The mobile revolution is coming. Maybe you could argue it's already here. We see growth in everything from netbooks to iPhones to e-ink devices. So why are we struggling so much to satisfy a simple set of e-book reader requirements like the following?...
* Full day (or better) battery life
* Responsive interfaces and page turns
* Lightweight and varied form factors
* Inexpensive (<$100)
* Reading firmware/software that supports many formats and DRM flavors
* Lighted reading surface
Most reading devices solve some of these issues, but not all. And it doesn't really seem to be just around the corner. But innovation from companies like Intel and Microsoft is likely to cause a revolution in the e-reading landscape. It's almost self-evident, but yet revolutionary.
Intel has already indicated that new generation of mobile processors will provide smaller and smaller form factors, more speed and longer battery life. Up next for netbooks, about a quarter from now, is the Pine Trail generation. Then Moorestown in 2010, which will improve handhelds, and then after that we will see huge jumps in the capabilities of smart phone processors.
This means two things:
* All ranges of mobile and desktop devices will eventually be able to run essentially the same Windows (or Linux) OS. Right now, we don't see consistent widespread support of e-book formats and DRM partly because there are so many platforms to cover. Small devices require a whole different OS, and that fragments the market. It means that it's hard work to support formats across a wide range of devices.
* Microsoft (and Linux) will create a set of OS flavors that work consistently across mobile and desktop form factors, further improving the chances of a relatively consistent platform and better battery life. The interface won't look exactly the same, of course, but the capabilities will be the same. Improved multi-platform development frameworks may further help reduce the effort to give consistent e-book support. Nearly instant start up times will show up soon as well.
So, it's just possible that it won't be too long before we see something amazing... Cheap, fast e-book readers in small computing factors, supporting lots of formats and DRM types, and with a long battery life. It doesn't even require e-ink (although that would be pretty great if alternate display technologies improve the picture as well). Finally, in this version of the future, you can choose your favorite reading software, and it will work on all kinds of big and small devices, and all kinds of e-book formats.
Now we're talking! But about those dates...