MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - So you have a ebook device. When will you upgrade?

Xenophon · 06-14-2007, 06:09 PM

My top issues with the Sony reader match up almost exactly with the features that would get me to upgrade. Imagine that!

Higher screen resolution. I'd like at least double the resolution of the Sony Reader. 4x would be better. Sony reader is ~180DPI. I want 360. Or 720DPI. Or... (More. More! I'm still not satisfied!)
Better physical ergonomics. I'm certain that the people who designed the Sony Reader never tried reading from it for hours at a time. After a few hundred page presses, those teeny-weeny sharp-edged buttons are a true pain in the fingers! And the buttons are poorly placed for many users. AND it can't easily be rotated for use in the other hand. And... They should learn from the RCA 1100 device, which was ergonomically great (but lousy screen, and orphaned).
Faster screen update with higher contrast. 10x on both would be great! 2x on both would be enough to get my attention.
Better support for large libraries. I want to be able to find a specific book without paging through 50 to 100 pages of titles. At a minimum of 1 second per page. Yuck!
A somewhat larger screen would be nice. It's not critical though.
Faster connectivity for moving books. It takes a while to move 1GB of books at USB 1.1 speeds.
Built-in lighting (defaulted to OFF, so I only pay a battery penalty when I use it). A built-in Light-wedge equivalent would be lovely! It would both provide lighting for night-time use AND protect the eInk display. A win-win feature.

Some things I really don't care much about: Color. Much larger screen (at least, not for use with reading fiction -- for professional use, I'd want an 8.5x11" display so I could use other peoples .pdf files without having to re-format). Playing music? eh. If I want that I'll use an iPod. Wireless connectivity (not a big deal, although bluetooth would be cool for moving books around).

Anyway... Fix both of the top two issues (or four of the top seven) -- and price it under $500 -- and I'll jump on it in a heartbeat!

Of course, I would insist on being able to use it with my existing library of non-DRM books (all legal!). And to manage it with my Mac. Without those two it is a complete non-starter.

06-14-2007, 06:09 PM	#34
Xenophon curmudgeon Posts: 1,487 Karma: 5748190 Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Redwood City, CA USA Device: Kobo Aura HD, (ex)nook, (ex)PRS-700, (ex)PRS-500	My top issues with the Sony reader match up almost exactly with the features that would get me to upgrade. Imagine that! Higher screen resolution. I'd like at least double the resolution of the Sony Reader. 4x would be better. Sony reader is ~180DPI. I want 360. Or 720DPI. Or... (More. More! I'm still not satisfied!) Better physical ergonomics. I'm certain that the people who designed the Sony Reader never tried reading from it for hours at a time. After a few hundred page presses, those teeny-weeny sharp-edged buttons are a true pain in the fingers! And the buttons are poorly placed for many users. AND it can't easily be rotated for use in the other hand. And... They should learn from the RCA 1100 device, which was ergonomically great (but lousy screen, and orphaned). Faster screen update with higher contrast. 10x on both would be great! 2x on both would be enough to get my attention. Better support for large libraries. I want to be able to find a specific book without paging through 50 to 100 pages of titles. At a minimum of 1 second per page. Yuck! A somewhat larger screen would be nice. It's not critical though. Faster connectivity for moving books. It takes a while to move 1GB of books at USB 1.1 speeds. Built-in lighting (defaulted to OFF, so I only pay a battery penalty when I use it). A built-in Light-wedge equivalent would be lovely! It would both provide lighting for night-time use AND protect the eInk display. A win-win feature. Some things I really don't care much about: Color. Much larger screen (at least, not for use with reading fiction -- for professional use, I'd want an 8.5x11" display so I could use other peoples .pdf files without having to re-format). Playing music? eh. If I want that I'll use an iPod. Wireless connectivity (not a big deal, although bluetooth would be cool for moving books around). Anyway... Fix both of the top two issues (or four of the top seven) -- and price it under $500 -- and I'll jump on it in a heartbeat! Of course, I would insist on being able to use it with my existing library of non-DRM books (all legal!). And to manage it with my Mac. Without those two it is a complete non-starter.