Quote:
Originally Posted by haertig
I consider e-readers a pretty mature product. Not much to be done to improve them. The things they're doing these days seem to align more with "change them", not "improve them". New releases of e-reader hardware, and even firmware, are probably going to come less frequently. When's the last time you saw a new release of a hammer? They've pretty much got the design of those things nailed down. No need for new releases. A decade-old hammer is as good as, maybe even better than, a new hammer. e-readers are getting to this point too, IMHO.
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I disagree, a reader is very far from being a hammer.
And even assuming that ALL an e-reader is is a paper like screen, it still isn't perfected. It's just now started to return to the same levels of sharpness and contrast it had at the time of the first Kindles. Even many/most/all flush e-readers with Carta 1200 are below that level.
The best screen around is still a Kindle Voyage, even if some other readers come close. The next best ones are Onyx Boox Leaf 2 (white), which suffers from low RAM and is prone to screen discoloration (my screen turned yellow twice); the white Palma; the Note Max, which uses Carta 1300 and doesn't have a frontlight, so that the text is really close to the surface with phenomenal contrast (but of course the device is completely spoiled by the horrendous ghosting).
An e-reader is still a compromise. Touch and frontlight layers reduce clarity, but bring functionality most people want.
I want a device that will never happen: a Penstar in metal with Carta 1300 and an SD card slot and better RAM and CPU. Most people would not want that.
And for those of us reading in other languages wanting a good built in dictionary none of the established e-reader companies are good enough. Only the Android readers will do.
Oh, and do you have any preferences regarding the colour of the device? Page turn buttons? No company is going to fill all the boxes.
I'd love a Clara BW in white/gray with page turn buttons. I'd even get a black one if only it had page turn buttons. Could we, please, have page turn buttons? Buttons? No?
I would get a Pocketbook if they upgraded their stone age CPUs and used Carta 1300 screens in their 6" readers.