Why are dedicated ebooks readers still popular?

[MarjaE]

Also they don't require as much shelf space.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by hollowpoint

Good point. Add that to the reasons I still keep an eink device around. Not only is your typical kindle/kobo lighter than most Android/iOS tablets, they are lighter than most paper books.

Which means it hurts less if you drop one on your foot...

[kandwo]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Add for me the ability to enlarge/decrease fonts and much better contrast when compared to mass market paperbacks with their often tiny and faded text (mass market paperbacks were my main reading medium back then, because I had no money nor enough shelf space for hardcovers). Also the option to search for a word or a phrase. Can't do that with a paper book.

Mobility actually isn't a factor for me, as I only read at home. The light weight and comfy one-handed hold certainly are, however.

I mostly read at home, too. But I've moved a lot in recent years, and not having to haul 5-10 boxes of books is a plus. They are now in storage waiting for me to find something more permanent.

I almost never search for a word within a book, but the couple of times it has happened it has really been a godsend! Still, last time I did that was on my computer long after having read the book (a paper book).

I want to love the highlighting/note taking features, as I imagine it to be really useful somehow, but I've never gotten around to it. I used to do this all the time with physical books - have a separate notepad, where I jotted down interesting words and phrases and my thoughts while reading. Now I can do that right on the page on my Nova 3, and even share and export the notes. But it's just not interesting for some reason.

I guess I'm analogue at heart

[Apache]

I read everywhere. My book goes with me always. If I do not have my book with me my wife thinks something must be wrong..............like Alzheimer's.
I have always done this as long as I can remember. It is much easier with an eBook.
Apache

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Apache

I read everywhere. My book goes with me always. If I do not have my book with me my wife thinks something must be wrong..............like Alzheimer's.
I have always done this as long as I can remember. It is much easier with an eBook.
Apache

Generally when I'm out and about, I have no time to read. So I don't bother lugging books or ereaders along. Plus I need peace and silence to read a book. In public transport, for example, I can read news or articles, but not a novel. And I don't usually spend more than 15-20 minutes in public transport, my city isn't so huge.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Generally when I'm out and about, I have no time to read. So I don't bother lugging books or ereaders along. Plus I need peace and silence to read a book. In public transport, for example, I can read news or articles, but not a novel. And I don't usually spend more than 15-20 minutes in public transport, my city isn't so huge.

When I read I am completely oblivious to my surroundings. I could sit in the middle of a busy highway and read without any problems, as long as a vehicle did not run over me.
If I have 5 minutes free I will pull out my book and start reading.
Apache

[Ripplinger]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Generally when I'm out and about, I have no time to read. So I don't bother lugging books or ereaders along. Plus I need peace and silence to read a book. In public transport, for example, I can read news or articles, but not a novel. And I don't usually spend more than 15-20 minutes in public transport, my city isn't so huge.

That's 15-20 minutes of missed reading to me. Even if it's only 5 minutes standing in line at the Post Office, I pull out my reader. Once I start reading, it blocks out everything around me... and sure beats listening to the chaos around me on public transportation and just sitting there staring at the walls.

[John F]

If I'm stationary for any length of time out in public, I'll try and read. If I'm moving about, I'll listen to music. I just started the music thing when Covid started, and it still feels a little weird out in public.

[binaryhermit]

Honestly, if I were reading while taking the bus home I'd probably end up missing my stop.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Ripplinger

That's 15-20 minutes of missed reading to me. Even if it's only 5 minutes standing in line at the Post Office, I pull out my reader. Once I start reading, it blocks out everything around me... and sure beats listening to the chaos around me on public transportation and just sitting there staring at the walls.

I don't stare at the walls, I read the news or articles on my phone. Besides, I don't want to read fiction all the time. Sometimes I want to read Wikipedia or the like, and my phone is good enough for that.

I don't work full time and have no family living with me, so I have plenty of time and space to read at home. I think that's spoiled me; I no longer want to read novels anywhere else, much less somewhere as uncomfortable as standing in line. And it's not that often I even have to stand in line nowadays, because I don't keep conventional hours.

[hobnail]

Originally Posted by John F

I just started the music thing when Covid started, and it still feels a little weird out in public.

Start dancing to the music, then they'll know you're weird.

[binaryhermit]

Looking at the "similar threads" at the bottom, there are two threads with their last post in 2010 titled "Dedicated E-Readers: They're History"...
So I guess dedicated ereaders have been dead for over 10 years...

[ottischwenk]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Sometimes I want to read Wikipedia or the like, and my phone is good enough for that.

My reader can do that, too.
And my phone is too small (3 inches) for that - I have that (on the road) for making calls and taking quick/emergency photos.

[maddz]

Unfortunately, I get travel sickness if I try to read in a car or bus. A quick glance at a map or directions is OK, but dedicated reading is not on - which is why changing my workplace to London was a boon because I took the train and had a good 45 minutes each way to read. Formerly, it was 45 minutes on the bus...

[Apache]

I was lucky. I grew up reading in a car. My father was military and traveling across the country back before the interstates would take you three days of hard driving. Get up at 4:00 AM travel until about 7:00 AM. Eat breakfast and fill the car with gas. Stop for lunch and gas. Continue to travel until dark. Fill the car with gas, eat and get a motel room. Shower go to bed and start over the next day. After the first year we changed up and traveled at night through the Mojave Desert. No air-conditioning in the car back then.
Reading kept me occupied and made the time go by faster.
Apache