Report on new firmware?

[Abelturd]

Originally Posted by Ortep

I don't see the difference. Both are single purpose devices. One is for listening to music. The other is for reading a book. In both cases you will have to select an artist/author or an album/book. Even the control elements are about the same. Who cares how it is done as long as you get the result you want.

Perhaps, but the potential of MP3 players seems pretty much exhausted to me, while I can't say the same about liseuses.

[gerraldo]

Originally Posted by Abelturd

Apples and oranges? There are big differences between respective mp3 players as to the user interface and control elements, not to mention that the display is usually very small and the UI limited. It's a single purpose device. Nobody needs to write apps for them (you might object about ipod touch, but that's more of a pda).

I think eReaders are very comparable to MP3/PMP players. In terms of functionality and limitations with just a bigger display for an eReader, but otherwise... Having just said that, some eReader manufacturers would be well advised to very closely look at the top MP3/PMP players - there are some lessons to be learned.

On the other hand, we'll see new multi-purpose devices in the (near) future. Look for the Archos 9 Tablet which will come in Q4 this year - an Internet tablet running Windows 7 with a starting price of said $ 450,--!

Who needs enhanced multi-purpose eReaders running Android or the like, if I can have a full-blown computer with Win7 and a 9" touchscreen like the Archos?!

There surely is a market for dedicated eReaders, but the prices need to drop significantly - under $100,-- - to be commonly used by a bigger audience. And multi-purpose devices like the Archos Net-Tablet leave a very small niche (if any) for eReaders with additional features, but the future will tell...

(just my 2 cents)

[Abelturd]

Originally Posted by Gerraldo

Who needs enhanced multi-purpose eReaders running Android or the like, if I can have a full-blown computer with Win7 and a 9" touchscreen like the Archos?!

I don't want this to look like I'm clutching at straws and defying the overload of counter-arguments.
I also want a liseuse to be foremost a reader, not a multipurpose device. But while all the advantages of an eink reader can be kept, there will still remain huge potential for other useful features.
E.g. Kindle already has a wireless connectivity, why not use it to *READ* your emails on the go (not in present liseuses, that ship already sailed, but in the new generation with 3G)? Or occasionaly *READ* some web page or blog online. Or check and *READ* your schedule and there can me many other applications for eink readers that don't interfere with their qualities that make them great for reading.
And Android was only an example - an impersonation of an open, common platform and impetus for a better standardization.
I, for instance, wouldn't want an Archos; 90% of the time on my computer I spend with reading (emails, blogs, rss feeds, wiki entries etc). I would love to transfer some of that reading to eink screen.

[gerraldo]

Originally Posted by Abelturd

And Android was only an example - an impersonation of an open, common platform and impetus for a better standardization.

I, for instance, wouldn't want an Archos; 90% of the time on my computer I spend with reading (emails, blogs, rss feeds, wiki entries etc). I would love to transfer some of that reading to eink screen.

I agree, an open, common platform for eReaders would be a very good thing, but as lots of readers are build from the same hardware basis, how would they differ and find their OSPs for the customers?! Why buy this and not that device? So at the moment, I think it's only a dream...

The problem is... If I need to spend $250,-- on an eReader and $450,-- on the Archos Net-Tablet, what would an eReader Plus cost? I don't think it'll cost less then $450,--, so... If prices don't drop radically on eInk devices they'll die - simply just because you get so much more for the same price or even less! (And if I say die, I mean "not be of any interest for the mass market"; there are still players available for LPs or MCs etc.)

BTW: Do you really want to surf the Net on a B/W screen with 8 greyscales? And mails, blogs and wiki more and more rely on flash content and the like...

To cut a long story short... I use my CyBook as long as it lasts for eBook reading and I'm happy with it as it's now - don't need no st*nking updates anymore!

For the more advanced stuff (+ PDFs, Comics etc.) I'll buy me an Archos Tablet.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by gerraldo

The problem is... If I need to spend $250,-- on an eReader and $450,-- on the Archos Net-Tablet, what would an eReader Plus cost? I don't think it'll cost less then $450,--, so... If prices don't drop radically on eInk devices they'll die - simply just because you get so much more for the same price or even less! (And if I say die, I mean "not be of any interest for the mass market"; there are still players available for LPs or MCs etc.)

I'm afraid I don't agree with you. I'd say that eBook Readers will never be mass market. Whereas most people listen to music (hence there is a mass market for MP3 players), few people are "serious" readers. The overwhelming majority of my friends never read a book from one year to the next. Given that they are specialist devices, $200-400 is really not a terribly high price. It's iPod price range, and there are plenty of professional people out there for whom that price range is "impulse buy" territory.

