Quote:
Originally Posted by rgeorg
Just from a probably rather naive (although perhaps typical?) user-perspective - I think that when we start discussing 9"+ ereaders we are overlapping onto netbook territory and it will be very difficult to compete. I have just purchased a 500Euro, 1-kg, 9" touchscreen-tablet netbook running XP. It has everything except long battery life. This can be worked around, especially since I am usually around outlets. It is also not as fragile as I have heard the 8-10" eReaders are supposed to be. It does and displays everything.
That being said - I still want to purchase a stable, sturdy, functional 6" reader that will adequately organize and display the most popular (non-DRM) formats, etc. I am hoping the Mentor Lite will fit the bill, and am willing to wait and see. The 6" - just for reading fiction paperback equivs - will fit my requirement for pocketbook-portability and excellent battery-life. Much as my .mp3 player does for audio-books. I only read fiction for long periods of time.
These are just my own personal requirements, and perhaps do not have any relevance to the general discussion. It seems that if the current 6" devices (no touchscreen) are around 300 euros, the feature-full 9.7" will definately compete with tablet-netbooks as to price -- and with less overall functionality.
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Dear rgeorg:
There is no such thing as naive on a forum. We are all here, including me, to learn and exchange ideas. Some ideas may be technically sound and some not. We ALL have to understand that this is a LONG thread and we should welcome people joining it at any stage.
I hope you did go to my blog on the Mentor Lite for additional info on it: RobertbEZ.blogspot.com
There IS a fundamental difference between a tablet/netbook and a 9.7 inch device. That is not just battery life... it is weight and eye strain. E-Ink will always be the easy way for the eyes to read books particularly for long periods. Also, despite the lightness of many fine netbooks nowadays... the 9.7 inch will still likely be well under a pound. While many will argue that there is little difference between 11 ounces and 2.6 pounds for a 10 inch netbook... there is the matter of ergonomics. While you can get the netbook to display from side-to-side, the controls remain as they are and are not set up for advancing a page that way.
Still, a quality 10 inch Netbook can be had for under $500. It will likely be a bit slow on turning pages compared to an Epson-controller eBook Reader. To be honest, even I am not sure where the price of a good 9.7 incheBook Reader will fall. I have heard preliminary estimation that $499-$599 is the max they can go. (This was pure conjecture; and I will ask for an update).
But, I think if you add up the aforementioned points on eye strain, battery life, weight, ergonomics, and page turning... the two are apples to oranges and there is a very viable market for a good 9.7 inch eBook Reader.
Robert B