Do we need more or less features in ebook readers?

[Tacty]

well...it seems to me that people are setting expectations too high regarding features in ebook readers (ebr). or some of them are just spoiled brats. every day people are putting pressure into makers of ebr to put more and more new features and functions into its own ebr's and the end result is what: endless stream of bugs and disappointment. dictionaries, notes, annotations, chapters, browser, chess, games, i want 1500 fonts, and 2.400 various settings for them and yada, yada, yada...lets' face it: ebr's are weak devices in terms of combination of hardware processor, software and eink technology. demanding too much is not doing anyone favour.

what did you think? should we all slow down a bit and get devices which wont be freezing daily because we are asking to much?

[Apache]

All I want in an ereader is the ability to easily read my books. Ti store as many books as I want and the ability to easily search for specific books. Oh, and a nice dictionary.
Apache

In the case of Kobo, a lot of the features seem to be related to marketing. That is mostly true from the perspective of their shopping features. That is probably true from the perspective of the social networking features.

When it comes down to reading related features though, I believe that we should be asking for more. The current slate of features is fine for people who have small collections of fiction, but doesn't fare so well for people with large collections or who read a lot of non-fiction. Bugs aside, it isn't too much to expect of readers either. Even though the combination of processor, memory, and eink may sound weak we used to do a lot more with computers that offered a tiny fraction of the power. Remember, books are about static text and pictures on a page. Slicing, dicing, mincing, wincing, and all of that other stuff can be readily handled in background processes. User interface elements don't consume much either since eink necessarily limits the processing power and memory requirements (fewer pixels, fewer bits per pixel, and limited options for animation or decoration due to einks limitations).

Yes, we should demand that the bugs be fixed. We should also demand new and relevant features. These are, after all, devices that they expect us to dump our hard earned cash into. If they want us to continue doing so, they should invest in developing them further rather than neglecting them in preference of their store-fronts.

In the case of Kobo, a lot of the features seem to be related to marketing. That is mostly true from the perspective of their shopping features. That is probably true from the perspective of the social networking features.

When it comes down to reading related features though, I believe that we should be asking for more. The current slate of features is fine for people who have small collections of fiction, but doesn't fare so well for people with large collections or who read a lot of non-fiction. Bugs aside, it isn't too much to expect of readers either. Even though the combination of processor, memory, and eink may sound weak we used to do a lot more with computers that offered a tiny fraction of the power. Remember, books are about static text and pictures on a page. Slicing, dicing, mincing, wincing, and all of that other stuff can be readily handled in background processes. User interface elements don't consume much either since eink necessarily limits the processing power and memory requirements (fewer pixels, fewer bits per pixel, and limited options for animation or decoration due to einks limitations).

Yes, we should demand that the bugs be fixed. We should also demand new and relevant features. These are, after all, devices that they expect us to dump our hard earned cash into. If they want us to continue doing so, they should invest in developing them further rather than neglecting them in preference of their store-fronts.

[dakini]

Originally Posted by Apache

All I want in an ereader is the ability to easily read my books. Ti store as many books as I want and the ability to easily search for specific books. Oh, and a nice dictionary.
Apache

same here.

i don't want to be distracted with the web, video, games, email, facebook, etc. i already have a phone that can do that.

when i pick up the ereader, i'd like to get lost in a book, be able to change fonts and margins, and have the option to look up words in the dictionary.

[HarryT]

I'm extremely satisfied with the Kindle. Extremely stable (it's never crashed). Does exactly what I want. Excellent dictionaries. Great bookstore. When I'm reading I don't want to be distracted with e-mail, web browsing, etc. If I want that, I'll use my iPad.

[4691mls]

I'm happy with my Sony PRS-T1. Has several fonts, several dictionaries, and enough Web capability that I can download library books.

The only thing I would add would be a Latin dictionary - never had the opportunity to study it in school, and some authors throw in Latin terms and I wish I knew what they meant.

If I wanted games, videos, etc. I would buy a tablet.

[Grishka]

Text, simplicity, little options... That's all I need. Love my kindle ^^

[ucfgrad93]

Originally Posted by dakini

same here.

i don't want to be distracted with the web, video, games, email, facebook, etc. i already have a phone that can do that.

when i pick up the ereader, i'd like to get lost in a book, be able to change fonts and margins, and have the option to look up words in the dictionary.

