tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8091894388265947128.post5124073873553452558..comments2023-06-13T09:51:49.558-04:00Comments on The Book Stew: Rob's Adventures in E-Readerland: Picking an E-ReaderUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8091894388265947128.post-52193013771410261532010-04-06T11:22:35.931-04:002010-04-06T11:22:35.931-04:00Rob, good summary. A couple of comments...
1. On...Rob, good summary. A couple of comments... <br /><br />1. One of the things that had soured me on the whole e-book experience, and you touched on it briefly, is the price for content. I too have gotten very used to either cheap used books or free from paperbackswap.com or friends. The thought of having to actually pay of content - and at a through-the-nose price of $10 - is a huge disincentive for me.<br /><br />2. I agree with your assessment of sticking with the big three. Amazon has the edge based on their technology and, frankly, first to market with the game-changer (e-ink based). Sony has had readers forever, but has no backing. And, frankly, given a chance Sony will likely force a proprietary solution that ony they support down people's throat. BetaMax? Memory Stick? UMD? While they aren't seeming to do it with their eReader, frankly, it's still a fear in my book (pardon that pun, will ya?) And B&N... well, their next generation I think will be up to Sony's level of technology. Sorry, but the Nook really is "teh suck".<br /><br />2a. That said, and given the timing, there is now a new player in the game with the Apple iPad, which has a Kindle app...<br /><br />3. One big advantage of a dedicated reader that a netbook doesn't have is minimizing eye strain. The introduction of e-ink with the Kindle was truly a game changer. Microsoft and Adobe have had readers for computers for years but no one used them? Why? Partially because the marketing sucked, and they had no content committment. I'll give you that. But the other part is that staring at a backlit LCD device for long periods of time will strain the eyes and turn into an unpleasant experience. I know that I personally had to go to an eBook with Microsoft Reader to get a particular piece of content, and it was everything I could do just to finish it because of the eye strain. Just something to be aware of...<br /><br />4. Things about netbooks in general. Battery life on netbooks, btw, does truly rock. I have plugged mine in twice I think in the month that I've had one. The other thing is that netbooks by their very nature are slower devices with lesser tech (thus the great battery life). They are small. They are truly meant to be an occasional use device. I'll be taking mine with me on vacation to do light web surfing and photo posting, becuase the physical interface is frustratingly small to me for longer use, and frustratingly slow to me.<br /><br />Since I'm patient enough to wait, and have the room to store books anyway (or get rid of tehm via PBS), I'm still waiting for the industry to figure out what the smeg they are going to do. But I keep my eye on it, because like you, I realize the future is not going to be put on paper but sent electronically.<br /><br />Good luck!Rialtushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14258633928564157129noreply@blogger.com