Wall Street Journal still not convinced

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by =X=

... Also we are in a format war and today's purchase might not work with tomorrows technology. While many on this board are tech savvy enough to strip DRM and convert, more folks do not ...

Actually the complete sentence is. emphasis is mine.

Which is a subtle statement that implies the stripping of DRM.

I ignored the rest of that quote because in my haste to post I didn't stop to consider the DRM issue. It was rash on my part to do so. I stand humbled and corrected.

[Argel]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

It's terrible, I agree. Here, I've corrected it for them

Liseuses: They're Hot Now, But the Story Isn't Over

[meraxes]

Originally Posted by =X=

Ereaders are too expensive and you get more for your money buying an netbook.

More of what, exactly? I have a laptop, and reading books on it is a pain even indoors, let alone outside, especially in bright sunlight. A netbook certainly gets you more for you money - more of features you don't really need in a reading device. And the one crucial feature - ease of reading - is missing. It's like saying one shouldn't buy a motorcycle because you get more for your money buying a car. They are two different things designed for different purposes.

[Boston]

But Ms. Broughton says she can't recommend the Kindle to people who aren't technically savvy and might want to purchase their books anywhere other than the Amazon store.

I bought my 75-year old mother a Kindle last Christmas. She loves it and unlike her PC, which we need to reformat every few months (and she only uses it for email), she has been able to use it without issue.

She doesn't want to purchase books anywhere else BECAUSE she is not tech-savvy. I thought about getting her a Sony, because I love mine...but know that hooking up a reader to a laptop and transferring books is more than she would want to do.

P.S. I have her on my account so we can share books just as we have for decades. And unlike paper, it doesn't require boxing them up and mailing

[phenomshel]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

While I would like to buy a true tablet PC, the price is holding me back. And I don't see myself reading with a netbook in bed...

Well, I'd be glad to loan ebooks if it was legally and technically possible, however...since all that's still up in the air...
I do read with my netbook in bed. Admittedly, it's not as easy as with my EZ Reader. I want a tablet PC too, but I have the same problem as you do, the price. I'm hoping next year brings a few slate type devices with lower prices.

Originally Posted by rhadin

And thrashed to its death by suggesting that the vaporware Apple tablet will set the reading world ablaze.

I know. I got to that last sentence and I was just even the WSJ bought into it! ARGH!!

Chris says that sure Apple's going to release a tablet. After they decide what is "wrong" with every other tablet on the market, fix those problems, add a "gee whiz" factor,and then mark it up about a thousand percent.
He's probably right. He usually is about these things.

[=X=]

Originally Posted by meraxes

More of what, exactly? I have a laptop, and reading books on it is a pain even indoors, let alone outside, especially in bright sunlight. A netbook certainly gets you more for you money - more of features you don't really need in a reading device. And the one crucial feature - ease of reading - is missing. It's like saying one shouldn't buy a motorcycle because you get more for your money buying a car. They are two different things designed for different purposes.

Well for starters choices, with a PC your not locked down to one format or one DRM scheme like you are with most other eBooks. With every device you need a PC, either to setup/maintain an account or to transfer a book. You don't need that with a netbook. TTS is built in. Word processing. More sophisticated annotation and note taking. etc...


But I don't understand what you are arguing about, since you also agreed with me in the middle of your paragarph. You get more for your money buying a netbook.

Is it a greater value? Would I recommend everybody buy a netbook over an eReader. NO way, value is a personal opinion, heck look at my sig, I OWN two ereading devices. I think they are great for what they do and have value. But I also recognize that I would get more buying a PC/netbook with the same amount of money.

Ereaders are overpriced, and I agree with several predictions out there that eReading devices will continue to get cheaper esp. the single function devices.

=X=

[meraxes]

Originally Posted by =X=

But I don't understand what you are arguing about, since you also agreed with me in the middle of your paragarph. You get more for your money buying a netbook.

You get more of the things you don't need in a reading device. And you don't get the things you absolutely need in a reading device. Formats, annotation etc is all secondary to just being able to read in comfort, from a device that almost fits into your pocket, in any lighting conditions, for days on end, without worrying about your battery dying. So if you are buying a netbook as a reading device, you get LESS for you money, not more. Value is relative. As a reading device, no netbook is a good value for money, even if it costs 50 bucks, because they are just crappy reading devices, without exception.

[phenomshel]

Originally Posted by meraxes

You get more of the things you don't need in a reading device. And you don't get the things you absolutely need in a reading device. Formats, annotation etc is all secondary to just being able to read in comfort, from a device that almost fits into your pocket, in any lighting conditions, for days on end, without worrying about your battery dying. So if you are buying a netbook as a reading device, you get LESS for you money, not more. Value is relative. As a reading device, no netbook is a good value for money, even if it costs 50 bucks, because they are just crappy reading devices, without exception.

