Yesterday we discussed eBook reader and Bob came up with an answer which deserves more than just a space in the comments list.
I read e-book novels on both my Treo and my Sony Reader. The Treo wins in the area of backlight and always being with me. The Sony Reader wins in that it’s really comfortable and fun to read on. That may not sound like much, but those aesthetics are a big deal if you are going to spend hours and hours reading books. Some people say real paper is so much more comfortable (and sentimental), and won’t do e-books for that very reason. For me, there’s nothing like the feel of reading e-ink in sunlight. But it does take decent light to get some good contrast.
I’m funny that way, though. Reading a nice font on an electronic display screen has fascinated and pleased me for over two decades. In fact, something as simple as using Ubuntu’s command line terminal console makes me feel good just because of the way the characters look on the screen. Somehow it’s strangely comforting and delightful. Strange, but true.
A big advantage over paper (for me) is that I don’t have to smell the book. Some people like it, but it just gives me a headache if it’s at all dusty/musty. Even some new books can bother me. Plus, I can carry around so many e-books in a light portable gagdet, without taking up bookshelf space.
I also find it easier to hold and turn pages than with paper. Some people don’t like the short delay using e-ink. That’s fair, but I don’t really notice it much unless I’m trying to navigate across pages quickly.
Netbooks seem to be a decent alternative, which I’m still considering personally in the future. I’d like to see them cheaper, with better battery life and maybe even a slightly better screen quality. Even better if the screen folds all the way back, or rotates like a tablet. But any backlit LCD screen is going to produce more eye strain than e-ink in decent light.
Oh, and speaking of eye strain, it’s really nice as my eyes age to be able to pick the font size. Even on my Treo, it helps over paper books. But especially on the e-ink device with the 6″ screen.
I agree with eccleshill… DRM is the biggest battle facing e-books.
And I think there are a lot of people that are concluding that, in the future, most e-book devices will not be single purpose. I think that just depends on price points for the various display technologies, and quality of the displays. If netbook battery life and screens were markedly better, why would anyone need e-ink. But if e-ink gets cheaper as well as larger color versions and flexible screens, why would anyone settle for netbooks for large amounts of reading.
It will sure be interesting to see what we’re reading on 10 years from now!
I started reading e-books back in 2000 and I’m up to about 500 now. Many people over the years still ask me “how on earth can you read ebooks?”. For me, similarly to you, it’s very simple, and this is what I tell them…
1) I hate my fingers feeling dusty after hours of turning the pages (I call it finger print wear)
2) I hate having the print on my fingers, even worse with newspaper print!
3) The smell, I agree on. Some books smell very musty!
4) I hate having to bend the pages back and bend the spine of the book. I always found I received eye strain where pages were curved leading into the spine and that made it more difficult to read (I don’t receive this on an eBook).
5) I hated losing the page, especially when using bookmarks and they fell out!
6) I always read at night, or in dull areas, so an eBook reader like a Windows Mobile device or iPhone is great with a backlit screen