Looking for a next generation eb1150

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by ColdSun

I would have to try and to know for certain but I think it would do just fine. I spend a lot of time reading at night, in bed, and my wife hates a normal light on. Other than that issue, I would love to have an e-Ink reader.

I understand completely, I realized in the first place that you couldn't really give an informed answer, but only an opinion, since there aren't any such devices to really look at.

I more wanted to see what you thought of the idea than anything.

I also understand about the light thing. My wife isn't bothered by light when she's sleeping, but I don't have to try very hard to imagine that others would be, and how much of a challenge that can be to work out.

[GarthConboy]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

A lot can be done with changes to ebook publisher to allow it to work with some of the new items. By the way, I have generated an eb1150 book on ebook publisher by reformatting the help for the smaller book. Is it ok to post it in this group?

I certianly would have no problem with such a posting.

You might also want to check out the Beta Mac OS X Publishing tools -- drag-and-drop converters -- and such new features and OCF support and three zoom states. You can find these at: http://www.ebooktechnologies.com/sup...r_download.htm

[mogui]

From a user's point of view I like both eInk and LCD screens. Both have their advantages. With eInk, I am content to use a lamp for night time reading. With LCD devices, I really want to have swappable batteries. Color is not important to me in a reading device, nor are audio and photos.

[ashkulz]

Originally Posted by nekokami

I was perfectly happy with my eBookwise 1150, except for its inability to read PDFs, and its lack of openness. (If I could have easily exported my notes from the eBw 1150, I might still be using it-- someone did figure out how to split PDFs into linked jpegs just after I bought the iLiad.)

Actually, the REB 1100 (which I use as my main device) stores any annotations in a plain XML file. PDFRead works quite well for me on most of the books I read, I'm also planning to improve it a bit in the coming week or two.

The availability of native tools for linux (rbmake and rebcomm) and the ability to download custom TTF fonts is the only thing that makes the 1100 so attractive for me (compared to the 1150 or 1200).

Originally Posted by nekokami

As something I could recommend to others, an updated ETI device would certainly be in the running. My requirements are pretty much the same as mogui's, especially the open OS, which would let community developers enhance the functionality of the device.

I doubt that would really be possible because I think a lot of 3rd party source code must have been used, which doesn't help making it open source (even if it was within their priorities) -- see the problems Sun has gone through to make Java open-source. Also, I suspect that making it open via "plugins" or something similiar would not be possible because the firmware would require a rewrite which is never a good idea.

[Flatline]

I love my GEB1150, but I would certainly like to see an update to this old venerated model.

Improvements like reduced weight/size (wasted border space), go back to a monochrome display if that will result in better weight/battery runtime, backlight is a *must have* for me as well. I'm pretty happy with current tools for importing all sorts of formats to the 1150, and that PDFRead software is really well done btw. One thing I would really like is the ability to make corrections/changes to the text which can be transferred back to the computer, be it by handwriting recognition or a simple pulldown keyboard. Removeable battery would be nice as well to increase the life of the unit.

BTW I wanna thank Garth again for helping me update the firmware on my GEB1150. 8) Hopefully they'll make it so easy for everyone soon.

[Xenophon]

I had an REB1100 (RCA-labeled). In most areas of physical ergonomics it beat the p*ss out of my Sony Reader... but I switched anyway. The REB1100 was more comfortable to hold. I could read with the device in any orientation. The next- and prev-page buttons fell naturally under my thumb when holding on to the device. Great! The only problem in this area is that using the stylus to jump around in the book never worked very well.

But the improved contrast and readability of the eInk screen on the Sony Reader trumped all of that!

What I'd REALLY like is a device with the contrast and readability of my PRS500, with a physical design much more like the REB1100. As long as I can still load my own content (and other non-DRM content!), it'll be good. I don't much care about the stylus or text entry or searching -- I read novels on the thing. Color really doesn't matter either -- unless it's so cheap to add that I wouldn't care about extra cost. I'd be happy to pay $300 or so for such a beast.

The one thing that would improve this hypothetical device even more would be a WHOLE LOT more DPI. At least double the current 160-180 DPI of the PRS500. 4x would be better still. Sadly, no-one makes that screen yet.

[tsgreer]

My co-worker has an eb1150 and I have the Sony Reader. She loves the Reader, the e-ink and everything. But she won't get a reader because of the light issue. Nothing changes her mind, not even if the Reader was CHEAPER than her eb1150.

She reads at night and doesn't have the lights on because her husband can't sleep with lights on. She doesn't want clip-on lights. She likes the screen to be lit up. Most people I talk to feel the same. She doesn't want to fiddle with add-ons, light battery changes or anything.

She wants to be able to curl up at night, with the bedside lamp turned off and her ebook screen lit up. I think most people know that there "is no backlighting" on e-ink. Frontlighting along the side or whatever is fine. The point is a lit-up screen. She wants it and won't buy something that doesn't have it. I think here are many people that feel the same

[mogui]

I tried to add a poll to this thread. The option is not there. Perhaps only the originator can do that. My questions were.
1/ I absolutely must have backlighting.
2/ I prefer the clarity of eInk screens.
3/ I can use either type of screen.

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by mogui

I tried to add a poll to this thread. The option is not there. Perhaps only the originator can do that.

I think you have to be an editor or administrator do add them after the fact.

