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Originally Posted by Ankh
What I do not understand is why are you even attempting to define what the goal--for a given device--is.
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Funny, it seems to me the whole point of a "electronic book reader" is to
read on it.
A Swiss Army knife benefits from its versatility. A bread knife benefits from its focus and specificity. The ability to put a corkscrew and scissors into the handle of a bread knife does not necessarily justify doing so.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Ankh
And, more importantly, what you are hoping to gain from that limitation of functionality.
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I'm trying to be rather explicit about that, so I'll try again.
• There is still a lot of work and innovation to be done to improve the basic functionality of an ereader. I'd much rather have a company utilize its finite resources improving ease of use and basic functions.
• It is a common and classic error to spoil the elegance and ease of use of an electronic device by piling on unnecessary and unrelated features.
• I'd rather have a device that is outstanding at accomplishing a simple but important goal, than one that tries to do a bunch of functions that do not fit with, conflict, or outright impede its fundamental purpose.
• Reading is an activity that benefits from the ability to focus on the act of reading itself. Many of the functions requested will result in interruptions and distractions which are detrimental to the basic function of "focusing on reading."
• eBook readers are so light and thin that they are generally more convenient to carry around than a book, let alone more than one. As such, it is slightly ridiculous to assert that carrying one is a tremendous burden that you couldn't
possibly carry one in addition to a PDA or a netbook. (Cost is a valid concern for some, but we've already seen major price drops this year, and it's reasonable to expect that trend will continue.)
If you want a multifunction device, by all means get one. In fact, get a device that is designed and built
from the ground up as a multi-function device. Plenty of them will accommodate ereading functions and the other aspects you need. But I really do not see the necessity or even benefit of bloating out an ebook reader by also making it into a PDA, a netbook, an organizer, a music player, a video player, an email device, etc etc....
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Originally Posted by Ankh
eInk screen is a limitation itself, these devices are poor (full blown) multifunction platforms.
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eInk
is a limitation in one sense, e.g. color is at least a year out, and it's terrible for animations. However it is also
enormously beneficial for, and very good for, the basic process of
reading -- which is what a device that specializes in reading should be all about.
eInk screens don't constantly refresh, they are easier on your eyes, and they use a fraction of the power of a backlit LCD. These are big advantages for reading that would get compromised, if not decimated, by most of the requirements of a really good multifunction device.
To be explicit: to make a really good and highly portable computing device, you don't want eInk. To make a really good reading device, you
want eInk. See the conflict yet?
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Originally Posted by Ankh
However, unlike iPhone itself and its competition, most of these devices are running the same (Linux) OS....
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Yes, that's great. But I never needed to run a
Linux shell out of a paper book, so why exactly do I need to do that with an ereader?
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Originally Posted by Ankh
For a manufacturer to open up kernel and provide a toolchain to the community/3rd_party_developers is a trivial effort. It is more a question of the mindset, than of technical difficulty.
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The point is that the mindset of "piling features onto a device just because you can" does not always result in a
good device -- let alone a device that is optimal for a task that is as involved, and takes as much time, as reading.
Again read up on things like "feature creep" and the KISS principle, and perhaps you will understand my perspective.