e-Reader worth it? Or facing extinction vs. tablets/smartphones?

I can't wait to get my hands on one when it drops to 50.

Electronic Ink is great for reading.


Where tablets can improve even more over laptops is battery life and heat displacement. They should make it as convenient as possible.

 

By computer I meant laptop. It is a lot easier and convenient at times to use the iPad, especially considering I don't need a wireless connection to get on the Internet.

I know folks say that smart phones can do everything that a tablet can do, but I cannot use those small screens to perform a lot of the tasks I need to do.

 

What do you consider acceptable battery life?

 

I'm pretty tired of buying the same thing over and over again. In ten years the file format used won't even be supported and you'll be buying the same book on a new device... okay, so I'm being a cynic, but at least a book will be around for your life and your kids life unless we start burning them again.

 

To each his own. I did use the words "may" and "chances are" for a reason. :grin:

 

I wholeheartedly agree. In these threads, I don't try to change anyone's mind, I just point out a device's usefulness (or lack thereof) as it pertains to me.

 

I'm pretty sure that I'm going to buy a Kindle at the next price drop. I still like having physical books, but the convenience is making it really tempting. I have no desire for an iPad, though.

 

So you're saying tablets give you a headache when you read them? That's news to me.

Unless you have wifi, eh? Not exactly a huge advantage, but why does the kindle get the foreign 3g for free where the ipad or other potential 3g tablets do not?

 

For a netbook....comparable to a smartphone with its size, like 9 hours while surfing on wifi. The catch would be the processor, which should be beefy enough to handle poorly written flash (facebook games), HD streams on hulu, or HD movies.

It'd be like a day of work without worrying about charging it.

 

Been thinking about getting my mom one of these as a gift. With the recent price drop, it's become a reality.

 

I used an iPad for the first time last week and was blown away. Simply impressive. And I'm not a gadget or apple guy. My one reservation was that it was simply too heavy to be a good eReader.

I still much prefer books to virtual books -- but I could see e-readers thriving at an attractive enough price point because of their weight and readability advantage.

 

Basically, Amazon pays for it, so you can buy books from them.

 

I'm not a big reader, but e-ink looks great in person and I imagine would be a killer feature if I were a serious reader.

 

It really is this. The Ipad is great I guess, and seems would be good for short quick reads like a newspaper or magazine or photo/art books. But to be staring at a backlit LCD so closely for the hours needed to complete a book is eye straining.

There are some people who only require one purpose from their ereader, and there are some who want the 3g to borrow on the go, mp3 for background noise, wifi for browsing, all the extra amenities that are outperformed on an ereader by probably any other device, which is more prevalent. I take the ereader to be a niche device, probably because it's strength, the E-ink and it's ability to mimic ink and paper, is not really able to be adapted to any other medium or leisure activity.

Technology will probably give us E-ink in color later on down the line, and it will be better than what the ipad or any other backlit display can give right now.

 

e-Reader is not going to be extinct. I'm pretty sure they will evolve but they better do it quickly.

 

By pricing it at $139, they are appealing to a much wider segment than the iPad, ensuring greater adoption and lengthening its production life considerably. The iPad is still way too expensive for mainstream consumers. Expect holiday sales for the $139 Kindle to blow up.

 

But that's the problem. It's only act as a reader and nothing else. What they need to do is add an internet browser on that thing and it'll take off.

 

I have a garmin too I love my technological toys

Edit: Cowboy Bebop... mine does have a browser.. it's not perfect but it let's me read forums and mobile pages.

Edit 2: Prof it is really nice.. I can read it just as well as I would a paper book. With a book light I can read it at any time anywhere.

 

E-ink gives readers a big advantage over tablets.

PDFs and color mags and comics is where the tablets/iPad excels. Awesome experience there.

Otherwise, I would prefer e-ink.