eReader Survey

[MikeOnyx]

Hi everyone,

Onyx takes value in the opinion of you guys and would like for you to help us in designing your perfect device. Please let us know in detail what it is. Thank you.

Please list these features like below:
1. appearance
2. Functions
3. Specifications
4. Colors
5. other

[Sweetpea]

Here goes:

For a general novel reading device:

1. appearance
Sleek, no huge bezel, just enough to be able to hold comfortably without touch the screen (about 1cm should do it). The room underneath the screen can be a bit larger, but the other three margins should be the same size. Page buttons on the left side, right side and bottom bezel of the device. Reason for that: if I turn in bed, I shouldn't have to reach to the other size of the device to turn a page.

2. Functions
At least good support for epub, pdf and mobipocket (DRM not required, I'll strip that anyway )
The ability to highlight and maybe annotate for at least the formats I mentioned above.
The ability to chose font and fontsize (with enough steps) for at least the formats I mentioned above.

3. Specifications
Touchscreen, with at least the possibility to use a stylus.
5" or 6".
SDHC-card slot
light-weight

4. Colors
I presume you mean the colour of the device here. Black.

5. other
The use of a PixelQi* screen would be perfect as I prefer backlit devices.

------------------------

For a more general device, used for studying, and general work and/or hobby-related functions:

1. appearance
Small bezel, at least on the left, right and top size. Bottom bezel can be larger, but not huge. Preferably all 4 the same, small, size.

2. Functions
At least good support for epub, pdf and mobipocket (DRM not required, I'll strip that anyway )
The ability to highlight and annotate for at least the formats I mentioned above.
The ability to chose font and fontsize (with enough steps) for at least the formats I mentioned above.
The ability to make "new documents", so I can make notes. These documents should be saved, preferably in text format (though that'll require handwriting recognition), but some image format would be fine too, as long as I can open it again and continue on the same document.
There should be a browser

3. Specifications
Touchscreen, with at least the possibility to use a stylus.
Larger than 9" screen, preferably 11".
WiFi.
A PixelQi* screen
SDHC-card slot

4. Colors
Again, I presume the colour of the device: Black or silver, or a combination.

5. other
I'd take this device with me to meetings and such, so it should have a sturdy cover. Also, I'd love such a device as a cookbook in my kitchen, so a watertight container would be nice to have as well.



* with a PixelQi screen, I mean a screen that has two modii. One that is easy to read in daylight and saves battery, one that is easy to read in dark surroundings, which requires a backlit screen. A general transflective screen would work as well.

[LDBoblo]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Here goes:
---SNIP---
* with a PixelQi screen, I mean a screen that has two modii. One that is easy to read in daylight and saves battery, one that is easy to read in dark surroundings, which requires a backlit screen. A general transflective screen would work as well.

I'm not going to write out my personal criteria, but I'll agree that a Pixel Qi or other screen would be nice, as I want the speed very badly. Just make an iPad with Pixel Qi, and I'll provide my first born along with the cash.

[John F]

My primary purposes for an eReader is for "novels", so I want a device that maximizes that experience.

Large page forward buttons on both left and right sides, toward the lower half.

Good customizable reading software. Should be able to choose font with any point size, margins, line spacing, spacing between paragraphs, ...

I think an 8" device would be my sweet spot for size, and nothing smaller than six inches.

Folders, card slot.

The higher the resolution of the display the better.

[boydcarts]

Sweetpea pretty much nailed it for me with two exceptions, touch screen and backlit display. I'm ambivalent at best when it comes to a touch screen. It would never be at the top of my "wishlist" for features, and if not implemented well, could actually be a point against a reader. For example,(in my opinion) the screens on the Sony 700 and 600 are not as sharp or "contrasty" as the screen on the Sony 505. This has been enough to prevent me from buying the "Daily" reader. If a touch screen could be as good or better than that of a Sony 505 I'd be open to the idea. I feel the same way about backlighting. I have no problems with the display on my 505, and all of the books I read for the last 40 years required a light to read at night, so I personally have no strong need for backlighting. Again though, if it's done well (i.e good battery life and no eyestrain from extended reading) it wouldn't prevent me from buying a reader.
One last thing. I want a reader to read, so that's all I want it to do. I don't need it to be a phone, a camera, or a gps. I don't want to get on the internet, check my email, do my banking, or watch video. I want a dedicated device that lets me read comfortably and easily.
And as for the question of a color screen, see my thoughts on touchscreen and backlighting above.

[sony_fox]

Prime importance - absolute top - is USABILITY.

This device has to be comfortable to hold, and sensible and intuative to use. No reaching or stretching or changing hand position to press button, no endless menu options, I want something that I can pick up and read for hours without fuss. It has to be robust, and longlasting.

Other useful things, Helpful, available tech support, full manuals, reasonable software that sorts sensibly etc

Only after that do I care about looks, brand, colour and fancy features or whatever .

I don't want touchscreen. Particularly not if it comes at a cost of screen readability. Ditto wireless or 3G. (but if you can make internet proxy so it can buy without geo restrictions I'll reconsider )

One last thing. I want a reader to read, so that's all I want it to do. I don't need it to be a phone, a camera, or a gps. I don't want to get on the internet, check my email, do my banking, or watch video. I want a dedicated device that lets me read comfortably and easily.

+lots.

