Quote:
Originally Posted by JSWolf
The iPod Touch is not a cheaper alternative. Plus the battery will die pretty quickly from having the screen on. You'll get maybe 3 hours with it.
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I don't think anyone accused it of being inexpensive. As for the battery life, I think 3 hours is conservative. But if you're going to be reading for more than 3 hours at a time, preferably you will have your eReader with you. My assumption was that the7gerbers wanted something handy for shorter, impromptu reading sessions.
Amazon certainly is aware of this, and they've released Kindle for the iPhone. They expect you to use your Kindle for your extended reading sessions, but if you're in line at the store, and want to just read a couple pages while you wait, you can use your iPod. The great part with amazon's implementation is that the iPhone/Touch and your Kindle's bookmarks will stay in sync, so you read for a couple hours on your Kindle. Shut it off. Then when you look at your iPhone/Touch, it will be at the place you left off (or so the marketing has me believe; I don't have a Kindle to try it with).
Of course, things won't be quite as convenient as that if you have something other than a Kindle. The general use-pattern would still be the same: extended reading on an eReader (or actual book) and short reading bursts on a compact device. If longer reading is required, then I agree that any device with a backlit LCD screen would be inadequate.
edit2: BTW, I don't mean to toot the Apple horn so loudly, it's just the only current convergence device that I'm very familiar with. I meant to advise against picking up some bulky, old thing. Unless it's super on-the-cheap. Or free.