"Are eBook Reading Devices Doomed?"

[NatCh]

[Greg Anos]

It's a generational thing, I believe. People below 25 (or so) are into the one gadget does all, while us older geezers prefer multiple gadget, each one of which is "best in breed". The problem with e-ink devices as stand-alone gadgets, is the "best in breed" are still mangy pups due to poor firmware. This leads to a tendency to go back to the "all-in-one" that actually has better firmware for the task than the dedicated devices. Or why I still use my Cybook gen 1, even though I have a Bebook and a Cybook gen 3...

[Alisa]

I'm a geezer (37 ) but when it comes to tech gadgets, I'm like a kid.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by Alisa

I think ebooks haven't been very popular in the past because of the difference in reading experience from paper with the converged devices. It's the screens, IMO, not the fact that they're multi-function. Most people find reading on them uncomfortable for long periods. I've wanted to switch to ebooks for over a decade but didn't until e-ink because I simply couldn't bear reading for hours on a CRT or LCD. Some people don't mind it or even prefer it but from what I've seen, they're not in the majority. I think if we can get the right screen technology, we can go back to converged devices. I think most people would prefer them, even people that aren't big into reading. They'd use them for other things, mostly, but that's fine. If this kind of device became mass market, that would likely mean lower prices. I bet practically every student would want a netbook that you could use to take notes, do a little school work, and comfortably read all your texts. You could carry around a whole library with you that was searchable. Internet access would get you even more. These days more and more libraries are putting resources on line. Annotations and citations would be a breeze. I would've loved something like that when I was in university.

completely agree... i discovered PG and downloaded dozens of books that just sat on my hard drive because i couldn't bear to read them on my computer screen. now i have an eb1150 which is a lot better but i really don't like the backlight. sometimes i read on my telephone (in the subway) but i would absolutely hate to read more than a short ride like that, and i would never do it at home where i have other (more comfortable) options. i wouldn't mind a somewhat converged device since it would theoretically mean fewer devices total... but then again i'm not sure which other devices could usefully be converged in a size and a screen that would appeal to me for reading.

but yes, when i was a student, i would have loved a device like the one described there...

[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by Justy

Uh Oh! They aren't going to be happy to hear that the answer is "No" then! To my knowledge, there are no legal eBook versions of the Harry Potter books. However, if they want to read The Chronicles of Narnia eBooks they are all set.

Actually, that is not quite true; there are no legally distributed eBook versions of the Harry Potter books. However, I think it is perfectly to convert a paper version of the books into an ebook for personal use. Of course, by and large that is probably more effort than it is worth to most people.

--
Bill

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

Actually, that is not quite true; there are no legally distributed eBook versions of the Harry Potter books. However, I think it is perfectly to convert a paper version of the books into an ebook for personal use. Of course, by and large that is probably more effort than it is worth to most people.

--
Bill

I believe the original statement as an answer to the question is exactly true. There are no legal versions available for someone to obtain legally. Even if you were to convert something to an eBook for personal use the legality of this very much depends on where you live. There is an electronic copy of harry potter by the way, but you would have to listen to it and transcribe it.

Dale

[Donnageddon]

Are eBook Reading Devices Doomed?

- Yes. Especially for bloggers facing a deadline and needing a hyped headline.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

However, I think it is perfectly to convert a paper version of the books into an ebook for personal use.

Depends where you live. It's definitely not legal to do that in the UK.

[BlackVoid]

I read the original article and I believe this blogger is clueless.

- Touchscreen is NOT GOOD for ebook reading.
- Backlight is not good for ebook reading
- 6" screen is too big for a palmtop or phone
- ebooks do not need colors - why would I want letters in red or yellow???
- battery life for palmtops, portable computers and phones is very short compared to ebook readers
- "The dying dinosaurs of print wouldn’t really care because they’re selling standardized software now — ePub files." - this is not even true

[CleverClothe]

Originally Posted by BlackVoid

- Touchscreen is NOT GOOD for ebook reading.
- ebooks do not need colors - why would I want letters in red or yellow???

Totally disagree with these points. Ever hear of magazines, newspapers, comic books, and the thousands of books with color pictures?

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by BlackVoid

- ebooks do not need colors - why would I want letters in red or yellow???

Colors are excellent visual cues to represent something specific. Do you use a color monitor on your PC? Would you like it to be monochrome?

Some of the next programming books coming out these days use color to very good effect also.

I didn't know I needed color in my programming IDE. All of the code was one text color... and it was 'ok'. But not with syntax highlighting/coloring it is so much easier to view the code. I can quickly tell what a symbols scope or type is and other things.

BOb

[Jellby]

Originally Posted by BlackVoid

- ebooks do not need colors - why would I want letters in red or yellow???

Yellow? I don't know, but "The Neverending Story" is printed in red and green...

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Colors are excellent visual cues to represent something specific. Do you use a color monitor on your PC? Would you like it to be monochrome?

Some of the next programming books coming out these days use color to very good effect also.

I didn't know I needed color in my programming IDE. All of the code was one text color... and it was 'ok'. But not with syntax highlighting/coloring it is so much easier to view the code. I can quickly tell what a symbols scope or type is and other things.

BOb

I totally agree. It's necessary for many textbooks, too. IMO good textbook support is what will bring ebook reading to the masses. When kids grow up reading their schoolbooks on a device, it will seem at least as normal to them as wood pulp.

[slayda]

IMO, technology, especially computer type technology goes in a helixacal (helical?) cycle. Some time ago the technology allowed dedicated readers but were not powerful enough for multiple abilities. Then as technology improved we got PDAs, mobile phones, game boys, etc. These could do several things. Now with eink we have a better reading device but would like the multiple capability and color we had before but want to keep the easier readability of eink and the low battery use. Probably soon we will spiral up to that point and technology continues to circle and climb.

[axel77]

I also believe the line between pdas, netbooks, and ebook readers will smear in future as technology gets better.

However there will likely always be some "standard design" as the notebook style, and the "book like" design as e-reader design. I don't see that 2 devision go away ever, as costumer uses and wants differ.

However as always, once you make any distinction, you will notice how it is imperfect. And either side has some characteristics of the other. And its this "imperfection" of that distinction that will arise. Dedicated reader devices will become have more powerfull CPUs and be more general purpose tools, while the PDA/netbook sector will make their displays in a way, they can also be used to read...

But even if, thats what the original article is so wrong with, even if the perfect display tech would come up, that has eInk capabilities while being fast and cheap enough for "normal" devices, and every device would come to use this same tech, you will still have companies making "note/netbook" design devices, and devices that are designed to be dedicated to be comfortable in your hand when reading... (ebook readers). No doom here ever, as costumers dictate device style at least as much as technology does.