I agree with the others on this sony must learn from the mistakes in japan with is first libra ebook and allow users to install there own stuff but thats not the biggest obstical that this product has. the biggest hurdle is price now I like my gaggets like the next man but unless you can pick up a ebook cheaper than what you can get in the shops this will never fly, I’ll take my dead tree any time if I can get the same info for $5 less from amazon.

sony take a good long hard look at why itunes took of it wasn’t anything to do with the publisity and catchy adverts after all who acually purchased the first gen stuff (be honnest not many) it was down to wide availablity and cheepness of the supported product people will always come back if they can get it from you cheeper than in the shops.

sony this is your second chance with eink in the biggest consumable market in the world, its a classy product what will sell if you get it right so don’t bulls it up!

I think this is a great device and e-ink is the wave of the future. However, it should not be limited to simply reading books. Can software be developed the the Sony Reader? If so, that would be great. People could develop new applications to do new/innovative things (support new book formats, play games, other useful things). Without open-source developer support, this device is doomed to live a short life.

Regards,
–Steven

I think what most people are not understanding with the technology is the major difference between E-ink and every other electronic display type. E-Ink is entirely reflective light, meaning there is no light shinning in your eyes when you look at it, just like a piece of paper.

E-ink, like paper, does not generate any light of it’s own. So no matter how high the resolution of a PDA screen is, it will never compare. It’s like the difference between a real painting and a video of a painting, the light characteristics are completely different.

I would love to have one !!!! and for every school child to have one. Have you lifted your child’s bookbag? No child should be carrying around 40 to 50 lbs. of books daily. The texts are heavily bound and have lots of pictures, neither of which is necessary. The content is important. So is the cost and e-books are not going to cost anymore than a full set of texts.
I hope Mr. Jobs and Apple does partner with publishers and give us something that will be affordable, easy to use and have a positive impact on the orthopedic health if our school kids.

Does anyone know what the cost is going to be for the sony reader?

Awesome, I can’t wait till it comes out and to get real reviews, but if it has a big display, reads pdf, and has a long battery life I’m in.

Apple needs to take this technology and make it super sweet where everyone will want one.

I want one where can I get it?

I’ve probably had more experience with eBooks than most, as I bought the Gemstar (previously RCA) eBook almost five years ago. It was absolutely wonderful, full of great features such as dictionary, bookmarks, notations, ability to rotate the text through all four positions, very long life between battery charges, and seveal degrees of adjustment to backlight and contrast. Two page forward/back buttons that could be reversed.

Had a built-in modem to download books or you could do it with the PC. Excellent librarian software. Best of all, you could download any two fonts and type sizes that were on your computer through the USB connection, so for those with vision problems, you could pick a large print.

It did not have huge memory, but you could still load 8-10 books at a time. You could get them at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc direrctly if you wanted. You could even subscribe to several magazines and newspapers.

Unfortunately, the idiots at Gemstar (publishers of TV Guide) decided to stop supporting it and making books available, because “there was not enough demand.” As they never ever advertised nor promoted it, of course there was no demand as nobody knew about it. There was never a time I was reading it in an airport, doctor’s office or a store that somebody did not ask what it was, and was really impressed.

Even though they said it could not be done, I figured out how to get Gutenberg text file books sucked into it, so still use it. When the battery dies, however, I’ll be stuck with a novel paperweight.

So, I can hardly wait for the Sony to get out and be able to buy books again. It looks just wonderful, about the same size as the Gemstar, but thinner with loads more memory.

Can anybody who has one tell me if the type size can be enlarged, or if you can zoom in?

I think absolutely everyone on this thread who is trying to compare the Sony Reader to a PDA or a laptop or the Nokia device is COMPLETELY MISSING THE POINT.

Yes, new LCD screens are nice, but they don’t even vaguely compare to an E-Ink display for text. E-ink displays look like B&W printed paper. No LCD display does. Even the best LCDs look washed out in direct sunlight. E-ink displays, like paper, look BETTER the brighter it is. There is a reason why people prefer to read books and magazines in the dead tree variety. If you are reading hours on end (which is what people do with books), LCDs just don’t cut it.

Colour would be nice (for magazines and photos) but they are not entirely NECESSARY for the target market. The vast majority of FICTION I read only has colour on the cover. Else, it is black text printed on paper which is what the E-ink display excels at. Simiarly with newspapers. Again, colour is nice but in the end, you reading the text.

The second part is the battery life. Even the best PDAs have battery lives only in the 10-20 hour range. Someone before stated this is “nothing to be sneezed at”. I beg to differ. If I were on a holiday or trip, you could easily read over 20 hours within a few days. Then, you would need to CHARGE it before reading more. Furthermore, you would be unlikely to use a PDA simply for reading books, further cutting into your reading time. An E-ink based reader (like the Sony reader) would more than likely be good for your entire trip (and probably not need to be charged even for weeks afterwards unless you are truly a voracious reader).

Regards,
Michael Tam