Sony Reader "not all that"

[NatCh]

Hmmm. Tempting. But no, it's MacroHard. I don't want to trust my info completely to MacroHard.

[Yaholo]

Originally Posted by JohnB

[*]No backlight. Don't tell me adding a light will ruin battery life, or I should get a head-lamp - I'm used to readers with backlights, and both have had a perfectly usable battery life.

I get really tired of this criticism. I realize you appreciate that the Reader can't be a "full-color magazine", but this is still just as silly. If you want to know what a backlight would do on an e-Ink device then try shining a flashlight behind a page in a book. This among other criticisms are more a problem of the technology as a whole, NOT the Sony Reader. Products should be critiqued within the context of what is possible and practical with current technology.

Let me illustrate this. Here is an example of a critique written about my Sony PSP in the style of which you wrote about Sony Reader:

The Sony PSP is a horrible gaming device.
1. I cannot play my PSOne and PS2 games on it, instead I have to go buy other game from a more limited library and pay FULL PRICE for them.
2. The graphics are not as good as any current consoles, I can even get better graphics on a GameCube
3. The screen is too small. I know they want it to fit in my pocket, but it is nothing compared to my 17" LCD monitor.
4. It has web browsing capabilities, but there is no fold out keyboard. I have to type using a on-screen display and the navigation pad. This takes forever.
5. The controls are cramped, they should have made the PSP bigger
6. I hate the fact that all the game have "load times", what is up with that? That makes the games almost unplayable.

Sony does have a reputation for ruining a good idea (Mylo), but they really got it right with the Reader. eReaders in general have an uphill climb and lot of limitations to overcome. I want to see the Reader to succeed not just for Sony's sake, but for culture's sake. If the Reader takes off, it will pave the way for better Readers in the future. Just compare the first-gen iPod to the current iPod, it is a big difference, but the first one was still well worth it. Brushing off new products that don't fit our Star Trek like visions of the future keeps us from getting there.

[Jack B Nimble]

Originally Posted by Yaholo

(Regarding backlight) I get really tired of this criticism. I realize you appreciate that the Reader can't be a "full-color magazine", but this is still just as silly. If you want to know what a backlight would do on an e-Ink device then try shining a flashlight behind a page in a book. This among other criticisms are more a problem of the technology as a whole, NOT the Sony Reader. Products should be critiqued within the context of what is possible and practical with current technology.

This is getting into semantics. Yes, several of us do realize that for lighting, a "backlight" would not work with an eInk display, but that does not remove the need many of us have for some form of integrated lighting. It could take any of several forms, inlcuding the specialized lightwedge some have speculated about.

Integrated lighting is not an essoteric feature for some of us. Until recently, it was an assumed part of the eBook reader package. A survey on this site found a significant portion of respondents wanted that feature, and I believe a similar survey and DAJane's site showed more than half of her respondents wanted it. So, for a device that hopes to bring eBook reading into the mainstream, it is a legit critique.

I almost purchased one, despite its shortcomings, but held off for a different reason. Since then I have been more conscious of my reading habits, and integrated lighting, or some convenient way to add it (such as the theorized lightwedge) is now a key point in my purchasing decision.

Jack

[JohnB]

Originally Posted by Jack B Nimble

This is getting into semantics. Yes, several of us do realize that for lighting, a "backlight" would not work with an eInk display, but that does not remove the need many of us have for some form of integrated lighting. It could take any of several forms, inlcuding the specialized lightwedge some have speculated about.
...

I agree, and the problem is that when used with a booklight, the Sony screen has pretty bad glare. You can sort of deal with that by positioning the light off to the side or angling the screen away from you. Given that the screen has less contrast than paper, to my eyes it degrades rapidly in dim lighting, and without built-in lighting it can't compensate.

All that said (I started this thread), I enjoyed using the Sony during some recent air-travel. I had downloaded some huge forum threads from avsforum, saved them as txt files (the CONNECT reader choked on the RTF files for some reason), and read them on the plane. They made me turn off the reader during takeoffs and landings, though

[jsuplido]

Originally Posted by NatCh

Whoa. What PDA is that? I'd like to look into one that has that good a battery life -- I could only get 5~6 hours of reading out of my Palm T3 when it was new, and a good deal less now.

