Marginalia
A miscellany of musings on the tech that crosses my path
Friday 31 July 2009, 1:41 PM
Ebook readers: sledgehammers cracking nuts?
I’ve seen (and indeed I have), several ebook readers. Enough, really, for me to have formed an opinion either way. My all time favourite is Sony’s, reviewed here. You can also read my reviews of theiRex iLiadandBookeen Cybook. And more recently I’ve had the COOL-ER. In purple.
But I’m just not sure.
On the plus side they let me carry a lot of text in a small space. My reading tends to be a mix of classics and modern stuff, and the classics are available for free download. Any ebook reader I carry is always crammed with them.
On the minus side there are three key points.
The Sony Reader is available from Waterstones for £180. The Cooler costs more at £189 and is available direct. You can buy a lot of books for that kind of money, especially if you are a fan of the second hand. Or you can get them for free from a public library.
Then there is the software and usability. E-ink is good. It is sharp and clear, and I can read for hours without getting eye strain. But you can’t flick back and forth between the pages as with paper. The tactile feel is gone. And the short time between page refreshes is jarring, even if it is minimal.
Finally, power. All I need to read a paper book is the book itself and some light. An ebook reader also needs power. Let the battery run down and it doesn’t matter how desperate you are, there will be no reading.
I’m completely discounting the ability of some readers to play music while you read. Yes they can, but so can my phone, my iPod, and any radio I happen to be near.
So in the end the added value seems to reside just in the ability to carry more words in less space. Depending on how fast a reader you are that may not be such an add.
Even given all that, the Sony Reader, iLiad and Cybook, and more recently the COOL-ER, have all been used at some length. What does that prove? Maybe just that it is hard to suppress my inner geek (well, it isn’t so inner, actually). I’m not sure, but determined to find out. So roll on the next reader.
PreviousComments on this post
I completely agree. .mp3 players are great because you can flit between albums and tracks easily without carrying a lot of CDs / tapes / minidiscs with you, but ebook readers just don't work on the same principle. I'm an avid reader, but I'll rarely have more than a few books on the go at once, and unless I'm on holiday I never really need more than one with me at once. Whilst ebook readers are potentially a great space-saver, carrying around a (presumably) reasonably fragile, expensive gadget in place of a £8 paperback (which can be sat on, got wet, chucked in a bag without any real risk) just doesn't seem to make any sense.
I do like the look of the readers, and would definitely try one for a while, but practically (and sentimentally) they don't seem that attractive...
I can see the pro's and the cons to having one, but at the end of the day I can't justify spending that amount of money for something that doesn't give you some form of yearly subscription of content to use on the thing.
Not to mention they lack innovation that could be extremely helpful for disabled or to encourage more children to read again, imagine interactive comics for instance.
There plenty of room for improvement but again like most big companies there in it for the money nothing more.
Personally I really can't see the point of them, especially if you have a smartphone, for which you can get great ebook readers, and have a truely all in one package.
I know its a bit smaller - but there is no lag swoping pages - you always have your phone on you, most smartphones use USB these days as a charger, making them very easy to recharge.
Giving you lots of books, quick and easy to pick and change if bored, plus the added advantage of its something you would usually be carrying anyway - and it easily fits in small pockets making it easy to carry, unlike some of those readers and paper/hardbacks.
