eBooks/digital media

Rufus_Shinra

Years ago when you wanted to listen to music, you would have to have a vast collection of bulky tapes and it would be a bitch to find certain sections of a tape. Fortunately, technology has progressed and given us a condensed MP3 player that can have lots of songs, you can search for songs easily. Technology for music has in short, improved.

Are there any similar technologies for books? If I could buy a product that was the size of a PSP, could read Text, Word and PDF files and had a decent battery life and was easy to put a vast library of media on, I would get it in a heart beat. Is that technology out there, if so where? Also, far more importantly, if this technology exists, is there a database similar to itunes where I could actually easily purchase books and put them on this device?

And please no one say "Well laptops can do that stupid". I want something for my pocket, I want something I could bring with me wherever I go.

SporkAndrew

I use a PDA I bought for about £40 off of ebay. Microsoft word for ebooks in .doc, adobe acrobat for .pdf and use Microsoft Reader for .lit files.

I've mostly been reading CC licenced stuff -- haven't made the plunge into actually buying a digital-format book yet..

If your eyes are used to staring at TFT screens all day then you don't get any noticeable strain. You just have to do what you should be doing with computer monitors anyway and make sure you look away every now and then and focus on something in the distance..

rufo

Are you a Sony plant? Because what you're describing is almost exactly the Sony Reader. It actually uses e-paper, which means it's an incredibly high-res device (it's about as sharp as a paperback novel), and takes no battery power to maintain its image - its battery life is actually measured in page-turns, not hours, as the device only turns on when you actually turn the page. I believe it can also convert text files, word docs, PDFs, etc. for viewing on it.

Downsides are that the e-paper technology is in its' infancy, and is a little strange... when you turn the page, it inverts the page, changes the text, then inverts it back, and sometimes leaves a really faint after-image. Oh, and it's $299, although it looks like they'll give you a coupon worth $149 of eBooks if you buy it.

They typically have demo units set up in Borders and CompUSA... definitely take a look at it if you can; even if you don't pick one up, it's just really freakin' cool to see.

Your alternative is to find a PDA with a screen that you like and buy books from eReader.com... I have about a dozen books on there from when I was travelling in Alaska and it was easier to find an internet connection then a good bookstore, and I used to read them on an old Treo.

Rufus_Shinra

rufo wrote: »

Are you a Sony plant? Because what you're describing is almost exactly the Sony Reader. It actually uses e-paper, which means it's an incredibly high-res device (it's about as sharp as a paperback novel), and takes no battery power to maintain its image - its battery life is actually measured in page-turns, not hours, as the device only turns on when you actually turn the page. I believe it can also convert text files, word docs, PDFs, etc. for viewing on it.

Downsides are that the e-paper technology is in its' infancy, and is a little strange... when you turn the page, it inverts the page, changes the text, then inverts it back, and sometimes leaves a really faint after-image. Oh, and it's $299, although it looks like they'll give you a coupon worth $149 of eBooks if you buy it.

They typically have demo units set up in Borders and CompUSA... definitely take a look at it if you can; even if you don't pick one up, it's just really freakin' cool to see.

Your alternative is to find a PDA with a screen that you like and buy books from eReader.com... I have about a dozen books on there from when I was travelling in Alaska and it was easier to find an internet connection then a good bookstore, and I used to read them on an old Treo.

I actually laughed at the Sony plant question considering my incredible disdain for the PS3 and Sony as of late. The thing looks cool, I'm just afraid of proprietary formats ruining what could be an awesome product.

Actually, the more I look at it, apart from the 300 dollar price tag that thing looks amazing.