06-13-2010, 02:06 AM | #46 | |
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I look forward to catching up with some real reviews. |
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06-13-2010, 04:51 AM | #47 |
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I think double screen readers are more apt to interact with the content. In the fashion of the Edge, if you click on a hyperlink appearing as a footnote in one research paper, the other screen could display its content (e.g. a website).
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06-13-2010, 06:49 AM | #48 |
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I read on a 13.3", 4.2lb Tablet PC and it's just on this side of barely tolerable, being hot and heavy on the lap, and quite bulky to shift around. The ipad sold millions although its technical specs are total crap precisely because it was the first sub-2lb tablet. If its weight had increased to 3.5lb then the Tablet PCs would have been superior in every imaginable way. Weight matters.
The same problems were raised with the Edge, regarding size and heft. I certainly have not read any reviews of the Edge that went "oh gee golly I wish this was HUGER and HEAVIER. And the e-ink side is useless, let's make both sides LCD." And the Edge with its better execution is still not hugely popular as far as I can tell. To each their own of course. However it seems this product has a competitive problem against Tablet PCs which are full featured computers, are lighter, and can run a wider range of programs, faster. Unless it can get in under $500 it will have problems competing. But who knows, it really might be dirt cheap. |
06-13-2010, 09:00 AM | #49 | |
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Think of it this way. A student desk really doesn't have to be bigger than the size of a small textbook, does it? Thinking on that now, I remember elementary school desks that were that small. Do what I did. Look at the (vertical) screen of netbook. Now think of the textbooks you used at school. A 10 inch screen isn't all that big compared to that of many textbooks. In fact, the total square inches are probably less on the 10 inch screen. They’re 3 keys to using etextbooks in education. Ruggedness. Student usability. And last - those who insist on being the villain - the publishers. Me? I love the small, and very convenient, size of my reader. Just not for everything. |
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06-13-2010, 09:39 AM | #50 | |
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Me too. I used the Mobipocket Reader and split the screen into 2 columns. The tablet pc I use has a touch screen and was great to read on. Except, as you say, for the weight. But it was reading on the tablet that caused me to spend so much money on a ereader. I disagree on the ipad being "the first sub-2lb tablet". It's a limited MID (mobile internet device). True, many people love it. It is very good looking. It is a status symbol that says "look how cool I am". But it is not a tablet computer except in the technical since. "And the Edge with its better execution is still not hugely popular as far as I can tell." None of these large screen devices will ever be "popular". Just as a street sweeper will never be "popular". But for certain jobs a street sweeper is better than a Mercedes. Same thing with these large screen readers. "Unless it can get in under $500 it will have problems competing. But who knows, it really might be dirt cheap." "But who knows" is right. The first VCR I ever saw was selling for just under $3,000. My first pathetic computer was over $2,000. And that price had come down $800. The readers we use today will seem retarded and way over priced in years to come. The thing to understand is that THIS reader is not competing with our 5 - 6 inch readers. |
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06-13-2010, 11:22 AM | #51 | |
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I doubt weight had anything to do with most iPad sales. The iPad has sold millions because Apple fan boys/girls will buy anything Jobs puts out regardless of its functionality. Case in point, I have a friend that is an avid reader and she is also an avid Apple fangirl. She adamantly refuses to consider any desktop, laptop, netbook, or phone unless it has that half eaten apple on it (we've had those discussions before). I was talking to her just after the iPad had been released and she was gushing about the new Apple device she had heard about on the television news; it was a "book reader" and she was going to have to get one. After some discussion it became clear that she had no idea that other book readers existed. She was too enthusiastic about Apple being so innovative and "leading the pack" to listen to anything else, let alone the iPad's deficiencies. I don't think she was atypical of many/most iPad purchasers. |
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06-13-2010, 03:53 PM | #52 | |
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On weight, some googling suggests textbooks run about four pounds, give or take, so a 5.5 pound unit would easily win out over the two or three textbooks one usually has to lug between classes and between school and home. I don't think something like this would be inexpensive enough or sturdy enough for schools, but the size and weight aren't terribly out of the realm of reasonable. |
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06-13-2010, 04:23 PM | #53 | |
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06-16-2010, 01:21 AM | #54 | |
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06-18-2010, 07:33 PM | #55 |
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This is far more than a students device. I'm retired but still walk into a small Fire District board meeting every month with a good handful of reports.
I have to skip back and forth between at least two at any time so use a laptop allowing them to all be open during the meeting. It would be great to be able to use one of these and be able to circle items and make quick notations rather than switch to still another app to jot a note. |
06-19-2010, 11:52 AM | #56 | |
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06-19-2010, 12:16 PM | #57 |
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These pictures are hilarious.
No, that is WAY bigger than my bathroom scale. I would use it for studying, but not for travel. Check out this one http://www.engadget.com/photos/kno-press-pics/#3036342 A bunch of half-naked men running around and the women are deeply engrossed in the Kno....uh...seriously? |
06-19-2010, 12:32 PM | #58 |
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its a college campus- half naked idiots running around happens so often they're barely noticed.
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06-19-2010, 01:01 PM | #59 |
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LOL... I guess. Maybe it's just me but I went to an engineering college in the city and so it wasn't as frat-happy as others. Never saw a single half-naked student running around, which might explain why I actually learned stuff.
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06-19-2010, 02:51 PM | #60 |
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