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BobVA · 11-10-2006, 02:54 PM

I'm not too worried about the battery issue. I'll be surprised if it's not available from Sony (who are relatively good about parts - just got a new keyboard for my 4 yr old laptop), but if not, there's a huge aftermarket for all the other compact Li-Poly gadgets like PDA's, MP3 players, etc.

Even if you don't want to open up the package, the fact you can power it via an external plug opens up an entire potenital world of aftermarket power gadgets.

[Geek aside: I've noticed that the Reader won't charge via the USB port with a USB "power supply" - it wants to be connected to a computer. I'm guessing that's why the charger didn't just have a USB connector...]

A lot of gadgets have some serious issues that almost demand replacement for the first generation. I'm not seeing anything I can't live with in the Reader that couldn't be fixed in software, so I expect to be using mine for quite a while. Unless there's a huge improvement in the eInk screen (e.g. greater contrast), or they figure out a way to fold it up, I'd probably view most hardware improvements as a different compromise (e.g. backlighting...battery life, screen size...portability).

But hey, I'm using a four year old computer :-)

Cheers,
Bob

11-10-2006, 02:54 PM	#19
BobVA Addict Posts: 230 Karma: 1500 Join Date: Oct 2006 Device: Kobo Clara, Sony PRS950, T1, T2, T3	I'm not too worried about the battery issue. I'll be surprised if it's not available from Sony (who are relatively good about parts - just got a new keyboard for my 4 yr old laptop), but if not, there's a huge aftermarket for all the other compact Li-Poly gadgets like PDA's, MP3 players, etc. Even if you don't want to open up the package, the fact you can power it via an external plug opens up an entire potenital world of aftermarket power gadgets. [Geek aside: I've noticed that the Reader won't charge via the USB port with a USB "power supply" - it wants to be connected to a computer. I'm guessing that's why the charger didn't just have a USB connector...] A lot of gadgets have some serious issues that almost demand replacement for the first generation. I'm not seeing anything I can't live with in the Reader that couldn't be fixed in software, so I expect to be using mine for quite a while. Unless there's a huge improvement in the eInk screen (e.g. greater contrast), or they figure out a way to fold it up, I'd probably view most hardware improvements as a different compromise (e.g. backlighting...battery life, screen size...portability). But hey, I'm using a four year old computer :-) Cheers, Bob Last edited by BobVA; 11-10-2006 at 03:14 PM.