The Sony Reader (an ebook revolution?)

[Fake Boris]

OK fourth post in a row but I promise it's the last. It also enables you to not hold the book while reading (because it doesn't fold), which is just INCREDIBLE.

[MrFun]

Originally posted by Asher

The best thing about ebooks is you can hook them up to a speech synthesizer and have an incredible audiobook.

BAH! I agree with you and KH -- audio books are stupid -- throw rocks at them.

[Nostromo]

Sometimes, its nice having someone read a book to you. Once, I heard a part of Molly's monologue (from James Joyce's Ulysses) read by an actress with an irish accent. It was worth it.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Yeah, but that's because Irish accents are mega-sexy

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by Apocalypse
I don't see why people would really go for books over audiobooks if you are going to go digital. You can get audio books for under $10 generally...including big names like Dan Brown.

Cause I read about 50 times faster then I can listen?

JM

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by Rufus T. Firefly
People like me may be a fairly specialized market, but I'd buy one. Why? Because I live overseas in a place without libraries, so every book I want I have to buy; and every book I buy I have to move; and every book I move takes up space in my limited moving allowance. An attractive e-book system with a wide range of available downloads would solve a lot of my problems.

That is why I would buy one also...

Everything being digital would be nice.. but you need stuff smaller and sturdier so that you can carry it arround and use it everywhere...

being able to use it outside is a plus, it needs to be as small as a page, and usuable in every way as a page, but digital (so storing many pages) to be perfect though

right now I prefer books to reading online, and print out anything that is more then a few pages

Jon Miller

[Fake Boris]

So you read 50k words a minute Jon?

[Jon Miller]

No, it was an exaggeration

JM

[Drake Tungsten]

I live overseas in a place without libraries, so every book I want I have to buy; and every book I buy I have to move

I feel your pain.

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by Oncle Boris
So you read 50k words a minute Jon?

Speaking is ~120 wpm so 50 times faster would be 6000 wpm

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by Oncle Boris
KH you do 1000 words a minute?

Yes. My record without losing retention is ~1500 wpm

Reading light materials without trying is 500-600 wpm

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
I just would like for the price to go down. I think I'd mostly use it for classics which are in the public domain.

If the manufacturers were smart, they'd pre-load a couple of classics into their product.

[Zkribbler]

quote:
I live overseas in a place without libraries, so every book I want I have to buy; and every book I buy I have to move

Start your own library. You'll still have to buy your books, but you get to leave them behind and other can benefit.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by MrFun
1) save money when you want new "books" -- if or once ebook purchases become dramatically cheaper than buying hardcopy books

Unlike traditional books, you don't actually buy the "books." You only pay to view the contents. For starters, you can't sell them to another person.

Unless they have drastically revised their business model, but I highly doubt it, seeing this is Sony.

Originally posted by MrFun
2) save physical space in your apartment/loft/house/office -- you will finally have shelves freed up for your bannana collection!!

You don't have to buy every single book you want to read, you know.

Originally posted by MrFun
3) incredible portability -- as someone already noted, carry almost your entire library in one ebook tablet!!

A monitor surface just does not read like a paper surface. Besides, it still doesn't have the resolution.

[Dinner]

Thanks but I'll take an old fashioned book over an energy wasting e-book any day.