Transbook - Finally a Term For an Ereader that we can all pronounce

[LDBoblo]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

I'm not quite so sure that multi-function devices will overtake dedicated readers the way some think they will, though. It's a nice idea, and sometimes it happens - the smartphone basically ate the PDA - but the computer hasn't done the same to the TV.

People like having TVs where they are easily seen by many people in the room. They prefer having computers where nobody else will see their porn.

[Lemurion]

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

People like having TVs where they are easily seen by many people in the room. They prefer having computers where nobody else will see their porn.

Exactly. Different use cases.

[LDBoblo]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

Exactly. Different use cases.

Last I checked though, portable TVs weren't that popular compared to portable computers.

ebook readers are at that size where it's not small enough to be a specialized device (tiny music player or watch) and it's not big enough to be a specialized device (chair, TV, refrigerator, other "fixed" devices).

Perhaps it'll follow the scientific calculator's road, but I don't know.

[ardeegee]

I want a transformerbook. Not sure what it'd need to transform into when it is not a ebook reader, though. Natalie Portman would probably be asking a bit much of near-term technology...

[wayrad]

Originally Posted by ardeegee

I want a transformerbook. Not sure what it'd need to transform into when it is not a ebook reader, though.

I want one that transforms into something I have a legitimate reason to carry around at work.

[Jack Tingle]

"On Monday, the Kindle 2 will become the first e-reader available globally."

What's this about the Kindle being the first globally available ereader? Sony's Japanese, eh? And they sell to all those Yurpeen folks, don't they? And the screens get made in China, along o' all those Hanlin readers everyone rebrands, ain't they? Then, the iRexes, they're from Holland or somewhere damp like that, what?

"The only other events as important to the history of the book are the birth of print and the shift from the scroll to bound pages. The e-reader, now widely available, will likely change our thinking and our being as profoundly as the two previous pre-digital manifestations of text."

Goes on a bit don't he? Me, I think Jeff Bezos is one smart fellow, but maybe not quite of Gutenbergian stature, maybe. And probably Alan Kay and the Dynabook should get pride of place here, not some hopped up, electronified dry goods merchant.

As to the nomenclature thing: ereader, transbook, liseuse, dynabook, metabook*, digibook, and all those other 6-bit words won't mean much when people everywhere start calling them "aspirin" or "fridge" or whatever the bulk of folks pick. I'm with Jordan on this, stop worrying about what the marketers want to call them and make sure the table of contents work and all the words and grammar are correct.

*I always read that as "meathook" anyway.

Regards,
Jack Tingle

[LDBoblo]

I just know that I don't want to be a transbookite. That'd be a real drag.

[brecklundin]

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

I just know that I don't want to be a transbookite. That'd be a real drag.

We could just call them "Trannies" but perhaps Amanda Lepore has a copyright on that term... FYI, that is not a derogatory slam, just a light hearted joke...hope nobody is offended. If so I do apologise and just PM me and I'll remove it right away.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

As far as names go, I like ebook reader - just like I consider the kids' iPods to be mp3 players. They're descriptive names that work. As for transbook, I find it only slightly better than liseuse - which is to say not very much at all. Despite the possible issue of confusion with the format, e-Reader or ereader is actually a pretty good word. It's easy to say and fairly simple to understand.

I'm not quite so sure that multi-function devices will overtake dedicated readers the way some think they will, though. It's a nice idea, and sometimes it happens - the smartphone basically ate the PDA - but the computer hasn't done the same to the TV.

The problem is that device convergence only really works when the functional requirements are compatible. Adding phone capability didn't take away from any of the basic uses of a PDA. Unfortunately, when it comes to most convergence devices, the biggest draw for an ebook reader - the large screen - is a detriment. Handheld multi-media devices need to be small and portable because they're taken with you and used when you don't have access to your normal home entertainment gear. Ebook readers are about the same size as books - and many consider the screens already too small.

This isn't to say there won't be large color tablet devices - that's a natural progression - but that the devices which really take over the ebook reader market will be designed for similar use cases - and those aren't necessarily the same use cases that have driven things like smartphone/PDA convergence.

Well, there will be a time, in the not too distant future, when displays will be foldable or rollable. Or when you have high quality projectors in every top grade phone. Then very small devices will have the utility of having very large screens. You also can use those totally geeky headsets to display virtual big screens right now. But when will all these be good enough for prolonged reading? I like multifunction phones, with every possible feature crammed in, because I use them as computers more than for making calls. But on my reader I often think "why did they have to add this stupid music player function, who needs it"?

[basschick]

every single person i know who talks about ebook readers and doesn't own one calls ebook readers ereaders. i doubt that some guy calling them "transbooks" will change that. besides transbook is a pretty unappealing name to me.

btw, i haven't worn a watch for years - i check the time on my cell phone, but i still prefer an ebook reader that doesn't multitask, and i prefer to read on an ebook reader rather than a laptop, tablet or cell phone.

[dickon25]

Well, don't know about the rest of you but I call mine 'You Bastard' ........ [pace Terry Pratchett]


I'll get my coat....

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by dickon25

Well, don't know about the rest of you but I call mine 'You Bastard' ........ [pace Terry Pratchett]


I'll get my coat....

I've been known to call mine "piece-a-s**t"

[Penforhire]

20 years from now we will probably contract e-book using a similar method to television, to sound like "eeb." Meanwhile I see nothing wrong with "e-reader." I'd agree hyperbook makes more sense than other proposals but only because I'm a geek that recognizes hyperstack as a 'term of art' in the field of computing.

[HistoryWes]

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

I'm not always very fond of gimmicky blends (blimmicks) myself, though ebook is already established enough to bypass too strong a judgment. Problem is that it infers limited reading media to just books.

It implies-- not infers.

Transbook-- I don't think so.

[LDBoblo]

Originally Posted by HistoryWes

It implies-- not infers.

Transbook-- I don't think so.

One definition of infer as a verb is to imply
But you're right, imply is a good synonym.
As an addendum: I am happy to use long-lived habits even if they're discouraged in modern English. It's not that I'm not aware of modern conventions, it's simply that I don't feel compelled to follow them when there's plenty of valid precedent.