What weaknesses are there?

shousa · 01-04-2008, 07:35 PM

In other words in the context of your own ebook reader when is it not useful, when do you need to read from an actual paper based book because what you wanted to read was not available?

Percentage wise how how much do you find this occurs for you personally?

You may wish to point out (or not) what books interest you.

HarryT · 01-05-2008, 04:19 AM

Most of the current batch of eBook readers are intended for reading cover-to-cover fiction. They are not at all good for reference books, where you generally want to flip through it at random or search for specific items.

shousa · 01-07-2008, 02:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Most of the current batch of eBook readers are intended for reading cover-to-cover fiction. They are not at all good for reference books, where you generally want to flip through it at random or search for specific items.

I did not think of that. Thanks.

JSWolf · 01-07-2008, 09:50 AM

I still do read paper based books. But that is becoming more and more scarce around here. What I do is go find books in electronic format I want to read. But overall, it's good. I read mostly with my 505. I still have a backlog of paper books I want to read. I just have to gather them all together. But when I do start back into my stack of paper books, I'll just lay the 505 aside and go at the paper books.

Alisa · 01-07-2008, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Most of the current batch of eBook readers are intended for reading cover-to-cover fiction. They are not at all good for reference books, where you generally want to flip through it at random or search for specific items.

I agree. The tech books I have that are even available electronically are PDFs, too, which often don't do well on the smaller screens. Even the ones where the text reflows well, the tables and graphics often do not. At least with the Kindle I can search, though it could be more efficient.

I think for ebook readers to really hit it big, they need to get a good textbook reader going. That will get the technology into enough hands to normalize it. However, to be successful at that we need a larger screen and likely color with better search and annotation features than we see now. Iliad appears to be trying to get there but still has a way to go. It's a bit counterintuitive because it would seem cheaper, consumer-oriented readers would broaden the market but I think the big jump will happen when schools start using them. Of course, by then the screen prices may have gone down enough where the prices won't be too bad.

sonnyred · 01-11-2008, 05:14 PM

Yeah, I love reading Sci-fi, fantasy and thrillers, which is the reason I'll be importing a 505. But I also love reading non-fiction History, Science and War books. I've come to the conclusion that I'll probably just be reading the fiction books on my 505 as the non-fiction seems to be mainly PDF's which don't do to well because of the screen size of the current readers. 'A History of Britain' is a book I'd be interested in purchasing but books like these just don't seem available in e-book format. At least I know that before I purchase the 505 so I can't moan about it. Maybe for the future.

01-04-2008, 07:35 PM	#1
shousa Groupie Posts: 181 Karma: 232 Join Date: May 2006	What weaknesses are there? In other words in the context of your own ebook reader when is it not useful, when do you need to read from an actual paper based book because what you wanted to read was not available? Percentage wise how how much do you find this occurs for you personally? You may wish to point out (or not) what books interest you.

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01-05-2008, 04:19 AM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Most of the current batch of eBook readers are intended for reading cover-to-cover fiction. They are not at all good for reference books, where you generally want to flip through it at random or search for specific items.

01-07-2008, 09:50 AM	#4
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,300 Karma: 145488788 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	I still do read paper based books. But that is becoming more and more scarce around here. What I do is go find books in electronic format I want to read. But overall, it's good. I read mostly with my 505. I still have a backlog of paper books I want to read. I just have to gather them all together. But when I do start back into my stack of paper books, I'll just lay the 505 aside and go at the paper books.

01-11-2008, 05:14 PM	#6
sonnyred Member Posts: 19 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2008 Device: laptop	Yeah, I love reading Sci-fi, fantasy and thrillers, which is the reason I'll be importing a 505. But I also love reading non-fiction History, Science and War books. I've come to the conclusion that I'll probably just be reading the fiction books on my 505 as the non-fiction seems to be mainly PDF's which don't do to well because of the screen size of the current readers. 'A History of Britain' is a book I'd be interested in purchasing but books like these just don't seem available in e-book format. At least I know that before I purchase the 505 so I can't moan about it. Maybe for the future.

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