Thread: eReader Survey
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Old 04-05-2010, 08:17 AM   #38
charleski
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Posts: 1,196
Karma: 1281258
Join Date: Sep 2009
Device: PRS-505
Quote:
Originally Posted by Xenophon View Post
These features combine to guarantee that the next-page button is ALWAYS well-placed, no matter how the user chooses to hold the device! ... This ergonomics issue is a HUGE BIG DEAL!
This is a very good point. Even a lightweight device like my PRS505 can be fatiguing to hold for long periods if I don't place it properly in my hand. Ideally, you want to hold the device so that its centre of gravity is over your fingers and the thumb is left free to operate the page-turn buttons rather than having to counter-balance the weight of the top-half. In general this means page-turn buttons placed fairly high up on the side (the 505's side buttons are really a bit too low for me). Holding ereaders by the big 'chin' that most have at the bottom is not comfortable for long periods - I always try to hold mine by the side.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JSWolf View Post
One thing many people leave out when designing a reader is something that is very important and NONE of the readers have....

What we really need big time is PROPER HYPHENATION SUPPORT so fully justified text looks good.

Without it, you are no better then the other guy.
Yes!!! Provide fully-justified text with automatic hyphenation and you will be unique among portable ereaders, not even the iPad can do this (a great disappointment). This would be a big selling point for me. Hyphenation rules vary by language, so doing it right might mean restricting support to a limited set of languages, but TBH I only read books in English .

Other things I'd like:
  • User-modifiable css for epubs as Jellby mentioned (epub support is mandatory, obviously). You can offer a few options for changing things through a UI, but it's actually far easier for more advanced users to be able to change the default css directly. If users want to change fonts, let them load in their own ones, this saves you the hassle of worrying about licensing.
  • The option to remove all the fluff from the display - no status bar, no battery indicator, no page count, just the text.
  • A screen surface that's flush with the bezel. This might be a bit more expensive to engineer, but it does make the device easier to keep clean. Not a big issue though.

As far as size goes, for single-column reflowed text the current 6" devices like the 505 are just about perfect.
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