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Community weekly poll: Would you buy an e-book reader?
- 11/28/07 3:30 PM
Already own one--and love it.
by popvoid - 11/29/07 12:13 PM In reply to: Would you buy an e-book reader? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I bought a Sony Reader a while back when the price dipped below $300. I think that's still that's too much for these things. I can't see them really catching on until the price dips below $100. My back thanks me for purchasing the Reader. I do a lot of walking and I carry a book with me at all times. Since ofttimes these are hardback books, they can take a toll on my back. The Sony Reader is a nice light alternative.
One interesting side effect of purchasing the Reader is that it has gotten me to read a lot more old books since many of these can be had for free or a low price. I am discovering authors like George MacDonald and Jerome K. Jerome, who are nearly forgotten today (and mostly out of print), but whose books are great fun. I am also reading more of those books that I always meant to read, but somehow never found time for (yeah, you know those books).
I initially bought the Sony Reader as an experiment, but I quickly found it invaluable. I had previously tried reading with laptops and PDAs, but the difference in eyestrain between LCD displays and ePaper is substantial. People who make the argument that you can accomplish the same thing with a laptop don't know what they are talking about, to put it bluntly. The price is still too high unless you've been spoiled by one of these devices already.
NO
by MrMe003 - 11/29/07 12:16 PM In reply to: Would you buy an e-book reader? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
why we need that kind device? we have laptops and smart phones so device what can do only one thing.. isn't very good or smart thing to buy.
The Pro's and Con's of E-Books.
by AllanMK - 11/29/07 2:09 PM In reply to: Would you buy an e-book reader? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I can see both positive and negative reasons to have/not have E-Books. A previous comment said it would pass the time away on long journeys or his daily commute to and from work. I am sure that the local police would be very interested in that snippet of information.
On positive level...it is well accepted these days that children are often a lot more computer literate then their parents...but does that mean they can still understand/read what they are seeing on the screen. I could see a market for an e-book that is based on the old children's reading books from my past. It could also teach them in the formation of a game such as spelling quizzes.
On a negative point...firstly the cost. It is well out of my reach and I would guess most parents these days. As a previous comment said it is great to be able to lie in bed after a busy day and read a good book before turning to slumber...without having to log in, log out, log off etc.
Each to his own but it's a definite NO from me.
Not interested yet
by boosterp - 11/29/07 4:13 PM In reply to: Would you buy an e-book reader? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
It is still too early in the game for e-books to garner mainstream adoption. Amazon has an advantage over Sony in numerous ways already pointed out. Until prices drop and Media is more readily available from multiple sources the average consumer will not buy this thus, this is a novelty.
Maybe I'd buy an e-book reader
by geofbrewer - 11/29/07 4:47 PM In reply to: Would you buy an e-book reader? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I say maybe because of my eyes. The printed page is easier on my eyes for extended reading. I would have to test drive this E Ink technology. As a fugitive from the "Cubicle Police", I've spent roughly 35 years staring at CRTs as a part of my job, school and recreation. I've used LCD displays at home for the past year. LCDs are definitely easier on the eyes, but I still experience some minor problems with the displays for extended periods.
The biggest advantage would be the access to diverse materials without having to visit the library, the book store or wait for the newspaper to be delivered. I wouldn't stop any of those tasks, as my interests are rather broad and I doubt I would be able to find all of my interests available on an e-book for some time to come.
Would you buy an e-book reader?
by oliverrp - 11/29/07 5:33 PM In reply to: Would you buy an e-book reader? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Not until the publishers come down to earth on prices.
Would I buy one? Yes - when ...
by nesdave1 - 11/29/07 6:01 PM In reply to: Would you buy an e-book reader? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The price drops to $50.00 or somethinng like that. What will happen is; the pc users will find a way to make it work on a laptop, thereby reducing their baggage and solving cost issues and bulk/weight at the same time.
Nothing Worse
by nchswiftsound - 11/29/07 7:33 PM In reply to: Would I buy one? Yes - when ... by nesdave1I can think of nothing worse than having to pull out a laptop to read a book at the airport... alot of people read books just standing around, while they're waiting in line (think of international check in lines), sitting on a stool in a crowded coffee shop...
Japan uses a better book reader and the cell phone works
by B5Ranger - 11/29/07 6:48 PM In reply to: Would you buy an e-book reader? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Japan sells to Japan a color book and magazine etc reader that is lite thin 6x10 and nice to use. Not these new ones we have offered to us that are nothing but a phone missing the phone. Look at a side kick nice keys and screen!
I feel people will just like blue tooth head sets use eye ware that has add on floating screens and all your data will be in your phone and online, with USB flash drive for those that want even smaller than a phone.
