[LINK] The Amazon Kindle e-book

[Scott Howard]

On Sun, Jul 6, 2008 at 8:57 PM, Ivan Trundle <ivan at itrundle.com> wrote:

> Err - how about a recharging unit, and availability of power
> supply..., a bag to put it in, protection, etc.
>

I don't know about the Kindle (with it's wireless access), but most ebook
readers are good for around 5-10,000 page turns, and charge using a USB
connector. The battery is only used when actually changing a page, not when
statically displaying a page.

Back to quantity: Even the most voracious book reader would have
> trouble reading more than a large novel on the longest available plane
> flight around the world - it's a different data set. Two large novels
> would cover most possibilities, and ease of access to other novels in
> such predicaments is not an issue, mostly (unless your reading tastes
>

Not all of us do simple point-to-point trips :)

My last trip consisted of 9 flights, almost 30 hours in the air, plus
probably another 15 hours in airports - all over 2 weeks.  Two large novels
certainly isn't enough for that trip (it took 4, one of which was bought
en-route).  Ease of access is an issue when you're traveling to non-English
speaking countries - even airports often have a very limited selection of
English books.


> There's also a lot more to the tactile senses that are used when book
> reading - page thickness, page location, text location, serendipity of
> access, ability to bookmark, annotate, etc all need to be addressed in
> an e-book - some developers understand this, and are working towards
> it, but all realise that it won't replace the book.


Most of these are addressed to varying extents in the e-book readers
available today.  Most/All have the ability to bookmark pages, and the
Kindle has the ability to annotate.


> For starters, look at the size and variety offered in book formats: an
> important part of the experience - snuggling up in a crowded space in
> bright sunlight (for example) is not an easy task with a Kindle, and
> nor is it as easy to throw in your carry bag as some books are.
>
[...]

> ps. Try reading for long periods where the only form of light is the
> screen that you're reading... It's really tough on the eyes. Mind you,
> my kids can quite comfortably read in the dark, it appears, so it must
> be me. Incidentally, the Kindle has backlighting that allegedly chews
> the power, but can run with backlighting off (hence it's
> attractiveness compared with other e-books).
>

OK, would I be right in saying that this point that you've never seen a
Kindle or any other form of e-paper reader?

The Kindle does not have a backlight, nor does any other e-paper based
device. They are equally readable in bright sunlight as low light (as much
as standard paper is), and there is NO light from the screen itself, and no
battery use when not changing pages (excluding wireless/etc on the Kindle).
It sounds like you are confusing e-paper devices with something like an LCD
device, where most of these issues you've raised are relevant.

  Scott.