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January 05, 2006
new Sony eBook reader follow-up
So the new Sony eBook reader has been unveiled. The text resolution is "roughly on a par with the resolution of newsprint." Hmm...that's better than what we traditionally see in e-text devices, but gah--newsprint is hard to read. Aaron Schmidt points us to some images of the reader: some from Sony and one from Engadget. I agree--it's a sexy looking gadget. But I stand by my earlier prediction that no one is going to buy this one-trick pony.
January 5, 2006 | Permalink
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Book lovers are often adamant that books, in their present print form, will always exist. That may be true. After all, I'm quite sure I'll always want a print version of Pride and Prejudice. On the other hand, I'm convinced... [Read More]
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Comments
Ilike the idea of the Sony Reader- I certainly don't agree that it should have a built in phone or mp3 player functionality - this is not a device where you want a standard screen, therefore warrants being a one trick pony.
My issue is that the market still does not take eBooks seriously, therefore one is greatly limited in their choice of titles.
On the plus side, this is much more environmentally friendly than books, and saves a huge amount of space.
If the choice of eBooks improves I would buy one of these in a heartbeat.
Posted by: Nat | February29, 2008
There is a place for a 'one-trick pony' as long as the price isn't outrageous and there's material available for it. But I don't think Sony's horse is the one to back, despite the e-ink screen.
I'm still using both a Nuvomedia Rocket eBook and an RCA version of same (it accepts 128mb SmartMedia cards). I bought the first one while working overseas. I had a hard time finding science fiction in English, and it was expensive, to boot. The original Rocket let me carry around a couple of dozen books at any given time -- I read a lot, and I read fast -- and I could buy more over the Internet or add my own text. I carry a lot more than that now on the RCA Rocket. It's great when traveling; I don't need to lug an extra carry-on full of books, or buy and abandon paperbacks all along the way. At the time, I paid about $250 for the original Rocket; got the RCA version for about half that on eBay a couple of years ago. Sadly, fewer publishers support the REB format nowadays (hardly any of the majors due to their 'need' for DRM).
Whoever comes out with a good, easy-to-use, inexpensive device needs to make it work with many formats -- including Open eBook -- not just some proprietary DRM format. And the publishers need to get over the idea that we're all just waiting to steal their stuff and resell it. With that mentality, I'm surprised they're not demanding that libraries and photocopiers be banned. Baen Books (www.baen.com) supports multiple electronic formats (including REB) at very reasonable prices, as does Fictionwise (www.fictionwise.com). And they both seem to be making money...
Posted by: Guy | April11, 2006
Have had an ebook from Gemstar for the past 7 years, fantastic for traveling and for reading books I DON'T need to keep-I'm a mystery junkie- but they discontinued it almost 3 years ago. :>( At one time had downloaded 34 complete books on it. Easier to read than PDA, took it on flights all over the world and great for plane/airport reading, not to mention waking up in the middle of the night to read, without waking husband. There IS a place for this. Glad Sony is taking the big step! Don't have to use up all the trees in the world for my needs!
Posted by: Pat Schubert | January22, 2006
Ponder this: I live in a one-bedroom flat with my wife. She is getting seriously annoyed with me; The small book case is full. The books are in two layers, stacked on top of eachother, in bags in the wardrobe, stuffed in my drawer at work, etc. etc. we are out of room.
I cant wait until I can get my hands on a decent ebook reader that 1) Allows me to electronically store all future books purchased and 2) Offer similar reading quality to a paperback (PDAs tried and discarded). I also need my favourite authors to come in electronic form (R. Scott. Bakker, Steven Erikson, etc. there seem to be an availability problem still).
The iRex looks awesome, btw.
Posted by: Hyperchaotic | January22, 2006
Eh. Since hearing rumors of book cost and DRM, I'm now much less interested. Dagnabbit.
Posted by: Meg'n | January11, 2006
I agree with Ken Fujiuchi. The e-ink technology really seems promising. I've seen the Sony Librié reader and although it uses Sony's proprietary e-book format, the e-ink display is really sharp and easy to read.
I doubt in Sony's products because they are e-book readers only. But iRex's Iliad reader looks very interesting, especially because of its WiFi and LAN connections. The device has a lot more potential if it is capable of web surfing.
Have a look at the specs in iRex's product leaflet (PDF)
However, I'd really like to see a color version of e-ink.
Posted by: Morten Brunbjerg Bech | January 9, 2006
It is true that multi-use devices result in a lack of quality and functionality. But I can't see that many people having a use (not today anyway) for an eBook reader. A music player? Yes. A camera? Yes. I can see this being useful for university students who are hauling around many books--but the average consumer may be carrying one book--if that. And the average consumer is the ultimate target market for any gadget.
Posted by: Sarah Houghton (LiB) | January 6, 2006
Agree with Meg'n here: there's only so much room on a device, so the more you add, the more you have to compromise or sacrifice. With cell phones and cameras, it's the quality of the photographs. With PDAs, it's the size of the screen and the limited fonts -- not to mention the limited battery life.
But I add one other argument: single point failure. If the Swiss Army Gadget (so to speak) goes kerflooey, you've lost your PDA, and your camera, and your reader, and your telephone, and your musicplayer, and your gameplayer ... Oy, as they say, vey!
As for the reader in and of itself ... Only for material I have no intention of keeping in whole or in part. I'm not risking my entire library / clippings file on the stability of one gadget, nor on the stability or good-will of the e-publisher (how many copies can you download on successive readers? will the publisher still be around? will they maintain the same edition, or make changes from one copy to the next?).
Posted by: Tanuki | January 6, 2006
If it's a trick I really want and it does it well, I'd buy the pony. I hate gadgets that have excessive amounts of bells and whistles. If I want a camera, I'll buy a good camera, not get a cell phone that takes okay pictures.
As someone who often hauls around multiple books at once, this would quite possibly be worth my time and money. I know I could use a PDA, but I don't really like the displays and I really don't have a reason to use anything else on a PDA.
Posted by: Meg'n | January 6, 2006
I still think that one-trick ponies like eBook readers aren't there yet--people won't spend that much money on a device just to read. Perhaps they do have potential for libraries, but only if the library is providing the device. I can't see college students shelling out bucks for this either.
Posted by: Sarah Houghton (LiB) | January 5, 2006
I am still on the fence about e-book devices, but I think the e-ink technology has a lot of potential. Like the article says, you really have to see the e-ink screen in person to appreciate the device. Its like looking at pages in a news paper, and it doesn't need a backlight which will be easier on the eyes. Also there is no power needed to keep the page displayed on the screen, which means that I could have a page displayed indefinitely without running out of batteries.
Sure a Text document is readable on PDA (after its been reformatted for a PDA format), but I still can't see myself reading from a PDA for hours. And did you see the image with the Manga displayed? I couldn't do that on a PDA...
Gizmodo had an article about another e-ink document device, which is the one I am looking forward to. Here's the link to the article:
iRex Announces Its First ePaper Device: The Iliad ER 0100
This is created by Philips, and is a bit more open. Rumor has it that it will be up to the e-book providers to create DRMs, but the device can take any format you want. It is also supposed to have WiFi to get content directly from the Internet.
Maybe a device like this wouldn't be for personal use, but I can see a lot of potential for library use (course reserves, serials, CMS content, etc.)
Posted by: Ken Fujiuchi | January 5, 2006
Indeed. I can't imagine who would purchase a single use device. Assuming a moderately technically savvy person would bother reading an e-book, wouldn't that same person have a PDA or cell phone? If I wanted to carry another device in my bag, I'd rather carry the book itself.
Posted by: Cory | January 5, 2006
