Quote:
Originally Posted by leebase
An eReader that's not meant for hand holding for extended period of time? You don't see the flaw in that?
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Not when it's intended to replace a textbook*, which also is not meant for being hand held for an extended period of time.
*substitute any of: text book; book and highlighter; book, pen, notepad; book, pen, notepad, mobile internet device
This device is meant to be written on - in both in the same way you'd write in/on the thing you're reading and as a separate notepad. It's also meant to give depth to the text through integrated search (dictionary, web) and image enhancement through the LCD screen. Additionally, you can have email, twitter, IM clients running in the background, and a notification isn't in your face while you're reading because it comes up on a separate screen.
Many reviewers neglect to qualify the weight statement by stating what the machine does replace. It may be *heavy* to hold this thing for extended periods of time, but it's *impossible* to hold your book (textbook), pile of documents, reference material, notepad, pen, iphone/laptop (whatever you'd check email/twitter/IM/web on) all at the same time for extended periods of time.
If this machine isn't going to replace all those things for a someone at once (as it does for me), then this machine probably isn't for him/her. So, yes, some reviews can safely be ignored because they clearly don't understand the benefits of the machine.
I'm not saying they don't have real, justified criticisms, but if they make no mention of what the device is for and how it's actually supposed to be used, then they haven't properly reviewed the device, IMO. I've read two reviews in the last couple of days that haven't even mentioned annotation/journal capabilities, for example, which is one of the essential differentiating factors.
The wild discrepancies between the mostly lukewarm/negative "tech reviews" and the mostly positive owner reviews show that you have to need/want this kind of device in order to appreciate it. And I think we're all perfectly happy to admit that.
But negative reviews mean we might have to speak up a little more to make sure that people realize that if you do fall into that category of needing/wanting it, it's a great device. Not just because we need to validate our own purchasing decisions, but because this is a product we NEED, and if ignorant (in the truest sense of the word) reviewers have the largest voice in determining whether this product/company succeeds or fails, then we honestly risk losing it.
I don't care whether there's "an eDGe in every home" or not. I care that this company has incentive to continue to develop and improve upon this first-gen product. This is the first tech product I've seen in a long time that actually fills needs I already had, instead of just being cool. I'll be damned if I'm going to let the Engadget/Gizmodo crowd take it away from me.