Tech From an E-booker’s Viewpoint

I read over at Mobileread and Teleread that Amazon’s Kindle reader is due out on October 15^th.  By that time we should also have the Cybook.  So is e-ink now the de facto standard for e-book devices and is this what we want?  I ask because I know the first thing out people’s mouth will be that there is no back light.  Then others will attempt once again, to explain the technology and why there can’t be any backlighting. It seems that someone has decided that e-book device screens have to look exactly like a book.  Now e-book advantages are reduced to being able to carry a full library around and immediate gratification.   That’s not enough for me.  I want a full digital experience.  If I want my device to be exactly like a book, then I would never have bought an e-book device.  E-ink has its place.  It’s great when I am outdoors, but I tend to do most of my reading inside.  I don’t want to pay $350 or more and then buy a book light. I tried searching for the best light and ending up spending a small fortune before I gave up.  I found some that were good, but I spent more time adjusting than reading.  Really, I just don’t get why everyone is so excited by this technology.  Personally, I would rather have read that E-book Technologies is debuting a new reader this year complete with a LCD screen.  Ideally, it would be a thinner and larger screen EBW1150, SD card memory, and in color like the REB1200.  Also keep the stylus!

Then there’s format.  I have come to accept DRM since I know this is a battle that I can’t win.  So if it takes DRM to be able to read a bestseller then, so be it.  What I don’t like is any reader having only one format.  Forget being able to convert documents to fit the reader.  I don’t want to do that.  I want my reader to do it for me.  At the current prices they should.  I want to read books for Palm ereader, mobi, MS lit, etc. I want to read a pdf file without using a magnifying glass.  So far not one of these e-ink, or LCD devices can do that.  At least with the EBW1150 I can use a dictionary, search, highlight, and annotate.  Plus I don’t have to pay three times the cost.  I remember that the Rocket e-book not only had the features of the EBW, but it also had a graffiti like handwriting input system.  I think it was called Allegro.  It’s like the new devices are going backwards instead of forward.  Then when they fail, it’s because people prefer paper.  Give me a break.  The saddest thing of all is that I know I will buy the new devices one by one.  I am addicted.