[SEMI-OFFTOPIC] eBook reader recommendations, anyone?

[Tom Goren]

maybe you will like this abomination:

http://www.geeks.co.uk/11414-the-entourage-edge-in-action-dual-scree-ebook-reader

;-)

2009/12/17 Tom Goren <motnerog at gmail.com>

> what is this fantastic device you have invented?
>
> 14-15 by 9-10 inches display?
>
> most ebook readers are much much smaller.
>
> perhaps you should take a look at
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_e-book_readers - there is a big
> matrix there comparing all features of most devices on the market.
>
> also, i think there is some mistake in your basic notion about ebook
> readers given your feature wishlist - since all devices today are designed
> as book replacements, not laptop replacements (two windows displaying
> different content side by side does not sound like something an ebook must
> do in my opinion) - and thus their size and features are appropriately set.
>
> this is also how the kindle got so popular - it set out to do a task and
> does it well (never mind the yucky proprietary formats business right now).
>
> also a netbook is an interesting idea, however then you miss out on the
> whole e-ink thing which is basically the biggest selling point of en ebook
> reader in the first place.
>
> i don't really understand the need of displaying two pages side by side,
> unless you are reading a comic book, and you have reached some two page
> spread. or otherwise some technical diagram that would require a humongous
> amount of space to view (in which case they invented the zoom and dragging
> options).
> it kind of smells of sticking to old design paradigms and not realizing
> that we just read one page at a time anyway.
>
> just my way of looking at it - i think a device like you are specifying is
> very nice, it just seems a bit like you want the best of both world (eating
> the cake and leaving it whole).
>
> perhaps future devices such as the crunchtablet, that looks like it is
> stuck and won't be manufactured, or some other similar device on the way,
> would suit you best.
>
> tom.
>
> 2009/12/16 geoffrey mendelson <geoffreymendelson at gmail.com>
>
>
>> On Dec 16, 2009, at 9:40 PM, Omer Zak wrote:
>>
>>  What does the collective wisdom of the Israeli Linux users know about the
>>> current crop of eBook readers?
>>> Any recommendations?
>>>
>>> Do the following requirements make sense?
>>> 1. Ability to display PDF files.
>>> 2. Full-fledged browser for displaying locally-cached HTML files.
>>> 3. Ability to display text files from the Gutenberg project.
>>> 4. Full Unicode (including BiDi handling) support.
>>> 5. Optional lighting, battery powered, for at least 12 hours (for reading
>>> at night when there is power outage).
>>> 6. Display dimensions: about 36 by 23 cm (14-15 by 9-10 inches), for
>>> convenient display of two book pages side by side.
>>> 7. Ability to display two windows, side by side, each one displaying
>>> different content.
>>> 8. Capacity: at least 10GB (enough to store the entire Hebrew Wikipedia).
>>> 9. WiFi connection (to download reading materials from a host PC).
>>> 10. Note: no requirement to read DRM-protected eBooks.
>>> Does there exist an eBook reader, which meets the above requirements?
>>>
>>
>>
>> Closest thing is the Barnes and Noble Nook, which is sold only in the US
>> at the moment and out of stock until after the first of the year. Check out
>> the specs, compared to the others it's worth waiting for if it fits your
>> needs. I think though it only fits, 1,3,8 (with an external card),9 and not
>> 10. The only other thing close would be a netbook, and with the size screen
>> you want it would be a "tablet pc" or full fledged laptop.
>>
>> IMHO it's the Sony reader (which B&N sold before) modified to be what a
>> Kindle should have been.
>>
>> Geoff.
>>
>> --
>> geoffrey mendelson N3OWJ/4X1GM
>> Jerusalem Israel geoffreymendelson at gmail.com
>> New word I coined 12/13/09, "Sub-Wikipedia" adj, describing knowledge or
>> understanding, as in he has a sub-wikipedia understanding of the situation.
>> i.e possessing less facts or information than can be found in the Wikipedia.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>
>
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