Yeah, okay, it's not the most exciting video in the world -- you can skip the first sixty seconds -- but it shows that folks are getting closer to an e-reader that is apt to have more appeal. (Supposedly the next generation Kindle will be out in time for Christmas shopping, but if this version is anywhere close to production, I'm gonna wait on it.Tuesday, August 26, 2008
New eReader Dual-Display Prototype
Yeah, okay, it's not the most exciting video in the world -- you can skip the first sixty seconds -- but it shows that folks are getting closer to an e-reader that is apt to have more appeal. (Supposedly the next generation Kindle will be out in time for Christmas shopping, but if this version is anywhere close to production, I'm gonna wait on it.
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Work bought me a Sony PRS-505 (and a Kindle, but my boss preferred it and I didn't like it) to learn 'bout ebook technology at the end of last year.
Neat thing, which is in my pocket just about all the time (well, whenever I'm wearing one of my Travelsmith shirts which has a pocket large enough to accommodate the thing).
The dual-page thing isn't as needful as one would think if the book isn't designed to be read as spreads (and few need that).
William
Ah, but if you are my age and an analog guy, the double-page reader is an easier shift to digital. When desktop computers went from white-on-green to black-on-white for word processing, sales jumped. As a writer, I like seeing a page that looks like a page.
For an Ereader, making it look like a book and being able to flip back and forth using an action like turning a page is much more appealing to me, and, I suspect, a lot of folks plus-or-minus a few years of my age.
It'll burn more battery power, and there isn't a real *need* per se, but it will sell better if it costs anywhere near what the single-page readers do.
You don't need a Mercedes more than you need a Ford, if the only criterion is transportation. Lot of the German cars out there, though ...
If you put a Sony Reader in a nice leather case (especially the new one that comes with a built in light wedge) you will be able to hold it a lot like a book, plus the leather smell will remind you of a good binding. This would be a lot cheaper, have less weight and be less battery draining than a two screen device.
I really liked the look of the Sony machine, but it didn't want to talk to my Mac, which would have made downloading stuff from the web impossible.
I think Amazon's Kindle is the way to go, re getting books -- doesn't matter what box you use, since it's all self-contained.
I think we are still an incarnation or two away from something that will draw interest among the non-geek crowd.
I use a Sony Reader w/ a Mac --- it appears as a USB mass storage device, no huhu. Displays .txt files and .pdfs file (the .pdf of Mike Brotherton's _Star Dragon_ views quite nicely and it was made w/o any especial optimization or formatting for the Sony. Can't find the announcement, but the .pdf is here:
http://www.mikebrotherton.com/novels/stardragon.pdf
The new firmware update also allows one to view Adobe Digital Editions ebooks.
Unfortunately, the Sony Connect Reader software is Windows only, but it does run in Parallels, so if one is determined to purchase DRM ebooks, one can.
William
Sony didn't take Mac's into consideration. That I can finagle reading stuff using my USB connection and PDF's isn't enough to get me past the notion that I need to use Windows in any way, a system I simply cannot love no matter what they do to it.
Apple shoots itself in the foot regularly, and I'm sorry to see it, but I'm a Mac guy until they stop making 'em.
Yeah, Sony producing a version of their Sony Connect Library software which would support Mac OS X (I'm an old NeXTstep guy, though I did buy a 128KB Mac when they first came out) would be nice.
In the meanwhile there is a very nice opensource front-end (for non-DRM BBeB files, not sure if it handles DRM epub files) which runs on Mac OS X (and Linux and Windows):
http://calibre.kovidgoyal.net/
William
It's official, it's now possible to upload DRM ebooks to a Sony Reader --- as long as they're Adobe Digital Editions:
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28883
William
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