Poll: What Is Most Important In A Reader

[alicepattinson]

Mine is the Size/Weight. especially when you read at night or you read in bed then the reader drops on your face/chest. ooooouch! HAHAHAHAHA

[palo]

See edited initial post/poll question for additional info (if you haven't already)

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[RichL]

I didn't answer because to me design features and battery life are equally important.

[Asawi]

Originally Posted by palo

See edited initial post/poll question for additional info (if you haven't already)

Doesn't make much of a difference for me!
For example: Even though price is very important for me that would be "price in comparison to design/weight/battery life".

And if the screen isn't good enough for me I don't care if it has 1 year battery life, costs $5 and is a wonder of beauty!

[danskmacabre]

Yes as pointed out, choosing one feature is not going to give a clear picture on preferences.

For me absolutely I need the following or I won't buy it.

Long battery life
eInk (atm anyway, that might change as technology progresses)
External storage support
NO format lock-in.
File manager type access (as opposed to using some 3rd party app to load ebooks)
More recently ( would not buy an ereader without a backlight or some form of self illumination)
Reasonable stability (but I'm a little forgiving with this as it's still a pretty new technology as long as I can restore it easily.)

[theducks]

I did not answer either.
My decision to buy is based on a minimum threshold ranking.

If the model does not meet my minimum expectation, it does not matter that it was the TOP ranked. Example: the top ranked reader meets just about mid-range on every category but price (got a 0, because of costliness) . Just because it is 'Top', does not indicate: approval.

Originally Posted by issybird

Somebody's got to advocate size/weight. For me, to date nothing beats the Sony X50 line for sleekness, with the 5" size perfect for my purse and the 7" size for reading at home. Six-inch readers serve neither purpose ideally.

That's why you buy clothes with big enough pockets or a large enough purse to hold a 6" reader!

[CyGuy]

Originally Posted by theducks

...If the model does not meet my minimum expectation, it does not matter that it was the TOP ranked. Example: the top ranked reader meets just about mid-range on every category but price (got a 0, because of costliness) . Just because it is 'Top', does not indicate: approval.

I mostly agree, with the Nexus 7 being a perfect example. It has so many nice features but is missing SD card support, that makes all of the other features completely irrelevant.

Originally Posted by palo

I apologize for not including everyone's "most important" attribute of an reader but the poll is what it is.

That much is understandable. Yet many of the comments make it clear that there are a couple of qualities that dominate people's concerns, yet they aren't a part of the poll. Perhaps an "Other (please explain)" would have been appropriate in this case.

Perhaps the question could have been rephrased too. Something like "What is the most important quality that you use to differentiate ereaders?" This allows people to suggest the most important quality they used (or would use) while selecting one reader over another reader. Let's face it: most readers have a similar feature set, and only differentiate themselves significantly in a couple of areas.

[Ryvyan]

Multiple reasons when choosing a specific ereader, as many others here.

I chose 'size/weight' because the original intention when I researched ereaders was to carry just a small item around instead of heavy books.

[Ripplinger]

I suppose too the choice of "Design Features" could include flexibility, size/weight and battery life? It doesn't make it clear if what the OP meant by "Design Features", if it refers to the software only or not.

[LovesMacs]

I can't limit myself to a single choice. I bought a Kindle Touch because I already had Kindle books and the ecosystem was very convenient, and the size, weight, and battery life were all good enough.

Size and weight are important to me. I don't want an e-reader that is as large and heavy as a hardcover book. Battery life is also important. Design features... depends on which features you pick. I rarely use my Kindle Touch's web browser, nor its text-to-speech capability but I like having them around just in case. I have never used my e-reader as an mp3 player. I do use the 3G connection frequently to sync books and shop.

[JeremyZ]

...thinking specifically of the display. I want it to look like printed text, not like another LCD, even a high resolution one. I don't want it to be another light source, pelting my eyes after a long day of looking at my LCD at work.

Small size and good ergonomics are next in line of priority to me.

My current choice? nook SimpleTouch.

[OtterBooks]

It has to display text nicely, preferably with a visual likeness to paper.
It has to rearrange that text expediently.
It has to have convenient locations for my digits to enable the aforementioned functions.
It has to require minimal maintenance to sustain all of the above for an extended duration.

[QuantumIguana]

It's got to have it all.