e-readers for every man woman and child

[Visuddhi]

Something that derangedhermit said in a different thread made me want to post, my dream for ereaders and a better world. Any takers?

Originally Posted by derangedhermit

I guess what I am looking for is an open e-ink device that the owner can update the software, and has enough power today to run, say, an existing web browser - Chrome or Firefox. That should be good enough. Does such a critter exist? Maybe an Android device? ADE is out, as a personal choice to not be completely dependent on Adobe.

I was thinking about this before.
I wonder could it be possible to create some kind cheep of kit reader, something with no bells no whistles just for reading text. With standard user replicable everything: case, screen, battery, buttons, connectors, processor…. Optional slots: Wifi, Sim card, headphone. You’ve probably heard of the wind up radio… it shouldn’t be too difficult to make a 5 volt dynamo to charge a little e-reader.
If the parts are well designed then they can be used all over the world, then the manufacturers just by sheer volume can make a profit. I imagine in each little village there will be a baker, bike shop; and the local tv/ereader repair shop which can also function as a community centre distributing school books and news. Small OS can be installed from a CD and automatically installs a teach yourself to read book.

[Namekuseijin]

That would be interesting, no doubt.

[mr ploppy]

The ebook reader market at the moment is based on future sales of software (ebooks), not on selling the device itself. The same way that a games console facilitates the sale of games to play on it and that is where all the money is made.

If all you had to sell was an ebook reader, what would you do for your income once everyone who wanted one had already bought one? All you could do is improve your design and hope that enough people think it is worth upgrading. But then all those upgraders would flood the second hand market with the older model and you would lose sales through that.

[Kali Yuga]

Dude, it's pretty much been done.

http://one.laptop.org/

[readit]

if you are referring to 3rd world countries, the problems are the same like with the 99$ computer...you need
- people who can read
- dustfree environment
- free electricity

Plain Paper does not need the second two...

And we did not even talk about network/interent connection costs..

Me myself live on a very low budget and a lot is spend on internet connection costs montly.

To come back to your post, "ereader for a better world":
In my opinion The best and biggest eReader with FREE content is an old computer with (uncensored) internet access.

"something with no bells no whistles just for reading text" would involve somebody filtering the books for these people using such a device...and that never leads to a better world.

[Catlady]

A better option for the third world is cell phones.

[Giggleton]

Something like that device from Stephensons, "The Diamond Age"? But solar powered and disposable? Also powered by an AI? I'd say were a few years away from something like that but you have to start somewhere.

[Visuddhi]

One of the things that got me thinking about this was I saw a TED talk about nanoeconomics in India they built a $2000 car. (im not able to access the video at the moment i’ll stick up a link later)
What I was initially thinking of was a do it yourself e-reader, kind of like the way you can buy the parts for a pc and put them together. I know it’s not that simple, but for the moment I’m going to ignore the current market, as mr ploppy says the reader market is based on sales of books, so I very much doubt that they will ever make something at a low cost.
If it were possible to get all the parts what would be needed?
Screen, Controller, Memory, Power,
Way for one reader to communicate to another: a couple of copper wires or aluminium foil and some crocodile clips.
All designed in such a way so that they can be easily connected, she certainly wouldn’t be the prettiest but if it works... I’m not really bothered about what actual products are available at the moment, i think that it would be possible to get them made if it works.
Has anyone experience building their own e-reader?

I think it should be possible to (eventually) make a simple reader more cheaply than a computer.

[Kali Yuga]

OK, again: It's pretty much been done.

Read up on the One Laptop Per Child project.

I would also say that although I am generally pro-technology, as with the OLPC I don't think "everybody gets an ebook reader" is the best use of resources. Though I'm not an expert on international poverty, it sounds like a very Western answer -- "get them some tech!" when a low-tech solution is just as good, or better.

E.g. you could spend $1000 on 10 ebook readers, that under the best of circumstances will likely last 5 years, will cost extra for content, and need power; or $1000 on 80 books that will likely last much longer, service more people and doesn't need power.

Similarly many of the people in the target demographic will likely benefit more from vaccinations, clean water and cheap irrigation techniques than ebooks.

[Andrew H.]

I think Kali's right about OLPC covering the bases.

Also, paper books actually make a lot more sense in the 3d world than they do in the modern western world simply because there is a lot more sharing due to poverty.

I.e., if I buy a paper book, I will probably be the only one who reads it. I may lend it to another person, but I'm just as likely to just tell them about it and then they will just buy their own copies. I have books in my library that I read once, 25 years ago, will probably never read again...and neither will anyone else. But there it sits. It's in this context that e-books make a lot of sense - I don't really care about resale or lending because I do that infrequently anyway.

But in a context where books are rare, they will be shared. Again and again and again. Books are also not delicate - you can sit on them, a camel can step on them...you could even drop them in the water - and they will remain usable, if a little battered.

Also, if a family has 7 kids, each kid could take a separate book with them as they go out into the fields/school/work/ etc. I'm not sure that each kid would have an e-book reader.

[Poppaea]

In many thirld world countries they use the donkey libraries...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7777560.stm

http://www.thepolisblog.org/2010/01/...y-library.html

And then there is the Dollywood Imagination Library

http://www.imaginationlibrary.com/usa/about.php

[Anthem]

Originally Posted by Kali Yuga

Though I'm not an expert on international poverty, it sounds like a very Western answer -- "get them some tech!" when a low-tech solution is just as good, or better.

Golly, that wouldn't work!?! They don't just need more techy tech-tech techeroo!?

Color me shocked and obliterated and fantabulistically fascinated!

(My world just turned upside down and I now live in the sea!)