Quote:
Originally Posted by Andybaby
devices with video currently have about 8 hours of battery life by using better batteries. I would hate to read, or watch video for more than 8 hours a day.
the battery life for ereaders isn't a concern for me. they are good.
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Eight hours straight of reading or watching video sounds excessive, but I think you also have to look at the capabilities of these devices and what they are aspiring to be used for.
The Kindle DX is a good (albeit primitive) example. If a student carries around his or her DX all day to classes, that can be hours a day just to start. And then, of course, you've got the Internet access, which can also be a great battery drain. Ditto for sound. It all adds up fairly quickly.
Ebooks could turn out to be the next version of PDAs. There are people who have been clamoring for years to get a PDA larger than today's phones, and yearning for the old PDAs with the Palm TX form factor. A DX would certainly be oversized for that form factor, but something the size of a Kindle 1 or 2 would have advantages for calendar management, e-mail, etc. While I love my Kindle, I think that ultimately, one-trick ponies don't fare well in the marketplace, and devices like the Kindle will pack in more and more features in an attempt to broaden their appeal. That 8-hour battery life might end up looking meager pretty quickly, if the devices go in that direction.