[LDBoblo]

Perhaps a moldable UI that lets users selectively prune down the functionality of their devices. That way the folks who so vocally "don't need" things can be satisfied without crippling the device for the rest of the market.

Just make it fast, or high quality, or if you're really audacious, a combination of the two. Any of those would be a nice breath of fresh air for dedicated ebook readers.

[ShellShock]

Originally Posted by boydcarts

Sweetpea pretty much nailed it for me with two exceptions, touch screen and backlit display. I'm ambivalent at best when it comes to a touch screen. It would never be at the top of my "wishlist" for features, and if not implemented well, could actually be a point against a reader. For example,(in my opinion) the screens on the Sony 700 and 600 are not as sharp or "contrasty" as the screen on the Sony 505. This has been enough to prevent me from buying the "Daily" reader. If a touch screen could be as good or better than that of a Sony 505 I'd be open to the idea. I feel the same way about backlighting. I have no problems with the display on my 505, and all of the books I read for the last 40 years required a light to read at night, so I personally have no strong need for backlighting. Again though, if it's done well (i.e good battery life and no eyestrain from extended reading) it wouldn't prevent me from buying a reader.
One last thing. I want a reader to read, so that's all I want it to do. I don't need it to be a phone, a camera, or a gps. I don't want to get on the internet, check my email, do my banking, or watch video. I want a dedicated device that lets me read comfortably and easily.
And as for the question of a color screen, see my thoughts on touchscreen and backlighting above.

Rather than paraphrase all this, I thought I would quote it entirely, and I agree with all these points! So that is at least two votes for:

Screen at least as good as PRS505.
No backlight.
No phone, camera, gps, kitchen sink.
Good epub support (justification etc).

[Desertway]

1. appearance
No wasted space, small bezel on three sides, small keyboard on bottom. Sleek, simple, not fussy, single color frame.

2. Functions
Epub (DRM for library support and bookstores), pdf, mobi, eReader (DRM if continued by B&N), TXT, RTF, HTML. The ability to name bookmarks, search in every format, dictionary, and annotation. Ability to organize by folders or collections or tags. On device font and font size selection, as well as justification and margin adjustment.

3. Specifications
5-6 inches. Lightweight. No touchscreen, no wireless. SD slot. Page turn buttons on right, left, bottom. BACKLIGHT! If no backlight, then an optional reading light designed for the device, something that lights the whole screen evenly and clips properly and unobtrusively without a cover. (See all the "booklight" threads on this site.)

4. Colors
Black and white. Maybe a couple of covers in different colors for those who like them.

5. other
No apps, or anything that would distract from reading. I prefer the eBook experience to be all about the content of the book. The device serves the content, it is not a gadget to play with, or hack. We have plenty of other devices for that. The only exception might be a software component for RSS aggregation and syncing.

[JSWolf]

One thing many people leave out when designing a reader is something that is very important and NONE of the readers have....

What we really need big time is PROPER HYPHENATION SUPPORT so fully justified text looks good.

Without it, you are no better then the other guy.

[MikeOnyx]

These are great suggestions. However another question would be, realistically, how much are you willing to pay for such a device or like to see the retail price of the device to be?

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

One thing many people leave out when designing a reader is something that is very important and NONE of the readers have....

What we really need big time is PROPER HYPHENATION SUPPORT so fully justified text looks good.

Without it, you are no better then the other guy.

I have absolutely no problem with the current hyphenation support...

Originally Posted by MikeOnyx

These are great suggestions. However another question would be, realistically, how much are you willing to pay for such a device or like to see the retail price of the device to be?

For the smaller device: between €200 and €300, the larger between €400 and €500.


Oh, and I also agree with ShellShock, it should be a reader with no gadgets added that do nothing to improve the reading quality.

[nikkers]

as per sweetpea except on size 4'' would me more comfertable qne handed

[rtype]

I use my reader (sony 505) for novels, main improvements I would upgrade for would be:

1. larger screen about 7" I think would be perfect
2. speed instant page refreshes would be a big attraction
3. ergonomics, easy to hold without hitting buttons by accident, but still easy to hit something to change the page.
4. font and line-spacing adjustable , my niece has dyslexia and this would be a big help to her.

I don't need or want a backlight, touch screen (that diminishes the readability of the screen)
I don't really want to pay for but would take at minimal cost:
3g
wifi , which would be nice with a stanza like ability to download books

I'm not going to upgrade to anything costing more than $200

[Jellby]

1. Appearance. Something simple, no fancy design. Big screen (in relation to the device size) with minimal frame and case. But easy to hold with one hand and press the buttons.

2. Functions. High degree of configurability. Allow the user to set a custom CSS sheet (with margins, fonts, etc.), portrait or landscape orientation, optional status bar, arbitrary zoom factor, auto-scale images to fit the screen (optional too), dictionary lookup, annotations (even if it's only select a word and mark it with a sign). Full ePUB support with multilevel table of contens, smallcaps, headers/footers, SVG... Decent PDF support with antialiasing, hyperlinks (intra-document), two-column reading, etc. Possibility of turning the device off, but leaving something in the screen (a picture, a map, a checklist...)

3. Specifications. I'm very happy with my Cybook Gen3, so that would be pretty much my choice. Faster processor, more memory, support for SDHC, or even USB drives.

4. Colors. Something dark (black or dark gray), something light (white or light gray), no need for more colous, but have some nice skins available

5. Other. Frequent software ugrades, possibility of additional apps, even user-contributed.