Slashdot Log In
Amazon Kindle 2 Leaked, Sony Reader To Get Touch Screen
Posted by
Soulskill
on Sat Oct 04, 2008 01:24 PM
from the upgrades dept.
from the upgrades dept.
suraj.sun writes with news that the e-book reader market is getting more competitive. The Boy Genius Report got its hands on pictures of the Kindle 2, successor to Amazon's first e-book gadget. The new version is a bit bigger, with edges that are less awkward, and it has a revamped key layout. On the same day these pictures were found, Sony announced that a new model of its Reader would be getting a touchscreen, allowing users to "turn the page by swiping their finger across the screen" and "annotate text using a touchscreen keyboard." The advances for each gadget may help them regain market share against the iPhone, which, according to Forbes, has eclipsed both in popularity as a reading device. Hopefully the competition for sales and the work being done by the OLPC Project will help to drop prices as well.
Related Stories
[+]
Hardware: 2nd Generation "$100 Laptop" Will Be an E-Book Reader 286 comments
waderoush writes "At a conference sponsored by the One Laptop Per Child Foundation this morning, OLPC founder unveiled the design for the foundation's second-generation laptop. It's actually not a laptop at all — it's a dual-screen e-book reader (we've got pictures). Negroponte said the foundation hopes that the cost of the new device, which is scheduled for production by 2010, can be kept to $75, in part by using low-cost displays manufactured for portable DVD players."
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Full
Abbreviated
Hidden
Loading... please wait.
So... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:So... (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re:So... (Score:4, Informative)
From the first link:
Typefaces in PDF files formatted for 216 x 280 mm (8.5 x 11 inch) pages may be too small to read comfortably. Such files can be reformatted for the Reader screen size with Adobe Acrobat Professional, but not by Adobe Reader software.
That's going to be the same for any 800x600 6inch screen (like the Handlin). A reader capable of displaying scientific papers readably (8.5x11inch, 10pt font) is still a wet dream unfortunately.
Parent
Re:So... (Score:4, Informative)
I had a PDA that I used for reading eBooks, the Toshiba e805 with its beautiful 640x480 screen. The problems always seemed to be battery life (3.5-4 hours with screen set to near minimum brightness) so you really had to charge it every day, and distractions (real easy to get distracted while reading, go to look something up, then get distracted surfing the net). Because of this I bought a Sony PRS-505. No regrets. I bought a $2.50 book light, and guess what, I can read a night too. The screen is like reading paper in daylight. I charge it about once every 8-10 books.
Before I bought it I could never manage to really find time to read for enjoyment, I got tired of carrying multiple books, so I welcomes eBooks, but I got tired of forgetting to charge the PDA every night.
Great battery life, multiple books, looks great in sunlight and a cheap booklight makes it readable even at night. Great buy and as a dedicated reader its damned near perfect.
Parent
Re:So... (Score:5, Informative)
the only major benefit to the Kindle & Sony Reader are that they use e-ink displays which are viewable under direct sunlight.
And that they don't drain battery life nearly as much as back-lit high-refresh rate screens do. And that they typically are much less likely to cause eyestrain.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't disagree that they're pricey, but they're definitely worth it for a certain segment of the population, and not just limited to early adopters. I do a lot of traveling, and when I'm not I have about 3 hours/day of commute time to work via public transit. For me, the huge battery life is incredibly important, as is the ability to bring a LOT of reading material with me in the same small space. I absolutely hate the fact that my laptop won't last throughout an entire flight unless I bring extra batteri
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
hrmm... right now i'm using Bookr (i used to run PSPDF, but i think that project is dead). but these are homebrew solutions that void your warranty, which a lot of consumers might be afraid to do. i just think e-book support would be a major selling point for a lot of potential PSP buyers (it's one of my favorite uses for the PSP).
but the HTML method is a good solution too that i'd never even thought of. i might just develop a browser-based e-book library so that i can run the application on a local web ser
Gutenberg project texts preformated for eReaders (Score:3, Informative)
This people will serve you Gutenberg project texts on a series of specific formats (or custom created PDFs or HTML). To the best of my knowledge, there is no other site like this.
manybooks [manybooks.net]
Pick a book. On the right side, you will find a button free download and some 500 formating choices (many custom, many gadget-specific).
PS I have no relation whatsoever with manybooks, but I was horrified that it took me so long to find them again at Google).
Kindle 2 pics (Score:5, Informative)
Since the original link is slashdotted, you can find some pics here: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10058352-1.html [cnet.com]
Scrollwheel vs joystick (Score:4, Insightful)
Wouldn't a scrollwheel be better than a joystick for the purpose of this reader?
I had been considering purchasing one, now I wonder if I should hurry up and buy v1 before the new one comes out.
