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ChrisC333 · 04-26-2010, 01:02 AM

Hi sphinx666,

Your list seems like a reasonable one. However, it might still be up to 2-5 years yet before you see your ideal solution.

In my opinion, the current crop of readers are reasonably poor value for money. Most of them still have roughly the appeal of a 1950s black and white TV set. I’m sure that when we look back in 5 years time they will look as primitive as the early cell phones now seem, and as ridiculously overpriced and under-functional too. That’s the reality of how it goes with new gadgets.

However, if there were no early adopters who were prepared to work through the relatively crummy beginnings, then emerging technologies wouldn’t survive. So it boils down to whether you want to wait until the devices are better value for money, or whether you decide to dive in now and pay for something that’s, frankly, still pretty mediocre.

It not just that the devices are a bit on the ordinary side, it’s that the battle to control access to content (which is what really matters) is a long way from being sorted out. My e-ink reader does an OK job of displaying the basic text of novels (not a great job, but at least it’s acceptable for now) but it’s lousy for technical PDFs, magazines etc and it suffers from the same restrictions that they all do when it comes to how and where you can buy the content and whether you can share it in any sort of normally accepted way with your friends. There are understandable reasons for the limitations, but that doesn’t make them any less irritating.

If I rated my dedicated reader by the same standards that I’d apply to a mature technology I’d say it was rubbish. It’s over-priced and primitive.

However, as I enjoy mucking around with new gadgets and don’t mind paying a bit over the odds to try out new experiences, then I’d say that I’ve already had enough hours of entertainment from it.

It rather depends on which camp you’re in Do you want to jump on the bus now (and have a relatively basic and costly ride) or wait for a year or two until the buses are more comfortable and the tickets cheaper??

Good luck with your choice.

Cheers,

Chris

04-26-2010, 01:02 AM	#5
ChrisC333 Groupie Posts: 194 Karma: 2031 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: West Australia Device: Acer eM250 Netbook, iTouch, iRiver Story, HP TM2 Tablet	Hi sphinx666, Your list seems like a reasonable one. However, it might still be up to 2-5 years yet before you see your ideal solution. In my opinion, the current crop of readers are reasonably poor value for money. Most of them still have roughly the appeal of a 1950s black and white TV set. I’m sure that when we look back in 5 years time they will look as primitive as the early cell phones now seem, and as ridiculously overpriced and under-functional too. That’s the reality of how it goes with new gadgets. However, if there were no early adopters who were prepared to work through the relatively crummy beginnings, then emerging technologies wouldn’t survive. So it boils down to whether you want to wait until the devices are better value for money, or whether you decide to dive in now and pay for something that’s, frankly, still pretty mediocre. It not just that the devices are a bit on the ordinary side, it’s that the battle to control access to content (which is what really matters) is a long way from being sorted out. My e-ink reader does an OK job of displaying the basic text of novels (not a great job, but at least it’s acceptable for now) but it’s lousy for technical PDFs, magazines etc and it suffers from the same restrictions that they all do when it comes to how and where you can buy the content and whether you can share it in any sort of normally accepted way with your friends. There are understandable reasons for the limitations, but that doesn’t make them any less irritating. If I rated my dedicated reader by the same standards that I’d apply to a mature technology I’d say it was rubbish. It’s over-priced and primitive. However, as I enjoy mucking around with new gadgets and don’t mind paying a bit over the odds to try out new experiences, then I’d say that I’ve already had enough hours of entertainment from it. It rather depends on which camp you’re in Do you want to jump on the bus now (and have a relatively basic and costly ride) or wait for a year or two until the buses are more comfortable and the tickets cheaper?? Good luck with your choice. Cheers, Chris Last edited by ChrisC333; 04-26-2010 at 01:12 AM.