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Thursday, January 7, 2010

Tech / Books This Is Getting Ridiculous: E-Reader Edition

Posted by Paul Constant on Thu, Jan 7, 2010 at 1:32 PM

Chances are, your grandmother has announced that she is releasing an e-reader at this year's Consumer Electronics Show; everybody else has.

Engadget has a ton of reviews of all the new e-readers that will be available in the coming months. They are most enamored with the Skiff e-reader, which they say might be an "alternative to the Kindle." However, they also seemed to very much enjoy the Plastic Logic QUE and the early version of the MSI dualscreen e-reader that they fondled as well.

They were less impressed with the $399 Nook-like Alex Reader, which seems way too expensive for an e-reader, the E6 and E10 e-readers, and the COOL-ER. And that's not including all the tablets. It's hilarious to watch all these tech companies jostle for position with their high-tech solutions to books, although I still think that whatever Apple announces at the end of this month is going to blow away all of the competition, the way that iPods crushed the burgeoning mp3 market back in the day.

Comments (15) RSS

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I had never seen one of these e-readers in person until the week. I was on the bus, a woman was reading something on a Kindle and I was able to watch her use it as I stood in the aisle. I wasn't impressed. It looked clunky and the 'page' felt too small.
I think e-readers are a great concept, can't wait to get one- one day. But it's gonna be like the cell phones in the late 90's. It'll take a few years to work out the usability that the general public will take interest.

Posted by Enigma

on January 7, 2010 at 1:48 PM

This could save newspapers. Sans paper.

Posted by Vince on January 7, 2010 at 1:48 PM

At the risk of being contrary regarding this "tablet" concept (as opposed to the various e-readers): aren't they essentially trying to sell us a laptop without a keyboard? Won't the "iSlate" basically be a giant iPhone that can't make calls?

Posted by yelahneb

on January 7, 2010 at 2:07 PM

"whatever Apple announces"

Posted by whatever apple announces on January 7, 2010 at 2:10 PM

Buy.
An.
iPhone.

Problem solved.

And wait for the Apple iSlab - that will at least work.

Posted by Will in Seattle

on January 7, 2010 at 2:31 PM

Great coverage on ereaders Paul. So what kind of ereader do you own or are going to buy? Hopefully local.

Posted by Hamilton on January 7, 2010 at 2:46 PM

Reading Engadget this week has been like having a continual stream of heroin injected into my eyes.

Posted by laterite on January 7, 2010 at 2:46 PM

@7 - you must buy some pretty low-grade stuff ...

Posted by Will in Seattle

on January 7, 2010 at 4:07 PM

@5: Have you ever actually read a book on an iPhone?

I didn't think so.

Posted by bigyaz on January 7, 2010 at 4:09 PM

"...whatever Apple announces at the end of this month is going to blow away all of the competition."

Wow, thanks for the great technical insight: "I don't know what the hell it's going to be, but it's gonna be awesome!"

Stupid fucking credulous hack. Do yourself a favor and steer far clear of anything technical. It's embarrassing.

Posted by bigyaz on January 7, 2010 at 4:11 PM

@9 - (turns off the light and leaves @9 cursing in the dark while all his iPhone e-reading friends laugh)

Posted by Will in Seattle

on January 7, 2010 at 4:53 PM

Will has never read a book, period. But yes, I do believe he lives in the dark.

Posted by Fnarf

on January 7, 2010 at 5:13 PM

And, if I'm not mistaken, Will doesn't have an iPhone either. Which makes his vigorous, dare I say SEETHING advocacy for same device completely inane. Like everything else he says or does.

Posted by Fnarf

on January 7, 2010 at 5:37 PM

i dunno i'm kind of enchanted with the idea of a compter that can have either a keyboard (assuming the touch keyboard works well enough) or more screen. and a table that folds in half to protect the screen- that's a plus as well.

Posted by drivel on January 7, 2010 at 5:57 PM

Let's not forget that it took several generations of the iPod to grow to the powerhouse it is today. Content partnerships are key for this particular business, and the market is already extremely fragmented.

Posted by Trioculus on January 7, 2010 at 10:25 PM