I've added one, but I modified your options to reflect discussion a bit more closely, I hope they're close enough to what you were trying to get at.

[mogui]

Thanks NatCh. I think I remember adding a poll to one of my threads. It is way back in long term memory storage somewhere and unclear.

I come down on the side of "don't care". I see most others do too. Maybe that will give a boost to the 1150 -- still a great reader and the cheapest one out there.

[JSWolf]

Silly question... How did those of you who have to have some sort of lighting get along with paper books when they had no lighting system? Did you just not read cause you felt you could not see when the lights went out?

[HarryT]

The results of this poll make me very curious; I see that the majority of voters have said that they regard backlighting as "vital".

May I ask someone who voted in that way, how you managed before electronic bookreaders appeared? Do you never read paper books? That format has, I believe, been moderately successful despite the lack of self-lighting. My local town has a number of stores full of them!

Despite being an e-book fan, I still read a lot of paper books simply because many of my favourite authors aren't available as e-books. Eg, one of my favourite authors is R.F. Delderfield ("To Serve Them All My Days", "A Horseman Riding By", etc). None of his books are, to the best of my knowledge, available as e-Books. I would hate to deprive myself of the pleasure of frequently re-reading his wonderful books simply because they don't have built-in lighting.

[mogui]

Not an issue here! I can read pbooks in the dark because I went to night school.

But I quit reading pbooks when they closed my town's library. Somebody stole the book.

[Jadon]

Originally Posted by HarryT

May I ask someone who voted in that way, how you managed before electronic bookreaders appeared?

This is a religious issue, like copyright or DRM: one feels a certain way, one is highly unlikely to change, and thus conversations on the topic tend to be pointless and not unoften snarky. Fully realizing the pointlessness of even trying to discuss the topic with an adherent of a rival faith, I'll yet waste a moment on it.

I want an ebook that is more than paper. Not a weak copy of it. If paper was supreme, I'd have no reason to bother with device-based reading. What I get from a device is large type (I format everything on my 1150 at the largest font size), having a score of books loaded so I can switch between the 3-6 I'm reading at any one time, occasionally making notes or doing searches, and having a unit with built-in lighting.

Why choose not to have self-lighting? Why waste light on a whole room when the text can easily handle that? Why fiddle with a booklight? It seems positively perverse. For battery life? I don't worship battery life. I get over 20 hours on an eBookwise charge. I don't find plugging it in twice a week burdensome. I do find reading by the light of the book at midnight cozy.

The supposed benefits of e-ink really aren't, exclusively. Battery life, dpi, sunlight readability tend to be what's cited. But those aren't inherent. The OLPC screen has a higher dpi than current e-ink and does sunlight fine. E-ink's lacks aren't inherent, either: an e-ink screen could have bezel lighting; it's just that no manufacturer has bothered to do the obvious.

We live in an imperfect world. We choose from flawed tech. I almost never read in direct sunlight, so the fact that managing it on an ETI-2 means angling the screen just so doesn't greatly inconvenience me. Charging the unit twice a week isn't a trial. A higher dpi would be nice, but not worth losing lighting for.

Do you never read paper books?

Not nearly as much as I now read on my eBookwise. I had to get reading glasses last year (so now I have distance glasses, closeup glasses, and prescription sunglasses; you'd think someone would make a container to carry multiple glasses around, but no; like so many things I want, they don't make it). Paperbacks tend to have fonts that are annoyingly small. I read the newspaper and a couple of magazines, but for books I've switched almost exclusively to my ETI-2. There's lots of stuff I can read, more than I'll ever live long enough to finish, so it doesn't matter if I can't find a particular book in an e-format: it'll likely show up one day.

[aapezzuto]

This forum is actually funny to me, because I am trying to make the plunge towards and e-ink device, because I want to have weeks of battery, at the same time my wife has kept me awake by the eerie glow of her reb1100. She clings to this literary night light, as if it will grant her some magical power... She is in med school, about to give birth to twins, has been in the hospital for a little over 7 weeks (so the doctors can watch the twins in her belly) and she is keeping up a decent mood, so maybe it has.

I don't think anyone needs back light, but some light would be about at the top of my list if i ever want to pry that outdated brick from her amorous claws, and replace it, once it has eventually died of course. I think the real sad part of all of this is that no one in industry has realized that this is a MUST have feature for some people. I think that the other niche the 1150 fills right now is a sturdy ebook reader, at a reasonable price.

A few things I would like to see introduced by SOME vender:

• parallel batteries (only needs one to work, but you can add a second, and take out the first, no problems)
• reasonable low light lighting (even decently low back light is REALLY bright... still not as bad as a lamp.)
• reasonable glare resistance (because sometimes we venture into the garish light of day... egads!)
• a SDK to develop support for new formats, and alternate UIs
• something (like an old palm) that can read e-books, even poorly for 50-75$ so we can start handing them out like free samples of crack! (please make the screen 5.5"-8" at least)

That last request is completely separate from the others, but if there was a standard format between the 2, or if you could "link" your accounts and download to each of them... wow! get the magazines to give out the little one with a 2yr subscription. The offer the e-book only version at half price for renewal... they would still make lots of money, and have much less in the way of costs.

Ok, I've communicated all that is relevant, and im about to get into my why am i the only sane person in the world... do you have to be crazy to get any power speech.... and this is not the time, and based on thread topic, its not the place either.