You'd Be A Fool To Buy An eReader Now, Says Fox News

[kacir]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

For years now, none of the ereaders have had firmware that can cope with a reader loaded to capacity with ebooks.

You are not looking hard enough.
Have a look at PocketBook readers, for example. They support hierarchical folders and do not choke on *many* thousands of book files. And they support huge numbers of file formats, so you do not have to convert ...

[Ken Maltby]

The Fox News page about ereaders was number three of ten different tech gadgets
that have some newer or improved products due to hit the market soon. Not everyone
has been following the field as much as MR readers, and providing a "heads up" is not
a bad thing, for those not in the know. Many who don't have the temperament or take
the time to research the devices, to be successful "early adopters", would probably
benefit from such an article.

While I am happy with my ASUS EEE Pad Transformer, it would have been nice to know
that the "Prime" version was just around the corner. It might have made a difference.

Again the article was directed at 10 technologies not just ereaders.

As far as the moderators doing anything about Fox bashing, you haven't been paying
attention. That's never going to happen, here.

Luck;
Ken

[Rob Lister]

Nothing in the original link tells me why I should wait. In fact, the text for the eReader is

eReaders

There are several great eReader options on the market right now, from the tablet-like Amazon Kindle Fire to the E Ink-powered Nook Simple Touch. However, as strong as the eReader offerings are today, they're about to get much better. Barnes & Noble just released its Simple Touch with GlowLight and rumor has it that Amazon is set to release its own backlit E Ink-based Kindle this summer

Glowlight is a neat feature, but not 'much' better. But if it was something I really wanted, I could get it today...I'd be a fool to wait.

I visited the B&N store and looked at it. I could not justify the price based simply on the new ability to not annoy my wife when reading in bed. Besides, annoying her is part of what makes like worth living.

I can't really imagine what new feature they could come up with that would make me want to wait (in a world where I didn't already have one). It does everything I want it to do now, reading-wise, and most of what I want it do do operation-wise. Those few things it doesn't do appear to be by design, such as wifi connection to non-BN servers.

It could be lighter in weight, but it is already lighter than most paper books I read. It could be flexible, but I don't much need or care about that.

It really is practically perfect.

Perhaps if it read my mind and as I approached the end of the current book it went out to the internet and retrieved the next best book in the world. It would just 'know' what that book was, without me having to tell it. That would be cool.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by cassidym

Because great new ones are coming out. Details here http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/slide...t-now/#slide=3

There's always going to be something better right around the corner.

I almost ordered a battery for my Sony 505 yesterday, but may go with something like the nook glo-bug or some such...

[Zetmolm]

Originally Posted by kacir

You are not looking hard enough.
Have a look at PocketBook readers, for example. They support hierarchical folders and do not choke on *many* thousands of book files. And they support huge numbers of file formats, so you do not have to convert ...

Same applies to Onyx readers. And the new model with flexible screen is just around the corner.

[elemenoP]

So tell me, what types of gadgets did NOT make the list?

eP

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by kacir

You are not looking hard enough.
Have a look at PocketBook readers, for example. They support hierarchical folders and do not choke on *many* thousands of book files. And they support huge numbers of file formats, so you do not have to convert ...

PocketBook is high on my list of potential next ereaders. (How many of those file formats do they actually *support,* as opposed to "open?" My PEZ was a disappointment in that area; while it opens doc, html and txt files, it botches the formatting and adds hyphens and unhyphenated word breaks.)

I stand by my statement. A folder structure that holds thousands of files and is not tagged or searchable is unwieldy.

4gb of ebooks at roughly .333 mb each is 12,000 ebooks. If the person collects short stories or blog feeds as ebooks, it's even more. The issue isn't with creating a structure that allows you to find a particular book--it's creating a structure that allows you to *browse* the collection. Ebook reader software has been almost entirely set up to mimic the "bedside shelf" rather than one's entire library.

Say someone downloaded "all the epubs from Project Gutenberg" onto a card. That's 36,000 ebooks: should be around 12gb. Certainly within range of a single 32 gb card. How can they be arranged so that the reader can browse through the collection and find something to read that fits their mood of the moment? Are tags supported? Search functions? Bookshelf lists? (Do books show up as title-and-author, or as filename?)

(Hm, complete Gutenberg download collection, sorted & tagged... there's a project for some nice digital librarian group.)

[Belfaborac]

I don't tag anything for the sake of browsing my collection, I just create the folder structure: eBooks > Genres > Authors. Can't really think of anything which might make browsing a large collection any easier than that. Of course I only know the Sony readers and use PRS+, so I've no idea how easy it is to do on other readers.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by MikeOxlittle

The real fools are anyone who gets their news from Fox.

I get my News from Jon Stewart.
Apache

[GlenBarrington]

Originally Posted by Shack70

I can't believe anyone listens to what Fox News has to say

I knew you were going to say this, but For GOD'S Sake, give it a rest! Can't you find some political forum with which to lecture us?

[Skydog]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

As far as the moderators doing anything about Fox bashing, you haven't been paying
attention. That's never going to happen, here.

Luck;
Ken

Ken, I couldn't agree with you more.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by Belfaborac

I don't tag anything for the sake of browsing my collection, I just create the folder structure: eBooks > Genres > Authors.

Right now, I'm in the middle of an ebook about an interstellar ambulance service--they show up after battles or disasters (sometimes not quite after) and help the survivors, providing medical care and transportation to safer areas.

Genre: Science fiction.

The main characters are named Kirk and Spock. (It's an alternate universe story.)

Genre: Fanfic/Star Trek

I'd have to decide which category to place it in. (Right now, I'm using a Sony 505 without PRS+ and I don't deal with the software for tags.)

Can't really think of anything which might make browsing a large collection any easier than that. Of course I only know the Sony readers and use PRS+, so I've no idea how easy it is to do on other readers.

What would make browsing a large collection easier is software designed for a library.

Gutenberg has "bookshelves," and the same book can appear on several shelves. Software that sorted by filesize or, better, word count would be useful when I want something short enough to read on my lunch hour. Other sorting or filtering methods I'd love to see:

• Multi-genre tags, so books would show up under *each* genre, rather than having to be put in a folder of only one.
• Sort by date uploaded (the Sony does this)
• Sort by most-recently-opened (the PEZ does this)
• Publisher and/or site purchased/received from
• Tag for fiction/nonfic
• Sorting out books/blog feeds/journal articles/selfmade docs (as opposed to selfmade books).
• Text vs scan vs picture-based (comics, scanned PDFS)
• Keyword search/sort for nonfiction, esp. textbooks

I can think of plenty of features for library software that no ereader company seems interested in developing.

I think I'd buy an iPad just for library use, if someone made a good app with all those features. (And it read multiple ebook types. I'm not interested in converting my library of journal articles to ePub.)

[wizwor]

The slideshow is right on. There will be a lot of new products out this fall. If you can wait for them to arrive, you can save a bundle on the older technology. Sometimes you can get the new technology for cheap too. I remember when WinME launched. $90 for a copy and you got a digital camera, memory, and a hard drive for cheap or free after rebate.

Shouldn't really need a newsfeed to figure this out, though.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Sounds like the Onyx A62. (LG flexible screen at 1024x768)

But is the software any good? We've seen too many readers with software that's not all that good (i.e. iRiver Story HD)

[garrybuck]

The "don't buy it now" reasoning could be applied to people who don't own e-readers and only read pbooks; don't buy that pbook NOW, wait a few months and a different one will be available. sheesh.....