Five Features I Want in My Next eBook Reader

I love technology but have chosen to not be an early adopter of any ebook reader. One reason is because I assumed it would be a hot item with technology advancing so fast that new versions would be released frequently making older versions almost obsolete pretty quick (making me frustrated about money I spent). I think you are dead on about the smaller, multifunctional device that can be an all-in-one type solution. I’m sure that is coming. All this to say… I am intrigued by the technology and “cool” factor but I still really like physical books. Why? Primarily because I am tied to technology throughout most of my day and I like the break a physical book provides. It’s a like a mini escape from the digital leash. Sitting in a quiet place with no cords, batteries, etc. The turning of the pages, the notes hand written in the margins, the mental journey that a good book takes me on… I just prefer it to be a non-digital experience… at least for now.

[back after a bout with food poisoning]
The more I think about what it would take for me to buy a digital reader, the more I realize that a digital reader can never give me a few things I love…
1. the ability to look over my bookshelf for a reference book which I can loan to a friend in need.
2. leaf through a used copy of a P.G. Wodehouse early printing and wonder whose fingers first touched the pages.
3. the ability to read hand-written notes in the margins of the pages by those that came before.
4. the feeling of anxiety as I can't wait to turn the page of a great mystery.
5. the ability to find an old book deep in a closet, dust it off, and read it with the same enthusiasm as the first time.

The morning, as I was walking the streets of downtown Indianapolis on my way to work, I was reading "De-railed." A time or two, I flipped back a page or a chapter to re-read something. There is just something about the feeling of a book in my hand that an electronic device could never replace.

WAIT, there is one think a book reader could have – a space for a coffee warmer.

Remember back when personal computers first came out? They've come a long way since then. And electronic readers will do the same. It's just that today with all our electronic advances we get impatient. I just published my first book for Kindle and I'll be interested to see how it sells. Thanks for your post- it raised some important points about electronic readers.

Electronic book readers are too expensive if that's the only function they perform. A small tablet computer priced like a netbook, the size of a hardback book, that's dockable for easy use at my desk, but usable as a tablet elsewhere, with eBook functionality would be ideal.

Michael, Your blog review of the Kindle got me to start looking at eReaders earlier this year. I was just about to ask for the Kindle for Christmas when the announcement of the Nook came out. I did some research and consideration as to which eReader that I wanted.

I choose the Nook based on the size, touch screen and sharing ability. My Nook is set to ship in 16 days and I should have it up and running by Christmas day.

I plan on doing a blog review of the Nook after the first of the year, once I have had time to use it some and see what it can do.

Michael,

I agree with your point on highlighting and annotations. For me I don't feel like I "own" a book simply because it sits on my shelf or on my hard drive. Highlighting, bookmarking, and annotations all help me to interact with the text so I really understand what the author is communicating.

So far I've been old school on ebooks using MS Reader and Mobipocket on my table and pocket PC. Works great so far. Only problem is availablity of ebooks. Perhaps the Kindle PC will help out in that department.

I love reading your views on this. I can't afford a Kindle right now, but I really want some device like it. I'm thinking of going to law school in the near future, and there is no way I'll be able to take my library with me. I'm sure that an Apple tablet would be the best way to go, but when (or even if) they do come out with one, I'm sure it's going to be ridiculously expensive. "Mom, I know you got me a laptop as a graduation present but now I need…" umm yeah, not gonna work. CEOs? Not so much of a problem in that area, but students want gadgets too. I realize it's all about business and profit, but I'd be more inclined to buy a digital book than go to a movie. It's just the hundreds of dollars for a device that's not AMAZING that gets me.

Mike,

I think the list is spot on. I really don't see me investing in an e-reader until it is available on a platform that I can put on my laptop. At that point, I can truly read like I read my blogs, BUT…they need to figure out the annotating. I haven't really tried one out, but I would love an easy annotate feature with highlighting (or cut and paste) and ability to add notes and categorize. THEN, when I am working on a presentation, I want to be able to search by those categories through my entire eLibrary like I can search for key words now in files on Microsoft documents.

A book reader with all of those features sounds a lot like a tablet PC. Would a thin tablet PC work?

Separately, an additional thing I would like to see out of ereaders is instantaneous page transition and navigation (for flipping between pages).

Only 2 of the things you mention can be done with traditional books (annotation and transferability). Despite it's shortcomings as a technology device, I still prefer the K2 to a traditional book, unless I am reading content with lots of figures.

Someday in the not distant future, there will be many devices that do what you describe. I just hope the publishing industry has caught up with the technology wrt DRM to unleash their full potential.

Hi Michael,

To your first point, to have a unified device: I find it interesting that your willing to use a phone that doesn’t fit in your pocket. I see that trend really feasable though, as a phone doesn’t have to be held to my ear anymore.

It would be great if the device could place calls, manage my contacts and e-mails all on a resonable size screen, while the actually talking and hearing is done through an earpiece. This would let us have a CrunchPad-like device that replaces the phone, e-reader and note-taker, and in 75% of the time, the laptop as well.

twaddle – new generations of media consumers don't want the boring stuff you want, they want convergent media on their mobile – see the Bunny Munroe app on iPhone and you'll understand just how "has been" your wish list is

Just suppose that the Ereaders had been invented first and nothing else was available. Then suddenly someone invented a book with pages you could hold in your hand and own forever and pass along to the next generation, and flip through pages, stopping to read at random. And think of the ceremony of turning the pages of a picture book with a child sitting at your side, studying the details of a well done illustration. Ahh! Now that is progress!

Why dont you try using the iPhone with Stanza..?

Michael, I totally agree with numbers 2,3 and 5. It would be awesome to share selected portions of a book on Twitter. I would also like a color touch screen about the size of the nook or iPad, that would be really great. I can say however that I do like the eInk because to me, so far, it is easier on my eyes to read it than on a laptop screen.

If you think that the highlighting and annotations are clunky on the Kindle, you would be shocked at the Nook. It is a good feature, but the section REALLY has to be meaningful for me to bother with it. I have resorted to carrying a moleskine notebook with my nook to be able to make notes for later. This is proving very helpful to me.