E-Book Readers – What’s The Point?
December 7th, 2009 | Posted in Hardware, Opinion | 4 CommentsI just saw something in the daily news summary email titled “Read All About It: Dueling E-Books” in which they’re talking about a comparison of the top five E-Book readers.
Frankly, I just don’t see the attraction to these things at all. First of all when I read a “book”, I want an actual physical book, not something that resembles a glass tile from somebody’s bathroom floor with a screen painted on it.
Second of all, have you seen the PRICES of those things?!? Of the five devices that they reviewed in the article the Sony Reader Pocket Edition was the lowest priced unit and it came in at $199!! The higher end device, Amazon’s Kindle DX, weighs in at a whopping Price: $489!! For that kind of money you can get a decent laptop and have not just the ability to read stuff, but you also get all of the standard computer capabilities… internet, games, productivity and scheduling apps, etc., etc, etc…
I’d ask “what will they think of next” but I’m not sure yet if I want to know the answer.
[tags]ebooks, ebook readers, kindle, sony reader, expensive, pointless[/tags]
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Personally, I am with you about wanting a real book over an e-book. About the only e-books I have ever even come close to making it through were techical ones that dealt with things like Computer Programming. I can’t imagine reading an e-book for fun. Not only is there something about the feel, but also the smell of a real book.
Basically I also agree with you. I can’t see myself replace actual books with one of those readers any time soon.
The laptop comparison doesn’t quite cut it though. Everyone who’s ever had to read a manual or something else on a computer screen for an extended time will know that it really starts to hurt your eyes after a while. I just can’t focus on a long text on a laptop screen.
Those eBook readers on the other hand have completely different screens which are in fact quite similar to actual printed pages. I tired one out at a bookstore a while ago since I’m generally interested in electronic toys and I was very pleasantly surprised at the readability (Yeah, I know that’s probably not a real word).
Maybe I’m unusual but I’d rather read either a hardcopy book, CRT monitor or Laptop screen.
I’m pretty sure that’s what they said when schools switched from mini chalk boards to paper and pencil. Pretty soon libraries will be protested for protection like the old theaters when in reality we are holding on to something that is just taking up space and having been replaced with something newer and more efficient.
They will be protested to be saved by the same people who yelled at me to read more as a kid then yelled at me because I read LOTR instead of going outside.
It is that fear as the hipsters age and realize that all things are replaced one day – that inevitable revelation that the next generation is definably different, strange, but also the future regardless of how loud you cry, or how much you try to tell them they are wrong.