eBook Readers

Posted by JohnP 11/30/2007 at 18:25

I was listening to a podcast today where they discussed eBooks. That got me thinking about what I want in an eBook Reader ….
A Kindle ?

  • Inexpensive – less than the cost of 10 paperback books and it needs to include 10 books with the device – less than $100
  • Small – smaller than a paperback book with 100 pages – think of all those pads on StarTrek, yep that’s the size.
  • Light weight – it should weigh about the same as a paperback scifi book
  • Beautiful reading screen – I don’t know how to explain this – but I know it when I see it.
  • Control of font sizes – 6pt.-32pt. At least 10 different sizes.
  • Open platform – support both the proprietary and open document formats. HTML/CSS, TXT, common MS-Office files, Open Office files, PDF. Minimal graphics.
  • MP3 player – I suppose a case could be made for AAC and WMA protected formats, but that has nothing to do with my personally ripped CDs. This should be an option based on the extra memory to hold 200, 500, 500,000 MP3s.
  • Reasonable Battery life – rechargeable in under 3 hours and it should work 4 days for reading only; standard USB cable used as a charger, not some stupid proprietary cable.
  • Enough memory to hold 5-10 books; I don’t need 200 books.
  • Back light, but it will eat the battery, big time.
  • Looks like a HD when connected to a PC, OS-X or Linux device – definitely not MTP.
  • USB connect to full sized keyboard and mice
  • Quiet; auto-off if the page isn’t turned within a timeout period.
  • 1-handed use. Handy buttons and scrolling designed by a human factors engineer, not some other type of engineer or software developer. Customization of the button use would be nice, esp for left/right handed use.
  • Quick startup and back-to-bookmark; pagination shouldn’t impact my reading. Do it in the background.
  • Auto-sync documents with a folder on a computer
  • Password protected.

Ok, those are the basics, but I’d like a little more …

  • cell phone – GSM or CDMA; I should bring my own cell plan
  • Email / Contact manager; think CrackBerry with all that it provides
  • wifi for web browsing w/ WPA; minimal browsing
  • EDGE, UMTA, EVDO, 3G or faster wireless data
  • if the MP3 player is included, add a voice recorder (MP3/MP4, not WAV)
  • GPS – well, why not?

Most importantly, I don’t want to pay for a book twice. No checking back to a central server for post-purchase validation. No expiration of the content, books don’t expire. Transfer of the ownership – or loaning it out must be allowed. No matter what, 70 years later or until the copyright expires, I should still be able to read the book. Tagging bought books with personal information embedded in the book DRM is fine – name, address, email, and credit card number. This will cause folks to be careful with each book.

Ok, so when we’re all done,

  • you still pay for books
  • you don’t need a different cell phone device
  • you don’t need a different music device
  • you don’t need a special charger, any USB charger will work

After writing all this down, it seems converting a BlackBerry into an eBook reader would be easier than adding email, calendar, and internet connectivity to an eBook.

Someone on /. recommended this @ $130.