Same with me. When I pick up my Kindle, all I want to do is read.

[silverraven]

I agree with "simple is best" too! I love my Kindle nt/Sony T1/Nook Simple Touch. (Yes, I have all three, I have a problem, I know! ) I can change the font and size. That is all I need to do. I don't want to play games/check email/surf internet. I just want to get lost in a book.
Oh, I will add though, I do like buttons on each side like the Kindle NT. I wish even on the touch screens they would add that option. Other than that, Keep It Simple Stupid!!
S

[Corkobo]

Hmmm, while I will readily agree with some of the items in your "don't want this" list (i.e. games, browsers) I will have to disagree with the others.

Notes, annotations and dictionaries are not personally important to me but I can see how they could be very valuable for people who read a lot of non fiction and respectively for people who read books in a foreign language.
When it comes to page numbers, chapter support, font support and especially font size support, these are important to me.
So I'm all for asking the manufacturers to improve things.

I'm not sure that we, the public, are so guilty as putting pressure on the manufacturers as you seem to suggest. They do what they do because (and when) they can and because (and when) they think it will give them a competitive advantage.

They know (for the most part) what they are doing. The (current) big three have dropped MP3 support as they probably discovered it was not a key feature. However, they implemented the integrated light (in the Glow, Glo and Paperwhite) because their research probably indicated it was a key feature, desired by many and relatively cheap to do. I always wanted something like this (but never asked, I mean how do you ask?) so when it appeared I bought a new e-reader.

It think that the main way for us (the public) to influence the manufactures is to vote with our wallets. As long as the device that sells is the one with the best balance between useful features, reliability and cost the manufactures will continue to focus on these things.
I think that us, here, in this Forum (and maybe other Forums) posting about the changes and additions we would like to have in our e-readers does not put pressure on the manufactures. These posts are here if they care to read them and get a free (though unmanaged) focus group research. If they don't care, they don't read them.

The e-book readers evolved and improved a lot in just 4-5 years (I'm on my 3rd model). If "picky" customers had something to do with this then I'm all for it.

And I'm not sure that "spoiled brat" is the correct way to describe someone who pays money for a product and wants that product to get better in a future version.

Not everyone is the same and we do not all have the same requirements but, as for me, progress and new features are always a good thing.
And after all, one always has the choice of sticking with the old version of the device.

Long live progress!

[Billi]

I think it's not asking too much if one is asking for features that make use of the digital nature of the ebooks as there are for instance a good search function (in the book itself, in the library), an annotation function that is worth its name (scribble or underline or mark something in the file and copy whole sentences/paragraphs for citation/for use on other devices), an appearance according to one's preferences (fonts, font-size, line-height, margins), a good library management (be it with tags or folders or...), dictionary support...

[jersysman]

If consumers did not demand features and improvements, then for the most part an industry becomes stagnant. It was consumers at the beginning of the computer industry that demanded more and more power from their PCs that gave impetus to manufacturers to push forward in that industry putting more and more power into a smaller and smaller area. It will be these same types of consumers that will push ereader and tablet makes to put more and more power and features into their future offerings.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Billi

I think it's not asking too much if one is asking for features that make use of the digital nature of the ebooks as there are for instance a good search function (in the book itself, in the library), an annotation function that is worth its name (scribble or underline or mark something in the file and copy whole sentences/paragraphs for citation/for use on other devices), an appearance according to one's preferences (fonts, font-size, line-height, margins), a good library management (be it with tags or folders or...), dictionary support...

I agree entirely with you, and that was one of the reasons I switched away from Bookeen (and, as you know, I've had a number of Bookeen devices over the years). Excellent readers, but no search, no annotation, no dictionary ... They just don't let you take advantage of the fact that an eBook is digital data.

[morriss003]

Originally Posted by jersysman

If consumers did not demand features and improvements, then for the most part an industry becomes stagnant. It was consumers at the beginning of the computer industry that demanded more and more power from their PCs that gave impetus to manufacturers to push forward in that industry putting more and more power into a smaller and smaller area. It will be these same types of consumers that will push ereader and tablet makes to put more and more power and features into their future offerings.

I agree and as chips sets and batteries become more powerful and efficient, I see no reason more features cannot be added. The screen on my kindle is easier to read than the screen on my tablet.