MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Do you know what you REALLY need in an e-reader?

ChrisC333 · 04-23-2010, 01:38 AM

Hi all,

How did you decide what your priorities were? And, if you did buy a reader, did the experience then match with your expectations? Are you blissfully happy together, or are you already just a tad ‘over it’ and now scanning the field for more glamorous candidates?

Over the last few months I’ve been taking an active interest in e-reading devices. Over that time my ideas of what an ‘ideal’ reader might look like has changed considerably. Partly this is because, on close inspection, many of my initial assumptions turned out to be wrong.

As usual, I started with a jumble of preconceived ideas about what I wanted, all mixed up with a bunch of impressions gained from reviews and advertising blurbs. But as I worked through the available options and tried to match them to my needs I discovered that not only were my ideal requirements much broader than I’d first thought, but the possible solutions were far wider and more flexible as well.

If you’re looking to choose a reader, then perhaps the following posts might help you work through some of the issues. With a bit of luck they’ll also include some opinions from others who - for perfectly good reasons - completely disagree with my take on it.

Here’s a few of my starting points.:

Size:

My guess was that I’d be looking for a device with approximately the same dimensions as a medium sized paperback book.

Weight:

Similarly, the weight of a light paperback seemed a reasonable target.

Look and Feel:

Something that was close to the familiar experience of reading a printed book seemed desirable (after all, I’ve been reading and collecting them for well over 50 years).

Price:

I assumed that I would set a fairly low cost ceiling for a book reader.

Below, I’ll list how all of the above assumptions changed.

Please excuse the length but, hey, you can read whole books can't you?

04-23-2010, 01:38 AM	#1
ChrisC333 Groupie Posts: 194 Karma: 2031 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: West Australia Device: Acer eM250 Netbook, iTouch, iRiver Story, HP TM2 Tablet	Do you know what you REALLY need in an e-reader? Hi all, How did you decide what your priorities were? And, if you did buy a reader, did the experience then match with your expectations? Are you blissfully happy together, or are you already just a tad ‘over it’ and now scanning the field for more glamorous candidates? Over the last few months I’ve been taking an active interest in e-reading devices. Over that time my ideas of what an ‘ideal’ reader might look like has changed considerably. Partly this is because, on close inspection, many of my initial assumptions turned out to be wrong. As usual, I started with a jumble of preconceived ideas about what I wanted, all mixed up with a bunch of impressions gained from reviews and advertising blurbs. But as I worked through the available options and tried to match them to my needs I discovered that not only were my ideal requirements much broader than I’d first thought, but the possible solutions were far wider and more flexible as well. If you’re looking to choose a reader, then perhaps the following posts might help you work through some of the issues. With a bit of luck they’ll also include some opinions from others who - for perfectly good reasons - completely disagree with my take on it. Here’s a few of my starting points.: Size: My guess was that I’d be looking for a device with approximately the same dimensions as a medium sized paperback book. Weight: Similarly, the weight of a light paperback seemed a reasonable target. Look and Feel: Something that was close to the familiar experience of reading a printed book seemed desirable (after all, I’ve been reading and collecting them for well over 50 years). Price: I assumed that I would set a fairly low cost ceiling for a book reader. Below, I’ll list how all of the above assumptions changed. Please excuse the length but, hey, you can read whole books can't you? Last edited by ChrisC333; 04-23-2010 at 01:40 AM.