantities, and e-ink just isn't, yet. We don't really think about the negatives for the e-readers we have, because we've learned to compensate for them, maybe a comparison might put it into a clearer context:
How long does a PDA or LCD Reader allow you to read for before it dies?
The Sony Reader gave us ~5 hours of
hard usage withouth the battery meter so much as budging off of maximum. (One thing I really
don't like about reading on my Pilot is when I have to stop reading so the rascal can re-charge. Messing with the power cord if I try to read while it's doing that is
another thing I really don't like about it.)
Can you take a week-long trip and read a lot on the PDA/LCD reader without charging it?
You should be able to with the Sony Reader. You can probably get away with
not even packing the charger.
How about just a 6 hour plane flight? No sweat for a Sony Reader.
Can you read for hours at a time without eyestrain (
from that beloved back-light, as it happens)?
You can with the Sony Reader.
Can you lie on a beach or at the pool on a bright day and read your books?
You can with the Sony Reader, just like you can with a pbook.
What we're
really talking about here is trade-offs, life's full of them. We've gotten comfortable with the trade-offs we've made, and in some cases convinced ourselves that what we gain is more important than what we lost. Now, I'm not saying that that isn't true, I'm just suggesting that maybe we should take a
fresh look at what these devices do for us, without regard to what trade-offs we've accepted in the past, and decide if the trade-offs for a Sony Reader are ones we're willing to live with -- maybe even ones we like better.
For me, I've long enjoyed the flexibility of electronic reading, but longed for the viewing to be more paper-like. Naturally, that pre-disposed me to like e-ink. But I think that looking at the whole package the extras I don't get from a Sony Reader over a paper book, are less important to me than the extras I
do get.
That is something we each have to decide for ourselves.
C'mon, Jane, you
know you want one!
You're just already mostly convinced that it won't work for you. I wish I could
show you one somehow, so that you could truly understand the magic that is e-ink.