E-Reader Ownership Outpacing Tablets

[elcreative]

Got to love the multi-function evangelists, they try so hard... but why, if this is the way to go, it'll just happen... but for a lot of us, it isn't the way to go and this is because multi-function FAILS to meet our needs... good for the MF preachers as long as they're happy but have you ever wondered why some of us could care less about this idea of progress...

One simple example, I like my eInk reader as it's the right size to fit in a pocket and goes everywhere with me so I can read anytime, any place whenever I have a few moments to spare. My 10" Android tablet will let me read but it's too big for easy portability all the time, I don't like reading a lot from LCD and that isn't why I got the tablet. I use it for comics, tech pdfs, the odd game, web browsing, email collection, note taking etc... all things I might want to do when my main computer isn't available, things which work really well on a 10" screen but none of which I want on a 6" eInk screen - that's for recreational reading...

Now you may be unable to distinguish between a 6" eInk screen, a 10" tablet and a desktop display but I can and whilst everything can be done on the desktop, it's not the optimum experience for me for everything, same with tablet and eReader... I WANT dedicated tools to do the things I want really well... I know that you can increasingly go multi-function but I don't want to because this is not an ideal and comfortable way for me to do things...

[Elfwreck]

I suspect the "multifunction everything device" isn't going to claim substantially more market share until we've got adjustable screen sizes, with foldable-with-frames screens of some kind.

Ideal size for a phone is *not* ideal size for a web browser, much less word processor; ideal size for reading is between those, and the clash between portability & best display is going to continue until/unless someone invents a screen that's 4" when you're reading on a crowded train and jumps to 10" when you want to read magazines or make annotations.

[Namekuseijin]

oh, I certainly love portability as everyone else, which is why is my smartphone is always with me. Jack of all trades, master of none? I don't care, it's good enough for a pocket device. It's frigging unbelievable that I can take a photo, edit some properties and then send to all my family on the fly while when I was a kid photos were reserved for special events, would take a few days to be developed in a shop, retrieved and then shown people when they came to our house... and even being a cheap camera it allows for crisper, non-degrading photos than those antiques! The very same device I also use to check news, comment in forums like this, download and read ebooks (even on bed without lights), listen to music (good quality, equalizer and all)... it's scifi come true. oh, and phone, obviously...

7" is the max to me were I ever to get a tablet and lose some portability. It looks just sad to see people taking pictures with the iPad...

[Dulin's Books]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

until/unless someone invents a screen that's 4" when you're reading on a crowded train and jumps to 10" when you want to read magazines or make annotations.

[JAcheson]

Originally Posted by bhartman36

Exactly.

I have two Android touchscreen devices, and the problem I run into with both of them is that I hit one part of the keyboard, and it registers a keypress on an adjacent key. And screen calibration only helps so much.

For tablets to be useful, the keyboards need to be large, and the calibration needs to be spot on.

My Nook Color is good enough, but there is still room for improvement.

I just got a Nook Simple Touch, though, and it is amazingly precise.

[elcreative]

Originally Posted by Namekuseijin

oh, I certainly love portability as everyone else, which is why is my smartphone is always with me. Jack of all trades, master of none? I don't care, it's good enough for a pocket device. It's frigging unbelievable that I can take a photo, edit some properties and then send to all my family on the fly while when I was a kid photos were reserved for special events, would take a few days to be developed in a shop, retrieved and then shown people when they came to our house... and even being a cheap camera it allows for crisper, non-degrading photos than those antiques! The very same device I also use to check news, comment in forums like this, download and read ebooks (even on bed without lights), listen to music (good quality, equalizer and all)... it's scifi come true. oh, and phone, obviously...

7" is the max to me were I ever to get a tablet and lose some portability. It looks just sad to see people taking pictures with the iPad...

I don't have a smartphone, I don't want a smartphone, I certainly don't want to read on a smartphone, I have a small camera that has far more functionality than a smartphone and offers more options to take a better picture (and for serious photo work then I use a DSLR), I spend too much time on the net anyway so don't need a smartphone to spend even more (there's a real world out there that doesn't rely on being permanently connected to the net), I can even go for whole hours without d/ling a book (I'll settle for the thousands on my eReader until I feel like getting something new) and I have a phone that makes phone calls and doesn't have battery life crucified by being a jack-of-all-trades... oh, for music I have nice compact player with decent (noise-killer) headphones... and a 7" tablet would be pointless for my needs... each to his own so why the need to tell everybody that they are going to have to settle for a multi-function device that doesn't meet their requirements. Fine if it meets yours but why keep putting down other people's requirements as some how inferior... there IS more than one way!

