Fantasies on ereaders of the future

[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by Solitaire1

There's an available option right now: a set of noise-cancelling headphones, a compatible audio player, and a natural-sounds CD. While my audio player setup isn't noise cancelling, I often use my audio player while reading ebooks to mask out the sounds I don't want to hear like loud conversations at restaurants and nearby people having loud conversations on their cell phones.

In addition to the other comments about ebook formats, I'd like to see ereaders support a format that will allow users to easily generate their own ebooks. I think the already-mentioned RTF could fulfill this function if ebook readers featured RTF reader software that accurately renders the text.

I initially used RTF when making ebook for my Sony reader but I ran into the problem of the text not displaying as intended. I wasn't concerned with it displaying a specific typeface (such as Times New Roman) but that it would display a serif typeface in the ebook as a serif typeface on my ereader. I had the same issue with san serif and monospace typefaces.

Originally Posted by crossi

Have you tried using calibre to convert your rtf into mobi or epub?

I hadn't tried it because Calibre I wasn't aware of it when I got my first Sony e-reader (a PRS-500). Plus, as far as I knew at the time Sony e-readers didn't support either mobi or epub (epub support was added later).

For me, one of the strong points in favor of the Sony ereaders is that they could display RTF files without the need for conversion, especially since I can easily create them. Except for the font issue, they did a good job of displaying RTF files.

[Solitaire1]

Originally Posted by Solitaire1

There's an available option right now: a set of noise-cancelling headphones, a compatible audio player, and a natural-sounds CD. While my audio player setup isn't noise cancelling, I often use my audio player while reading ebooks to mask out the sounds I don't want to hear like loud conversations at restaurants and nearby people having loud conversations on their cell phones.

In addition to the other comments about ebook formats, I'd like to see ereaders support a format that will allow users to easily generate their own ebooks. I think the already-mentioned RTF could fulfill this function if ebook readers featured RTF reader software that accurately renders the text.

I initially used RTF when making ebook for my Sony reader but I ran into the problem of the text not displaying as intended. I wasn't concerned with it displaying a specific typeface (such as Times New Roman) but that it would display a serif typeface in the ebook as a serif typeface on my ereader. I had the same issue with san serif and monospace typefaces.

Originally Posted by din155

But I will have to wear the headphone. Not as cool as silence zone created by the ereader

What about the Cone Of Silence from "Get Smart"?

[Lemurion]

I read a lot of comics, so even a 10.1" tablet is on the small side for my needs, but I can certainly understand the desire for portability.

My perfect reader would support all available file formats and be as easily resized as a Window on a computer screen. Pinch an end and pull to make it extend in any direction, pinch a corner to extend it while keeping the aspect ratio. Full color screen able to operate in either reflective or illuminated mode as needed. High speed wireless data transfer to get content from the cloud as well as local storage.

Full support for every book (or comic)I've ever bought regardless of format or DRM scheme if applicable.

[ghero]

Hmm I just had an another thought here:

Maybe in a near future, e-reader makers may team up with newspaper/magzine publishers, and offer "year-plan" boundles just like cell phone makers: For example, customer can get a free e-reader (or an advanced e-reader at very low price) for a full year (or two) of certain daily newspaper subscription (or 1-3 years of certain monthly/weekly megazine subscription). OFC, the content subscribed is to be viewed on the e-reader being boundled. That means the publisher has to offer a format to allow the content (or at least most of the content) to be conviniently readable on those e-readers. On those e-readers, there should be a "download subscribed content" feature to let user to download the content they subscribed via wifi or 3G. It would be nice if the content can be automatically downloaded during ereader recharging. The publisher will split the revenues on those subscriptions with e-reader makers to cover the expense of the ereaders. And if both e-reader maker and publisher does the marketing well, they all should expand their customer bases, since e-reader maker will get more customers from newspaper/megazine readers, and newspaper/megazine publisher will get more customers that likes e-reading.

[ghero]

OK, I thought another one, this is rather not really fantasy, but something old and creative but not catching up much attension in the e-reading community:

If anyone would ask me what is my best e-reading experience ever, and they will be suprised to find out that I did not gain my best e-reading experience on e-ink reader or tablet (eventhough I like them the most for daily reading), but rather from a half decade old gaming device --- my old PSP, from "reading" (or you may say playing) CLANNAD (I beat every ending include everything in the after story part). Those who have "read" this before or similar (like AIR) should know easily what I am talking about. They are called AVG (adventure games) in the gaming community, in reading community, they can be referred as "visual novels". They are books and scripts, with full of graphics, attractive background musics, dubbed with human voices, mutiple endings and so much more...

For future of e reading, I think it shouldn't be just books with texts, but can also be extened to "play" AVG games, and I think e reader makers should reach out to those successful AVG game makers (I think there are handful in Japan, but probaly not in North America, I haven't seen many successful AVG/visual novels produced by North American makers yet), and let them constantly publish their AVG works on their reading devices. Currently, only tablets can handle those visual novels, but in future, with colored e-ink or similar reading screen becomes matured, and with sound features added, we shall expect to "play"/"read" epic AVGs on dedicated e-readers as well.

Hopefully one day, we can enjoy our novel reading experiences in such exciting way...

[rem736]

the dream ereader will be compatible with all present and future formats (sort of like a universal translator). it will replace all written paper documents. it will also replace all notebooks, clipboards full of paper, etc. this device would make the use of paper completely unnecessary and therefore obsolete.