To my mind, trying to create a "do everything" device would be a mistake. I really don't want or need a device which can surf the web, play music, and make the tea; I just want a dedicated eBook reader, just as my iPod is a dedicated music player.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by gerraldo

I think eReaders are very comparable to MP3/PMP players. In terms of functionality and limitations with just a bigger display for an eReader, but otherwise... Having just said that, some eReader manufacturers would be well advised to very closely look at the top MP3/PMP players - there are some lessons to be learned.

eReader is the software used to display eReader format eBooks. It's not possible to compare eReader to an mp3 player. Completely different things. eReader doesn't have a display. It's not hardware but software.

[Abelturd]

Originally Posted by gerraldo

as lots of readers are build from the same hardware basis, how would they differ and find their OSPs for the customers?! Why buy this and not that device? So at the moment, I think it's only a dream...

You could ask the same question about mobile phones.
Yes, people keep telling me I'm a dreamer. I wonder why is that?
I rather think of myself as a visionary.

Originally Posted by gerraldo

BTW: Do you really want to surf the Net on a B/W screen with 8 greyscales? And mails, blogs and wiki more and more rely on flash content and the like...

Now putting the fact that eink screens will evolve aside, yes, I really wouldn't mind that. I'm a satisfied user of NoScript, so I don't have to deal with the crap like flash, useless javascript effects and what not, which in most cases only clutter the website and distract you from the important content. Not to mention they're blind-unfriendly.

[Ortep]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

eReader is the software used to display eReader format eBooks. It's not possible to compare eReader to an mp3 player. Completely different things. eReader doesn't have a display. It's not hardware but software.

For me an eReader is a piece of hardware. Like the Cybook and the Illiad. That is why we were also discussing the OS that was running on the hardware and if different versions of the OS were adding to the confusion

[Godzil]

But, do you complain about the software that run on your TV Set? If not, why?

[Abelturd]

Because I *DON'T* watch TV. Ever.

[gerraldo]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

eReader is the software used to display eReader format eBooks. It's not possible to compare eReader to an mp3 player. Completely different things. eReader doesn't have a display. It's not hardware but software.

This is some kind of joke, right?! You forgot to place a smilie...

Using your exact argumentation a MP3 player is the software used to play music files...???

Just an explanation: I compared the hardware eReader-device to the hardware MP3player-device, OK!?

[GeoffC]

i like my mp3 player to ... erm ...play music, my Cybook to allow me to read books - a multi-purpose device does not attract my attention in anyway......as to adding wireless technology (kindle springs to mind and what Amazon does to some content).

[Ortep]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

i like my mp3 player to ... erm ...play music, my Cybook to allow me to read books - a multi-purpose device does not attract my attention in anyway......

Well.....there is some overlap. I use my MP3 player most of the time to 'read' audio books And on my Cybook it is possible to listen to music. But I confess that I've never done the latter

[gerraldo]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I'm afraid I don't agree with you. I'd say that eBook Readers will never be mass market. Whereas most people listen to music (hence there is a mass market for MP3 players), few people are "serious" readers.

If you think of them just as eBook readers, maybe, but think of bigger screens (like Kindle DX), color and newspaper/magazines/comics... I know lots of people (including my 69 year old father) who'd like to have such a device!

Originally Posted by HarryT

To my mind, trying to create a "do everything" device would be a mistake. I really don't want or need a device which can surf the web, play music, and make the tea; I just want a dedicated eBook reader, just as my iPod is a dedicated music player.

Yep, as I've already said: I use my CyBook as long as it lasts for eBook reading and I'm happy with it as it's now - don't need no st*nking updates anymore...

[Greg Anos]

Originally Posted by gerraldo

I think eReaders are very comparable to MP3/PMP players. In terms of funtionality and limitations with just a bigger display for an eReader, but otherwise... Having just said that, some eReader manufacturers would be well advised to very closely look at the top MP3/PMP players - there are some lessons to be learned.

On the other hand, we'll see new multi-purpose devices in the (near) future. Look for the Archos 9 Tablet which will come in Q4 this year - an Internet tablet running Windows 7 with a starting price of said $ 450,--!

Who needs enhanced multi-purpose eReaders running Android or the like, if I can have a full-blown computer with Win7 and a 9" touchscreen like the Archos?!

There surely is a market for dedicated eReaders, but the prices need to drop significantly - under $100,-- - to be commonly used by a bigger audience. And multi-purpose devices like the Archos Net-Tablet leave a very small niche (if any) for eReaders with additional features, but the future will tell...

(just my 2 cents)

It can't be a full-blown computer without a keyboard. 3/4 of a computer yes, but not a full one. After all, I'm typing this response. Can't do it without a keyboard.