Are e-readers still too underdeveloped to be worthwhile?

Astraeus

I was browsing Amazon as I have a lengthy shopping list for books and, after happening upon an advert for the Kindle 3, I began to investigate it a little more as I often find myself baulking at the space books take up in my wardrobe and when I am on my travels. A lightweight, small and highly portable option seems like an absolute God-send to regular readers. I was sold on the Kindle 3 and then I began looking at what books were available for it - and my enthusiasm dwindled.

As is, there are inherent flaws or 'underdevelopments' in the technology. The unit would be more streamlined with a touch screen interface (most notably, the zoom function on the Kindle looks very slow when compared with the Apple devices); there is just not the breadth of books available to make it suitable for people with more specific tastes (my searches were all non-fiction and mainly history books, some of which were bestsellers (Simon Scharma's History of Britain, for example)); the cost is unjustifiable on any basis other than the fact that "it's still cheaper than a book" which quite frankly is a ridiculous argument for publishers to rely on, especially in a "green" age. I also find myself worrying about how these books would reproduce graphics - I was looking at books on cartography and can't imagine the reproduction of maps would be at all sufficient.

Do you think that this technology is bound to never truly find its market? E-readers have been around for years and the advances aren't staggering when compared to developments in the tablet PC market, especially with the advent of the iPad. I would love for an e-reader to have the availability of books which meant I never needed to get a paperback/hardback again but I can't see that day coming. And when will touch screen arrive on these devices?

I'm torn as to whether or not I should invest my next £120 on a Kindle and a couple of books which are neither here-nor-there or whether that money should be spent on a dozen books I really want.

domtheone

Can't help you there but have an immediate bump as i'd be interested to hear from Kindle owners.

Spent some time reading reviews on Amazon the other day after I picked up a book for the first time in a year the other day.

Never comfortable reading in bed as the book was heavy, had to hold it wide open to read all the text etc etc.

Word has it the Kindle is lighter than your average book and easier to navigate/handle when you're lying down etc etc.

Want to get back into reading books so be useful to see what owners of e-readers say.

Wild Weasel

Just think how many books you can buy for £120.

Astraeus

Exactly my thinking. This is my question - is that outlay, whilst albeit inexpensive compared to the iPad, a worthwhile trade-off for a technology which seems to have stalled or at least not be utterly proficient at its intended purpose?

IRobot

I've been using one for 2 years now (Sony PRS-505). Reading text only fiction in bed.

I would definitely not buy one for non-fiction. Things like pictures, diagrams, maps etc. would be very unsatisfactory on any e-ink device. The Apple iPad may be more suitable for that kind of material. E-ink is excellent for reading text for long periods.

I would not buy one for viewing PDF's, newspapers, documents etc.

I would also not buy one if you wanted to read specific books. I'm happy to read what's freely available on the web.

Ian J

It's intended purpose isn't to read heavyweight reference books crammed with artwork, diagrams and the like but to provide a lightweight solution for reading "normal" books.

I read mainly on holiday and can't take any hardbacks with me and find that four hefty paperbacks take up too much room in my suitcase so the Kindle is a godsend.

I read mainly biographical books so there is plenty of content for me to be getting on with

Pecker

I don't have a Kindle, but I want one.

I do a lot of my reading on holiday, and I can get through a lot in a few days.  But I also like a choice, so I tend to take twice as much as I end up reading.  That's a lot of baggage allowence.

I like the fact that it can also be used for newspapers.  I get fed up of 2 day old news in Greece, and getting the paper immediately would be a real plus.  I'm not bothered about the pictures, I just want to read the news.

None of the drawbacks mentioned in this thread negate any of this.

Steve W

Sonic67

Do you mean the Apple Ipad? It’s not a good idea for use as an e-reader as it’s harder to see the screen outdoors than the use of e-ink, LCD screens are tiring to view for text anyway and the Ipad is also heavy for long use as a book. Most reviews tend to cite about 25 minutes max if you are holding it. Aside from that there’s cost. I’d be a lot happier risking a £120 Ereader on a bus or somewhere than a £500 Ipad. Ereaders also tend to have a two week battery life. Enough for a decent holiday.

If you want a touchscreen ereader Sony do one and have done for a while:

Touch Edition

Meet Sony's New Readers

I don’t see how it’s that essential though. With an ereader you just need to turn the page. A button can be fine for that. Adding a touchscreen is another layer of screen which can mean a slightly less sharp image than not having one. Capacitive touchscreens also tend to be expensive. Why do you want a touchscreen? Coolness?

Greyscale graphics look fine on the current ereaders. Colour E-ink has been developed.

Micromart recently did a long article on why the new Kindle will be massive. I’ll post the main points up later.

Sonic67

Think how many CDs you can buy for the price of an MP3 player.

I bought an ereader for Mrs Sonic. It's currently has about 200 free books (Gutenberg etc) on it. How much would those 200 books cost? The copyright is out on old books so they can be had for an ereader for free. However an actual paper book still has printing and delivery costs involved. So Alice In Wonderland would still cost money to buy from a bookshop. If you want to read Sherlock Holmes, HG Wells, Jane Austen, Grimms Fairy Tales, Treasure Island, Mark Twain etc then it's worthwhile.

Manky

I picked up a Kindle 3 (wifi only version) at the start of September. I'd been considering an ebook reader for a couple of months after starting to read more classics, ones that are freely available from the Gutenberg project. I'd held off because, until the new Kindle was announced, I thought they were a little over-priced.

For my intended purpose, reading straight text, I find the Kindle perfectly usable. The battery life is more than adequate as a recent two week holiday showed. I'm happy enough without a touch screen; adding one would probably have increased the price to a point where I wouldn't have bought one at all.

I haven't yet purchased any ebooks; I only have free ones off either Amazon's Kindle shop or gutenberg.org. However, I have found myself starting to pick up physical books by authors I've read on the Kindle. In my mind at least, the £109 I paid was worth it as I'll read books that I wouldn't necessarily have read otherwise.

I don't see the iPad as a competitor to the Kindle either. If I could justify an iPad I'd happily own both but it would be the Kindle I took on holiday.