Have an equivalent
by jmcharron - 11/29/07 6:58 PM In reply to: Would you buy an e-book reader? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
My Palm PDA has an E-book reading feature and that is useful. I mean, one device that can be used as a phone, an agenda, Word, Excel, database, expenses,pdf reader, games, and on. And not much more expensive than those E-books readers you were asking about. I think this is the wau to go.
Beaten and Battered
by nchswiftsound - 11/29/07 7:30 PM In reply to: Would you buy an e-book reader? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Nothing beats a paperback that you love that is falling apart. That's The "look & feel" of a book.
i wish more freedom not more buying.
by tecnorbe - 11/29/07 8:02 PM In reply to: Would you buy an e-book reader? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
May buy one reader with e-ink screen, when i have the money. My purpose is to read .pdf, .doc and some other files off the computer. Even better if i can edit. I'm not interested on an lcd screen. Don't want propietary format files, i wish to read them back on the pc at some time.
YES LOVE MINE
by thewindowace - 11/29/07 9:38 PM In reply to: Would you buy an e-book reader? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
ADVANTAGE OVER PAPERBACK BOOKS IS FOR THE SAME SIZE YOU CAN HAVE 30 OR MORE BOOKS IN YOUR HAND. Now it is true that you are stuck with one company that formats your writing You have to do your homework and find one that you like. I use one that I have a choice in which format i want to download it to my computer or my e book. I would not buy one from Sony E BOOK prices are way to high plus they have a limited amount of books on hand. fictionwise.com has a sister co that sells a low cost e book reader. Now to me the advantage is more books on hand to read less clutter of paperback books (which I have plenty of) I am doing my small part of protecting the earth by using a e book. The one thing about e books that i have not liked is they are not up to date with new books coming out. Some authors do not use e books.
No E-book Reader for Me!
by R41 - 11/29/07 11:49 PM In reply to: YES LOVE MINE by thewindowaceHow many devices must I carry around? I already have a palm, an iPAQ with GPS, a cell phone with camera and pocket PC... Why not a fourth device to get a dead battery when I need it? I think a far better solution would be something like an Oqo or other UMPC that can do everything. I could wear a hat with a solar charger. The UMPC's are about the same size as a book, so why not? And you can do a lot more with them than just read.
It seems ridiculous to carry around a computer than does not allow you to compute. That is what an e-book reader is. A computer that runs only one program and no other, and does not allow you to install or develop applications of your choice.
What's next? Some day the e-book will not reside on your platform. You will be assessed a monthly and a per-byte charge for accessing it. Or, better yet, you will pay a fee to check it out of the "library", and after two or three weeks, it will vanish from your platform. This will be required by government regulations in order to assure than copyrights are not violated and that all information content is subject to periodic review and redacting for political correctness.
Every time I see an e-book reader somewhere, I ask the same question: "What else can it do?" And the salesman (usually a former nose-ringed barrista from Starbucks) never has a good answer.
A paradigm shift is happening
by Bwebb08 - 11/30/07 1:37 AM In reply to: Would you buy an e-book reader? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I am amazed how old some of you young folks sound. E-books will happen, don't know if it will be Amazon's or Sony's E-Book but E-Books will happen and will change the whole model of the publishing and book consumer’s world.
I am old enough to remember when we didn't have ATMs. The big bugaboo then was that people would never use a machine to do their banking instead of interfacing with a human teller. How many of you prefer standing in a teller line at the bank today. ATMs are the preferred way to do brick and mortar banking but bank tellers are still available if you have a reason to need them.
Educational Publishing companies that are to survive and thrive will love the concepts of e-books and I think so will students who no longer have to lug around a back pack full of books (get ready for back pack downsizing) Educational publishing companies spend millions if not billions printing, shipping, storing and handling books, many that are never sold. Educational publishing companies also compete with themselves. The books they sold last year are now used books that compete with the sale of this year's new books. E-books will probably eliminate that problem. It will also be very easy for educational publishers to update current text e-books. Costs of educational published E-books prices will decrease and eductional publishing companies profits will increase.
Remember there is also a large segment of the population that does not carry around PDAs, game gear and fancy cell phones and if you are one that does, you'll have plenty of room for all those electronic gadgets in your now empty back pack.
Going on a long flight? You don't have to wag a bag full of paper backs with you.
E-books with happen just like ATMs did but there will still be the kind of traditional books we know and love today just as there are cute bank tellers that we can do our banking with if we prefer instead of using the ATM.
I'm buying stock in Amazon, I think there is a lot in the works in the next couple of years that will revolutionize the publishing industry and Amazon will play a major role in this paradigm shift.
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