In defense of ebook readers
And I’ve already solved part of that. Despite making an iPhone app optimized for reading magazine-length text, I mostly read long content with my very beta Kindle-export feature (which sucks, and is about to be replaced with a much better version) because it’s so much more comfortable — the e-ink screen really is much easier on the eyes, and much more text fits on the Kindle’s screen than the iPhone’s. (If the rumor consensus is to be believed, the Apple tablet unicorn will only solve the latter problem.)
This whole piece is a good read, but the point about e-ink is something that’s been sticking in my mind lately. No matter how super fantastic the Apple tablet is, it still won’t be e-ink. Maybe no one cares, but my understanding has been that the Kindle’s (and all ebook reader’s) killer feature is the e-ink.
Also, my initial response to Kottke’s comments on single-use devices was that I can do almost all of that on my iPhone, except for when I want to really dig in and read a book. That’s the value of the Kindle for me. Not that I’m necessarily looking to add another device to the pile that I carry around already, but as far as books, I like the idea of a dedicated device. I want to be able to focus and read. No push notifications, no email, no (real) web, etc.
(Of course, the flip side of all of this is that I tend to think that the Apple tablet is going to be a lot more than an oversized iPod touch, and there’s a good chance some of these concerns may be addressed in a new fashion, so this is all subject to change.)
