MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Annotation / note-taking on kindle?

mptmobilereade · 06-21-2010, 04:23 PM

I will assume "life is tough" was an attempt at a comic aside, but the reality is life is tough for the current e-reader vendors. The fact is that ereaders have not even put a minor dent into the academic market, which is arguably one of the largest markets for this application. 6 Universities solidly rejected the Kindle for very good reasons, namely the device interfered with active reading. Reading with the Kindle was actually a detriment to reading academic texts. Yes, they are fine for leisure reading. Keep an eye on applications that improve the reading experience that will be run on a tablet. It seems the market is about to change directions. E-ink is a red herring. Tablets with touch screens, audio, and pressure sensitive surfaces to support marginalia are about to enter the market. The current crop of e-readers will likely go the way of the old palm pilots and handspring devices. Current e-readers are a bridge product to portable tablets, that will become thinner and lighter. It's a rather simple principle at work here called relative advantage. If reading devices do not offer advantages over paper texts, they will not move past the initial stage of adoption. In the early 2000's, people flocked to the hand-held calendar devices until they discovered something important; there was no relative advantage to the electronic hand held calendar device! Technolust is driving the ereader market right now, but the future belongs to anyone who can truly offer a device that changes they way people read and interact with text. Read something called The Diffusion of Innovations by Everett Rogers. You'll understand more about relative advantage, and how products move through early adoption to mainstream.

It's not about the device, but about the reading and engagement with text. All of the research has found digital annotations to be clunky and cumbersome when compared to paper. This issue will be solved; no vendor will subscribe to life is tough, they will respond accordingly. The market will evolve with innovative vendors that understand and react to reading research and principles. Keep an eye on the new application called Blio. It could be a milestone in the reading application market.

06-21-2010, 04:23 PM	#15
mptmobilereade Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2010 Device: none	I will assume "life is tough" was an attempt at a comic aside, but the reality is life is tough for the current e-reader vendors. The fact is that ereaders have not even put a minor dent into the academic market, which is arguably one of the largest markets for this application. 6 Universities solidly rejected the Kindle for very good reasons, namely the device interfered with active reading. Reading with the Kindle was actually a detriment to reading academic texts. Yes, they are fine for leisure reading. Keep an eye on applications that improve the reading experience that will be run on a tablet. It seems the market is about to change directions. E-ink is a red herring. Tablets with touch screens, audio, and pressure sensitive surfaces to support marginalia are about to enter the market. The current crop of e-readers will likely go the way of the old palm pilots and handspring devices. Current e-readers are a bridge product to portable tablets, that will become thinner and lighter. It's a rather simple principle at work here called relative advantage. If reading devices do not offer advantages over paper texts, they will not move past the initial stage of adoption. In the early 2000's, people flocked to the hand-held calendar devices until they discovered something important; there was no relative advantage to the electronic hand held calendar device! Technolust is driving the ereader market right now, but the future belongs to anyone who can truly offer a device that changes they way people read and interact with text. Read something called The Diffusion of Innovations by Everett Rogers. You'll understand more about relative advantage, and how products move through early adoption to mainstream. It's not about the device, but about the reading and engagement with text. All of the research has found digital annotations to be clunky and cumbersome when compared to paper. This issue will be solved; no vendor will subscribe to life is tough, they will respond accordingly. The market will evolve with innovative vendors that understand and react to reading research and principles. Keep an eye on the new application called Blio. It could be a milestone in the reading application market.