>13" Devices

[ManDay]

markom just pointed out that there is yet another 13.3" Mobius device approaching the market.

Given the absolute lack of A4-sized devices in the past years despite the relatively available technology (though, admittedly, only with the flexible Mobius it gained practical day-to-day value), personally, I'm delighted to see that an increasing amount of companies is entering the segment, with a whole, promising class of e-ink use on it's own.

In practice, 13" is more than just another increase in size. There is a discontinuity somewhere between 6" and 13" (speaking as a M92 owner, one might argue that 9.7" devices sit on that very threshold -- being neither particularly handy nor sufficiently sized to replace A4 paper completely). Only with 13" and above that new class of use-cases is opening up. I remember at least the following suggestions coming from the community:

Musician: Scores
Engineer: Drawings
Business/Law/etc.: Papers and documents
Students: Lectures and making lecture notes
etc.

Of course, there is still the software side to it which is often the crucial part. Especially in the professional sector, annotations and sharing must be backable or backed by an appropriate infrastructure. In all other regards, responsiveness is a major factor. If the device feels slow and unresponsive, one will frequently have to resort to paper which kind of renders the whole idea of replacing paper (for both reading and writing) useless.

I'm confident that by Mid-2015 I will have bought my first 13" device (for less than a ridiculous $1000), I'm just not sure which. I reckon many of you have similar thoughts.

I'd like to use this thread to collect the range of available 13" readers, including the less-known ones which might not be listed on the average e-reader site. If you know any device I'll add it to the list:

|Released | Company    | Device name        | E-Ink Technology | Retail price |
+---------+------------+--------------------+------------------+--------------+
| Yes     | Sony       | DPT-S1             | Mobius           | $999 (US)    |
| No      | Pocketbook | CAD-Reader         | Mobius           | TBA          |
| No      | Pocketbook | CAD-Reader Flex    | Mobius           | TBA          |
| No      | Netronix   | Electronic Notepad | Mobius           | TBA          |

[pdurrant]

I suggest you collect the information on a page in the MobileRead Wiki instead.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I suggest you collect the information on a page in the MobileRead Wiki instead.

Yes, that would be a much better idea. Threads are ephemeral; the Wiki is the right place for material which is of permanent value.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by ManDay

markom just pointed out that there is yet another 13.3" Mobius device approaching the market.

Given the absolute lack of A4-sized devices in the past years despite the relatively available technology (though, admittedly, only with the flexible Mobius it gained practical day-to-day value), personally, I'm delighted to see that an increasing amount of companies is entering the segment, with a whole, promising class of e-ink use on it's own.

In practice, 13" is more than just another increase in size. There is a discontinuity somewhere between 6" and 13" (speaking as a M92 owner, one might argue that 9.7" devices sit on that very threshold -- being neither particularly handy nor sufficiently sized to replace A4 paper completely). Only with 13" and above that new class of use-cases is opening up. I remember at least the following suggestions coming from the community:

Musician: Scores
Engineer: Drawings
Business/Law/etc.: Papers and documents
Students: Lectures and making lecture notes
etc.

Of course, there is still the software side to it which is often the crucial part. Especially in the professional sector, annotations and sharing must be backable or backed by an appropriate infrastructure. In all other regards, responsiveness is a major factor. If the device feels slow and unresponsive, one will frequently have to resort to paper which kind of renders the whole idea of replacing paper (for both reading and writing) useless.

I'm confident that by Mid-2015 I will have bought my first 13" device (for less than a ridiculous $1000), I'm just not sure which. I reckon many of you have similar thoughts.

I'd like to use this thread to collect the range of available 13" readers, including the less-known ones which might not be listed on the average e-reader site. If you know any device I'll add it to the list:

|Released | Company    | Device name        | E-Ink Technology | Retail price |
+---------+------------+--------------------+------------------+--------------+
| Yes     | Sony       | DPT-S1             | Mobius           | $999 (US)    |
| No      | Pocketbook | CAD-Reader         | Mobius           | TBA          |
| No      | Pocketbook | CAD-Reader Flex    | Mobius           | TBA          |
| No      | Netronix   | Electronic Notepad | Mobius           | TBA          |

Excellent!