Dulin's books: When a flex screen device reaches the market then I'll be interested but they've been showing these concept screens for years (first saw a b&w one on Tomorrows World program many years ago) but still not on general sale... wish they were...

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by Dulin's Books

Yep, that's what I'm thinking it'll take. Do those exist yet, or are they still vaporware? The Readius was announced for a long time and then abandoned.

It also won't matter if the final version costs more than an iPad; no $600 device is going to replace the Kindle or Sony Pocket Edition. The multifunction device can only beat out the narrow-focus version if the price is similar; the market for the single-use version won't pay for a swarm of features they don't care about.

They'll pay a little extra for a few features, but not triple-or-more for a handful of features they'd like (but wouldn't miss if they didn't have them) and a hundred features they'll never use.

[Dulin's Books]

Readius was not abandoned really.

the device was in pre-production testing when they did have some difficulties not of their own making. It took some time to recover from those difficulties and of course the orginal readius was 2 years old by that point. but they kept working and the company is now a subsidiary of Wistron. that 6 inch rollable display video was just released in May. They are continuing to work on a new device. the picture was part of a presentation given at SID in June. you can see the powerpoint on their website.

of course good color is still a ways off yet but that video shows a b+w production ready display .

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by Dulin's Books

RThey are continuing to work on a new device. the picture was part of a presentation given at SID in June. you can see the powerpoint on their website.
of course good color is still a ways off yet but that video shows a b+w production ready display .

Good color is mostly irrelevant to ebooks. (Kindle's doing fine with B&W only sales.) Good ebook support and 8 colors would be plenty to allow the few charts and such that just don't work for B&W.

The question is: can you buy one yet? When will people be able to buy one, and how much will it cost?

It doesn't matter if prototype technology exists; multiformat devices won't squeeze out single-focus devices based on how good the prototypes are. I understand the Readius wasn't so much "cancelled" as "shelved indefinitely, and parts of that tech incorporated into other projects," but that doesn't matter. The problem isn't that "such a screen can't be made;" it's that so far, nobody's made it commercially viable.

[sabredog]

A smartphone moment in time yesterday....

Dragged out my iphone for a bit of reading whilst waiting for the train home.

Fire up Stanza and get stuck into a Edgar Rice Burroughs omnibus gained free from Mobileread.

Five minutes of reading....enjoyable....

Minute 6 - SMS
Minute 7 - appointment reminder pop up
Minute 8 - eBay notification pop up
Minute 11 - email notification bleep
Minute 14 - incoming phone call from lady wife...

All the while, whilst going through the motions, that Angry Birds icon calling me.

Now if I had one of my readers in my work bag, I would STILL enjoying uninterrupted reading and not dismissing distracting pop-ups and sliding the answer call slider (well I would have got the phone out for that call!)

[Namekuseijin]

elcreative, this mythical real world I keep reading about, I'm not sure it's more than mere legend...

By any chance, do you look like this?



I prefer just one in my pocket, thank you...

sabredog, sorry hear about your spam and the lack of a notification area on iOS, having to resort to annoying popups. Does it at least got a handy airplane mode to shut off all networking?

[elcreative]

Ha, ha... if we're getting personal, I'm surprised your "all-in-one, multi-purpose marvel" isn't surgically implanted with a direct feed to your retinas... why can't you simply accept that "your" way isn't what everybody wants... and what the hell is "this mythical world" you talk about... laughing and deriding other peoples' choices is rather juvenile just like wasting time to dig up the image you posted...

[odiakkoh]

I like all in one devices just because its handy but i do prefer dedicated devices. My smart phone is a nice backup to my camera, ereader, gps that i dont have, etc. I would hate if dedicated ereaders ceased to exist.

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by Namekuseijin

sabredog, sorry hear about your spam and the lack of a notification area on iOS, having to resort to annoying popups. Does it at least got a handy airplane mode to shut off all networking?

Certainly does and once at home the bedside table drawer serves the same function.

[vxf]

Originally Posted by bhartman36

Well, yes. You're touching a flat surface with the tablet, too. The difference would be that this flat surface would be larger and the response more accurate.

I had a friend give me that a long while ago. I used it for a while then... ahm... misplaced it

Well, I actually think I left it in a my summer house in Italy... hopefully I will be able to get it back soon.

It's a nifty gadget. The advantage is that you can get a full size keyboard projected. In other words, portability. But it's awkward typing, despite the audio feedback. Battery life is also problematic.

But it works, after a bit of calibration. I used it for my iPad for a while, but eventually concluded that a cover with a built in keyboard was much less awkward.