My vote for "that" PDA is the Sony Clié TH55... which, up to now, is still the best Palm PDA for me.

Anyway, I just bought Next (props to Leaping Gnome for the gift card I sent myself through him. hehe) for the Reader. My current plan is to catch up with my Asimov's SFM (to be bought at Fictionwise), run it through Pordible (OS X) and get the rtf for the Reader.

[Bob Russell]

Quick OT: Joel, Does Pordible handle eReader, or just genaric PalmDoc?

[William Moates]

From the ReadMe for PorDiBle 3.4:

What Is PorDiBle?

PorDiBle is an application to convert between text documents and Palm DOC files. Text files can be dropped onto PorDiBle and will be converted to a compressed .pdb file which can be read by any one of a myriad of Palm ebook readers (SmartDoc, TealDoc, iSilo, etc). Conversely, dropping a DOC .pdb onto PorDiBle will convert back to a text file.

A more detailed reading of the ReadMe suggests the following conversions are allowed:

* PDB to TXT
* HTML to PDB
* RTF/RTFD to PDB
* .doc (ms word) to PDB

I realize that eReader is a more specialized version of Palm DOC files, but the ReadMe doesn't distinguish.

[yvanleterrible]

Thinking about it more, backlighting eink is totally impossible. Remember the little particles, they're black on one side and white on the other. Put a light behind and all you see is black.

[tekchic]

Originally Posted by JohnB

They made me turn off the reader during takeoffs and landings, though

Hehe, I closed mine like it was a Moleskine notebook while the flight attendant walked by, and then opened it right back up. What a rebel, yes I know. *laugh*

People that keep harping on the "it needs backlighting" need to realize that it's meant to mimic real ink on paper. The last Koontz novel I bought didn't come with a backlight.


I travel with the I-Sight light with me at all times, and even if I'm stuck in some line in a dark place (eg waiting for the pirate show at TI in Vegas to start up), I tuck it over my ear and continue reading, no muss, no fuss.

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by tekchic

Hehe, I closed mine like it was a Moleskine notebook while the flight attendant walked by, and then opened it right back up. What a rebel, yes I know. *laugh*

I love it!

[bob_ninja]

Originally Posted by Jack B Nimble

This is getting into semantics. Yes, several of us do realize that for lighting, a "backlight" would not work with an eInk display, but that does not remove the need many of us have for some form of integrated lighting. It could take any of several forms, inlcuding the specialized lightwedge some have speculated about.

Integrated lighting is not an essoteric feature for some of us. Until recently, it was an assumed part of the eBook reader package. A survey on this site found a significant portion of respondents wanted that feature, and I believe a similar survey and DAJane's site showed more than half of her respondents wanted it. So, for a device that hopes to bring eBook reading into the mainstream, it is a legit critique.
...
Jack

Perhaps "many of us" refers to a minority of hardcore readers. I would imagine that vast majority will continue using our lamps, existing light sources, with pBooks and eBook alike. What difference does it make? If eInk is supposed to simulate paper then it will have the same issues as paper. You want an active display, well plenty of choice of LCD based devices. Actually much more choice so by all means, go ahead.

I consider the passive display eInk tek to be a feature as my eyes are very tired from staring at LCDs all day longs at work. Actually passive display is probably the main feature. Otherwise I just wouldn't bother.

[yvanleterrible]

Originally Posted by NatCh

I love it!

NatCh I like your idea of a hollowed book, that would work well inflight as well.
And for total impunity, who's brave enough (as not to attract lightning) to hollow out a bible. bad boy bad bad!

[slayda]

Originally Posted by yvanleterrible

NatCh I like your idea of a hollowed book, that would work well inflight as well.
And for total impunity, who's brave enough (as not to attract lightning) to hollow out a bible. bad boy bad bad!

As in the movie "Shawshank Redemption"?

[HarryT]

How's the escape tunnel going?

[seamusfp]

As soon as you put a light on the reader you have have the same problem as LCD's with regards to battery life. You have a huge quiescent draw turning electrons into photons. While LCD's are not image stable like E Ink, most of the battery issues come from backlighting. Granted you could only use the light when needed, unlike most LCD's.