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Originally Posted by nekokami
The list price of the Reader is about $350, the Nokia N800 is about $400, and the Wordsgear is $479 on the sites I found. But the argument about other things it can do is a very good one. I'm guessing the N800 and the Wordsgear run some kind of Windows? I'm not a fan of Windows, but the major reader formats are all available for it (well, I'm not sure about Secure Palm), along with a lot of other software.
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The N800 run Linux: take alook at
http://www.internettablettalk.com/ (me neither a big M$ fan... ;-) and you can find its previous incarnation, the N770 for about 300 $. The WordsGear dunno what OS use.
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Originally Posted by nekokami
I liked reading (and writing) on the Newton, and I currently use an eBookwise 1150 for my fiction reading, with the backlight turned waaaayyy down. One big advantage of e ink beyond battery life is the ability to be read in sunlight. The current generation of backlit LCDs are lousy in this environment. (The eBw is ok, being b&w and reflective.) I, too, am watching the development of the Readius with much interest, but I don't want to wait another year to try this idea. I guess what I'm saying is, there are tradeoffs on the screen type. I'm assuming Ms. Rowling has seen cellphone-like displays before, but not e ink, hence the suggestion of sending an e ink based reader. So far, Sony is the only one shipping that has legally available versions of other contemporary works that I think might appeal to Jessica (and possibly might get Rowling thinking.)
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About reading habits, again it is a question of tastes: I read mainly in bed, so the backlight is almost mandatory for me. At the moment, beside the N770 for txt books, I mainly use a Sony Clie NX70v (I love its form factor), that support both PalmReader and MobiPocket. About the Readius: next week I will try to contact someone at TIM Italy (that co-developed the technology) to have more infos about its relese date, price, etc.
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Originally Posted by nekokami
I see that Pratchett's Wintersmith is available on Connect (and I know I've seen it at Fictionwise, as well.) I'd be more than happy to add that to the list -- it sounds like a book Jessica might enjoy. (It's on my to-read list, anyway!) I admit the only thing I've read by Pratchett so far is his collaboration with Neil Gaiman -- Good Omens, which I loved. (Coraline is also on my to-read list.) The sheer size of the Discworld series has been somewhat intimidating, to be honest, though I've been meaning to try some for quite a while now.
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Please do read the Discworld saga as soon as you are able, you will love it!
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Originally Posted by nekokami
Again, to be clear, Rowling isn't my favorite author, and I don't think her stuff is the best stuff out there. (I'd take Diana Wynne Jones over Rowling any day. Which reminds me, the Chronicles of Chrestomanci are available at Connect and elsewhere....) But Rowling is cited (rightly or wrongly) as the author that got kids reading again, and her public stance on eBooks is well known. If we're going to attempt a "publicity stunt" approach to kick-start use of eBooks in the younger generation, I think it makes sense to try it with Rowling's daughter. Pratchett doesn't need convincing, as you pointed out!
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I agree on the "publicity stunt" idea for ebook in general, and, as I said, I will gladly donate my 10 bucks if the project concretize, and commend you for the idea in itself. My impression is simply that JKR is not the kind of person that will accept to partecipate in this for the sake of a technology, that based on her public declarations, she despise or at least don't care for.
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Originally Posted by nekokami
And my impression, from reading Rowling's own words in interviews and on her site, is that the "Oh-how-much-I-suffered-in-my-life!" myth didn't originate with her and she doesn't perpetuate it. IMHO, it seems to be a media creation.
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Maybe, but she amply accepted the benefits this gave her during the launch of the HP phenomenon.