Digital Lifestyle

The big things for eBooks are contrast and battery life. Everything else (color, keyboard, wireless) is just there to assist.

Precisely why Amazon should open up the kindle book format, and do what Audible (damn the DRM) did with audio books ... become the provider.
they can make out like bandits by just moving a set of bits at 10-20 bucks a pop.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/14/2009 02:39PM by rino.

Without publishers, they're on an even plane with everybody else. Why give up that high ground?

My understanding is that the main purpose of this thing is to read books and that even surfing the web would be a PITA on this thing. No word processing, certainly no video or games, no nothing that requires the screen to refresh quickly. It's a fancy etch-a-sketch. Ergo the main thing the keyboard is for is to enter data to find books/authors/keywords etc already on the damn thing or from the amazon store.

Why didn't they "think outside the box" and use a well-thought-out intuitive scrollwheel or touchscreen system (I hear they're popular in phones and music players) or something similar and get rid of about 1/4 to 1/3 of the size of the damn thing which at the moment is just wasted space.

I like the size and layout of my Sony reader... I like the availability of titles for the Kindle.

This is another situation where it's ridiculous for them to have multiple standards. I understand the need for DRM but these idiots need to get behind a single format.

It looks to me that in the e-readers world DRM is also being used as a way to lock out the competition. I have no objection to DRM when you basically pay a small rental fee for a book. I don't know the pricing on ebooks, but if it's around 10 bucks a title, I think the files should not be married to a device that will take my books with it when it dies.

For the Sony stuff, you can authorize up to 5 devices on your account. Those 5 devices can be a combination of computers and handheld readers.

And on the Kindle, you can move your content to a new Kindle. No sharing, no multiple readers for one account. I think that we don't have touchscreens for three reasons; the cost of the hardware, the effect of the extra thickness on the contrast for a non-backlit device, and the slow responsiveness of the e-Ink screen.

Actually, the newest Sony model, the PRS-700, does have a touchscreen.

Oh. That's very different. Never mind.


/Emily Litella

Odd though -- Sony is like the Ford motor company of consumer electronics. Maybe that's not so apt a comparison but u get my drift?

I've been wanting to upgrade my old Sony DCR-TRV103 Handycam Digital 8mm camcorder for a while. But I have felt like the miniDVs did not really offer me much new, just smaller. Well, the straw has officially broken the camel's back. The new raft of camcorders ARE BETTER.

So, we were at a scouting function last night, and one of the parents had this Sony HD HDD camcorder http://www.provantage.com/sony-hdrsr11~7SNYF01A.htm It takes 10mp stills, has a 5+MP video sensor, and a 60GB HD. I was very impressed. And Provantage has the best REAL price I've seen on it. By that I mean none of those shady internet/NYC scam artists. Every transaction I have had with Provantage has been fantastic. I usually have no loyalty to any retailer, but I must say that Provantage has never done me wrong. I have not purchase many things from them, but when I have they are always very speedy, usually low-priced, and always have great catalogs that I peruse.

Anyway, now I have to figure out what it was about the other camcorders I've been eyeing that might avert my attention away from the above Sony camcorder once again. Because last night that camcorder was very nice in its execution of its duties.

Oh, and it didn't help matters that MY camcorder's battery went dead about 10 minutes into recording, even though I had just charged it up. :(

$299 Canon XTi refurb Adorama
http://www.adorama.com/ICADRXTIBR.html?emailprice=t&sid=1235322670423442

Good price point, imo.

Go stimulate the economy!

Hah. Locked up my Kindle 2 within the first ten button presses. And it was not instantly obvious how to reset the beast. I went to Amazon on my iPhone, to read the docs there, when Amazon routed me to their mobile site that wouldn't let me get at the damn support docs. Or, at least, made it hard enough that I dragged out my MBP. Annoying all around. Still, I think I figured out my problem: I tried to read a book before it had downloaded. Just kind of locked things up. I won't do that again.

ah, so it WAS your fault... .

ddt

Yes, I tried to read a book on my Kindle. I was foolish. And the correct error behavior is to lock up, not to inform your user of the problem, so all was working as intended.

Not... there... yet...

It's a nice device. But you can't use it for five minutes without seeing all the bad decisions, most of which Apple (under Jobs) would never have made. No way to organize my (potentially) 1500 books? I have to scroll through 200 index pages to see them all?!

Really? That's another nice feature on the Sony. The software works similar to iTunes and you can organize books into the equivalent of Playlists.