Great, just what I need... (Score:5, Funny)
"turn the page by swiping their finger across the screen" ...
Leaving smeary, Cheetos marks across my books.
Wait, that isn't really a change.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Speaking of pages smeared with Cheetos marks, I can't wait until I can get a set of DnD books for the reader. PDFs get the job done on my laptop, but the form factor of the Kindle would be a real win.
Count me in as an ipod touch reader (Score:5, Interesting)
after being left in the cold by Sony with their librie (closed format, no fw upgrades to read pdf or epub) I will stick with my ipod touch and stanza, the screen is a bit small and not as nice as the librie's e-ink one, but at least I can read every format without issues and the integration with feedbooks is awesome.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
? batteries on the ipod touch last about 5-6 hours of reading, and if you make the font small enough (and read landscape) you can fit about 1/3rd to 1/2 of a standard paperback page on the screen. I am a very fast reader (120-140 paperback pages/hour usually) and I haven't noticed any decrease in reading speed using the touch, it was more of an issue on the librie since changing pages took 0.5-1 seconds, which is an eternity.
filthy screens (Score:4, Insightful)
"turn the page by swiping their finger across the screen"
Only appeals to those whose laptop screens are encrusted with fingerprints. Ugh. Gross. I'm also not impressed with cellphones that accumulate a "face-print" on their LCDs.
Yet another product that looks great until actually used. I'm sure the focus group loved it.
Perhaps the target market is those folks whom still run their finger along underneath the words?
It's like promoting the "quality" of HDTV to nation where 90% of sets have 1/4 inch of dust and pet hair and badly maladjusted picture controls.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm also not impressed with cellphones that accumulate a "face-print" on their LCDs.
Maybe I'm a degenerate slob in your eyes, but I never found this to be a problem. When I need the screen for something, I just rub it on my shirt a couple of times.
I mean, what's your alternative? Where would you put the screen on a phone such that it won't get dirty?
Just rub the screen... (Score:4, Insightful)
Thing is, with a cell phone you only need the screen for a few seconds, you won't be trying to read text with no backlight for hours and cursing every single page turn.
Still, it'll look cool in the marketing videos and that's what counts.
Parent
maybe the Sony reader would be more (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
That's why he mentioned the Mac and not Linux. Everyone knows Linux users thrive on being ignored...
Kindle Design (Score:5, Interesting)
Ugh. The Kindle is one of the best-designed gadgets I've ever owned. I hope we don't suffer through a series of crappy re-thinkings based on some misplaced notion of hipness to try to sell readers to people who don't actually read books.
For instance, a touchscreen is an incredibly lame idea. You spend a _lot_ of time with an e-reader, ok? It takes hours and hours to read a book. Are you really going to want to read the another novel on that screen you've been dragging your finger across for the last three months? Yuck. Not a mobile phone, folks.
I was totally skeptical about the Kindle until I actually held one. It fits great in either hand, and unlike other readers I've seen you can use it one-handed. If you use your Kindle in the supplied leatherette case you're doing it wrong!
The Sony reader looks nicer in photos but doesn't have the same kind of balance. I'll take function over form on something like this any day.
Kindle and Sony have the same basic problem (Score:3, Insightful)
They're single-purpose devices with closed formats in an increasingly multipurpose open-format world. Why would anyone in their right mind spend about $400 on a device that is locked to proprietary formats and doesn't do much else except "read books." Just one more [expletives deleted] gadget to carry around.
On the other hand, smart phones like the iPod and Android, which can also presumably serve as schedulers, notepads, book readers, mp3 players/audiobook players and *gasp* phones?
Kindle and Sony were effectively obsolete the day they were released.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
As for the
Why a keyboard, anyway? (Score:4, Insightful)
It's still not clear to me why precisely I want a hardware keyboard in my ebook reader. There just aren't a lot of reasons to interact with an ebook reader that can't be done with a couple arrow buttons.
Frankly, the Kindle looks like a bargain-basement product, with an upper-tier price. Yes I know most of the cost is in the screen, I just wish it didn't look like crap. Also, open formats would be nice...
Book prices are holding these back (Score:3, Insightful)
The PRS-505 launched in the UK recently, and I was all set on getting one until I saw the price of books for these things.
When I buy a book from Amazon, it's delivered the next day and at least two people read it. The same titles as e-books cost the same amount on the Waterstones store, if not slightly more than on Amazon, and only 1 person can read them unless I shell out for a second reader. And in some cases, I was able to get new books from Amazon BEFORE they would be available on the Waterstones store.
E-books have to be at least 30% less than their physical counterparts before I'll start buying them or a reader to read them.
Of course, if I could find a decent site on the net I might be convinced, but I never managed to find one that caters to most of my reading tastes.