Quote:
Originally Posted by yessirrom
I have had my 900 for two days. I am a bit conflicted on my new toy. I may even return or sell it.
Background: I have been reading ebooks on various devices for years. I started with Handspring Visors, moved to pocket pc (Axim X51v using mobipocket software), and have been reading on windows mobile phones for the last little while. I currently have an HTC HD2 and still use mobipocket.
I have used three sony devices, 505, 600, and now 900. The benefits of these readers for me are outdoor visibility, battery life, size, and organization of reading materials. (Collections and such are great for keeping track of things)
I am admittedly a tech gadget addict. I enjoy tweaking and playing with electronics. I often will run user developed software and hacks.
While I was waiting on the 900 to be released, I started reading on my phone again. It has a 4.3" capacitive LCD screen. I enjoy reading on it and have never suffered from eye strain. The back-light adjusts automatically and can be tweaked endlessly.
After getting all of my books loaded and started reading on the 900, I found that I was getting annoyed with having to find good lighting. When lying in bed or sitting in a chair I have to position myself so the light shines on the device. This is not very convenient when lighting is directly over head. I am always trying to get a light behind me. A book light just adds to the bulk and management of batteries, cases etc. I have become accustomed to reading in almost any environment. I read in the theater before the movie starts. I read while waiting in line at the cafeteria and such. I read lying down, sitting up, and standing. I even read in the (gasp!) bathroom.
It is not very convenient to carry my reader to all these places either. My phone however is always in my pocket waiting.
I also was annoyed buy the swipe gesture to change pages. On my phone I just touch the screen ever so lightly to change pages. On the Sony you have to apply a little pressure to register input. I know, I have become spoiled.
Long story short, I find myself annoyed when reading on the 900. I have become spoiled by my go anywhere, do almost anything, converged device.
I would welcome your thoughts.
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I totally understand your thoughts.
I've started reading on Pocket PCs in 2000, until about 2005. I've always been fine with the screen size, never did have any eye strain. In 2007, I wanted to start again, but simply didn't find a suitable Pocket PC anymore. So I ended up with iRex iLiad.
I love the iLiad (still one of my favorites), but I never did share some of the praise ("no more eye strain", "way better contrast", ...). I think, it simply does its job. It does it well, but so did the Pocket PCs before.
And, while on a training in Italy this summer, I've used the Kindle app on iPhone and have been absolutely fine.
Although I own quite a bunch of eInk devices, I wouldn't say it's a must-have-technology.
Those are nice gadgets, but so can be iPhone or Netbooks. I'll probably go for the Apple tablet. But I'll probably buy Plastic Logic as well.
If I don't have to care about weight or measurements, I prefer Sony 900, Kindle 2 or even Cybook Opus over iPhone anytime. I don't need iPhone's color screen for reading and I usually don't need any extra light as well.
But when on the train, or for a quick read, I'm absolutely fine with iPhone.
The advantages to me are quite simple:
eInk: Battery (in my opinion, always has been a disaster on iPhone) duration, readability in direct sunlight, screen size.
iPhone: To me, it's not a gadget but an instrument of daily usage. So I don't care about scratches or sun oil or something like that, which I'd hate on my toys.
So I'm using iPhone anytime and anywhere. My gadgets I only touch when my hands are clean and when it's "riskfree".