Electronic Readers, will they ever catch on?

[jem]

Doesn't matter to me i dont read

[LWA]

I like the idea of E-Readers (in that you can carry around multiple volumes whilst taking up minimal space).

However, am I the only one that falls asleep whilst reading books and sometimes they fall on the floor?

[Saracen]

.....

However, am I the only one that falls asleep whilst reading books and sometimes they fall on the floor?

In that case, don't use an e-reader in the bath.

[bigblue]

My girlfriend is trying to make her mind up as to whether she wants one of these for Christmas. She reads a frightening amount of books, and is also a bit of a techie, so she quite fancies one.

The downside is the fact that she's just not sure about the 'feel' side of things. The upside is that she wouldn't have to take several books with her when we go on hols, nor would she have to go hunting for a bookshop when she runs out!

It just seems a bit too much to pay for something which could turn out to be just a travel/convenience gadget. The subscription idea mentioned is interesting, but I think it would have to be considerably cheaper per month than mobile phone contracts.

[Hunain]

Ereaders are convenient, you could probably prefer reading a few things on them, but for sheer pleasure, an e-reader can only beat a book if it can feel and smell like paper, if you can hold it in both hands flipping page after page...aah...memories of the good ol days when I used to read actual books ...

[MSIC]

I'm intrigued by e-ink and e-paper, i really like the idea of it not using any electricity whilst you read a page but for me, i think that technology will reach maturity when we have high def true colour versions, and can use them for photo displays (rather than the ridiculous things we have now).

An ebook reader does have a place for me, but it'd have to be at least an order of magnitude cheaper.

[Webby]

Remember that the are plenty of books out there that are free as well as the copyright has expired on them want to have a copy of the complete works of Shakespeare you can get it free as an ebook I think any book published before 1923 is now copyright free (certainly in the USA) so the are a fair number that you can browse through on your ebook at no additional charge

[Funkstar]

That is actually something i never thought of, it's actually a killer reason to get one in my opinion

[Hunain]

Yea he is right, actually you can get most of them in microsoft reader format too, I had a whole collection once (wonder where it went) but it was no fun reading on the PC monitor, I shifted them on my smart phone, read them when I have nothing better to do

[emzallan]

Maybe some use for students but it would take the fun out of reading a good book for pleasure in my opinion. Also ebooks can be read on laptops so any electronic benefits don't seem too great when it could just work through a laptop instead where the screen etc is bigger.

[shadowsilver03]

Strange that no-one seems to have touched on (what I feel) is a key point.

The legacy that a book can have. You could buy a book tomorrow, and it could still be readable and enjoyable in 20,30, even 100 years time.

With the rate of development in our technology based world, theres no guarantee that an ebook you buy today will be useable in 5 years.

Nothing beats the feeling of reading a book that you know has a history, or could have a history (my parents have alot of books from their childhoods in the loft, most of which I've read).

[ACiD303]

My original stance on this still stands. However, having seen and used one in a demo stand (the Sony), I have to say I'm somewhat impressed by the screen. Not being backlit, a page actually looks like a page from a book. I thought it was just a static paper image you see on many display models, but it wasn't!

Even though I'm impressed, I still don't see myself buying one, or being interested in buying one, for quite a while yet.

[TheAnimus]

My original stance on this still stands. However, having seen and used one in a demo stand (the Sony), I have to say I'm somewhat impressed by the screen. Not being backlit, a page actually looks like a page from a book. I thought it was just a static paper image you see on many display models, but it wasn't!

Even though I'm impressed, I still don't see myself buying one, or being interested in buying one, for quite a while yet.

Because you can see yourself having access to a vast library of books. Imagine a subscription model, every book you could want, available, straight away. Tempted?

[ACiD303]

Because you can see yourself having access to a vast library of books. Imagine a subscription model, every book you could want, available, straight away. Tempted?

Not really, I don't have the need for it. Not to say I won't in the future, but having a book or two on me isn't a burden - I don't really read more than 2 books at any given point. However, I carry about 6 textbooks on me everyday for Uni, whereas the library offer free ebook versions - I choose to carry the books.

As mentioned earlier in the thread, unless I was away travelling, or having to go do something in the field which required a mass of textbook knowledge onsite, I don't see myself needing this. I have a Zaurus, if I really needed to view a PDF or other electronic form of notes. Not as good for reading I'd admit, but I'm not paying for an ebook reader just because I was slightly impressed it actually looked like a page from a book...

[Animus404]

Just something else to do on a PDA, you don't need a dedicated reader. I just prefer books anyway, they don't run out of batteries or break.

[Joe5]

I am sure the technology will catch on eventually. It is just a matter of getting the price down and the quality of the product up. I think the quality of the screen as well as the amount of data that you can keep on the device is very important to the success of the technology.

I think it's about time it happens, because so much effort is wasted on libraries, book shops, printing and shipping. It would be much better if you could just download the book and then read it on your hand held device.

Right now it's probably only viable for business travelers, who don't want to lug heavy books around.