And again, personal preference. While a netbook to you may be a "crappy reading device", to me - well, other than the form factor, I love it! And even the form factor isn't as bad as I thought it would be before I actually got mine. I find I actually prefer the LCD screen for reading (don't shoot me, y'all!), and I love being able to read any format without converting. I curl up in bed with mine, I take it on the couch, I take it outside. It fits in my bag with no problems, the battery life could be better, but it's seldom enough I need it to be that it's nowhere near a deal breaker.
Yeah, I still want something with a tablet/slate form factor, or something like the Entourage Edge (with better specs and without 90% of that bezel, and running Windows). But "crappy"? No, far from it, FOR ME...so I guess that makes me your exception.

[meraxes]

Originally Posted by phenomshel

While a netbook to you may be a "crappy reading device", to me - well, other than the form factor, I love it! And even the form factor isn't as bad as I thought it would be before I actually got mine. I find I actually prefer the LCD screen for reading (don't shoot me, y'all!), and I love being able to read any format without converting. I curl up in bed with mine, I take it on the couch, I take it outside. It fits in my bag with no problems, the battery life could be better, but it's seldom enough I need it to be that it's nowhere near a deal breaker.

Do you also love the fact that you can't actually use it in sunlight? Can you read it standing on a commuter train? Ever had the battery dying on you with no AC outlet around, and nothing to do but stare out the window for the next few hours? A netbook may be able to satisfy your own personal needs, which are not great, but let's face it: there is an objective list of criteria for a device that wants to replace a real library. An e-ink reader such as Kindle ticks all these boxes without exception: you can use it everywhere and in the same way you can use a real book - plus you have hundreds of thousands of books in the same book-sized device. Only price remains to be sorted out. A netbook has so many limitations compared to a real book that I don't even know where to begin. You may me able to cope with all these limitations for now, but that's not representative of the general market. Netbooks with their current screen technology, form factor and battery life can never be a replacement for books for most people. A Kindle or a Nook already can.

[phenomshel]

Originally Posted by meraxes

Do you also love the fact that you can't actually use it in sunlight? Can you read it standing on a commuter train? Ever had the battery dying on you with no AC outlet around, and nothing to do but stare out the window for the next few hours? A netbook may be able to satisfy your own personal needs, which are not great, but let's face it: there is an objective list of criteria for a device that wants to replace a real library. An e-ink reader such as Kindle ticks all these boxes without exception: you can use it everywhere and in the same way you can use a real book - plus you have hundreds of thousands of books in the same book-sized device. Only price remains to be sorted out. A netbook has so many limitations compared to a real book that I don't even know where to begin. You may me able to cope with all these limitations for now, but that's not representative of the general market. Netbooks with their current screen technology, form factor and battery life can never be a replacement for books for most people. A Kindle or a Nook already can.

Yes, I can read it in sunlight. We have no commuter trains within a hundred miles of me, so I can't try that one. Never had the battery die on me in an inconvenient place...but as I said... it is down to personal preference. What is "crappy" to you, works fine for me...as my sig says, "potato, potahto...." I also never said it would work for anyone else besides me, but you DID say "without exception". I just gave you an exception.

[Crowl]

Originally Posted by =X=

Ereaders are too expensive and you get more for your money buying an netbook.

Ereaders are too expensive and you do get more features for your money with a netbook, but not necessarily ones that are actually relevant to the reading experience.

The simple answer is that people need to workout what they want to use a device for and what if any compromises they are willing to make for additional features.

[fugazied]

Bah, bottom line is I don't want to carry a netbook around and read off LCD all the time.
Concentrating on a single document displayed on e-ink is much easier. At their cheap price point e-readers have a very valid niche until tablets with very high resolutions (which are great to read off) appear.

[meraxes]

Originally Posted by phenomshel

Yes, I can read it in sunlight.

In that case you must be the proud owner of one of those new transflective screens which you can read in sunlight for more than several minutes without doing your eyes in. I envy you. Or maybe you haven't actually tried for more than a few minutes? Because it's a scientific fact that current LCD's can't pull off even 1:1.5 contrast in sunlight, which is NOT good enough for reading.

Originally Posted by phenomshel

What is "crappy" to you, works fine for me...as my sig says, "potato, potahto...."

Well a farmer might find that his old banger is good enough to lug sacks of potatoes around, but that still doesn't stop it from being an old banger. I just refuse to accept that there are no reasonable standards for a device aiming to replace a pbook, and that all such standards are subjective.

[meraxes]

Originally Posted by fugazied

Bah, bottom line is I don't want to carry a netbook around and read off LCD all the time.
Concentrating on a single document displayed on e-ink is much easier. At their cheap price point e-readers have a very valid niche until tablets with very high resolutions (which are great to read off) appear.

I think current resolution is more than enough to read off comfortably. It's more about the display not being backlit and having sufficient contrast in sunlight, with no glares, plus being energy-efficient enough for users not to have "range anxiety".