Researchers Demo Flippable-Page E-book Reader 101
holy_calamity writes "E-readers are getting better but still limit users to keyboard-style interaction. Researchers at Berkeley and Maryland Universities have changed that with a reader that has two 'pages.' The two displays can be moved like a real book's pages to leaf through a document, or detached to compare and share virtual pages. If they are folded back to create a tablet with displays on each side, you can turn it over to flip pages. A video shows it in action." You may be reminded of the promised second-generation OLPC device, which looks somewhat similar.
Neat, but misses the biggest problem (Score:3, Informative)
I've been interested in eBooks for quite a while now, but the problems I have with all of them are not the small controls, or the lack of natural page flip options (though the idea here is rather cool).
My biggest problems with all current eBook readers is the very limited (and usually highly proprietary) formats that they support, and when they do support other formats the lack of efficiency in way they deal with it. For example the Sony eBook reader will read PDF's, but the further you go into a PDF the slower the page flips get. The same problem is not evident, of course!, when using the Sony default (and highly DRM'ed) format. Also the eInk technology is still rather slow in the page updates... Have not used a Kindle yet, so cannot comment on how it behaves or the efficiency of their alternate format supports.
So far the best reader I have found are the Fujitsu P1510/1610/1620 series of small form factor tablets. Using a standard OS on it, I can load any eBook reader software I want, and still be able to use it as a travelling computer when I need it. Of course the weight is much heavier then the "real" eBook readers, but at least I'm not restricted to their formats.
Crap (Score:4, Informative)
This guy can't stop talking about how people doing "research-like" work won't be please by a e-reader. They demonstrate that by showing this guy reading a double-column mini-letter size paper.
Pretty obvious, if you ask me. E-readers are handy, but not for reading tasks that very fast require navigation. Specially of double column pdf files (that would be the equivalent of what the guy was handling). For stuff like that a large LCD monitor on vertical stand does the job much better. Or simply print the dawn thing.
Their proposed solution is to have 2(!) small screens, which are even harder to flip pages than hitting a large round button like in most e-readers (mine is a el cheapo Hanlin v3 [jinke.com.cn])
You wanna a glimpse to the future of (affordable) e-books just look at these images: http://www.jinke.com.cn/Compagesql/embedpro/futurepro.asp [jinke.com.cn]
Re:Neat, but misses the biggest problem (Score:1, Informative)
Try Hanlin's stuff http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlin_eReader - it runs on linux and views pretty much everything. The iRex iLiad http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ILiad is the same, though a lot more expensive.
Re:Pornographers are not early adopters (Score:3, Informative)
"first mass printed porn 1950 or so.
Incorrect. The obvious counter example is the 'Kama Sutra'
I was able to download porn in the 80's, and in 1990 I could download naked Samantha Fox pictures from the 'internet'.
Re:Why? (Score:3, Informative)
One of the nice touches on the Kindle device was the addition of a LCD bar on the side that you could use a scroll wheel with. Since it's not part of the page, it doesn't have to refresh. I take that as a nod that you don't have to limit yourself to a single e-ink display, and that you can use other options for navigation.