After work, I often go to the Starbuck's that's on the upper landing of the Chapters Store in the Eaton Centre. To get there, I have to pass a display of Kobo Ereaders. I have been intrigued by these for a while and recently, I stopped and tried one of them out. They are cheap, but that's all I am really prepared to say in their favour. In fact, I will even retract that - the model on display costs $139 which is as much as a cheap tablet of the same size - and I happen to know that some Sony models cost almost twice as much. The points that are supposed to be in their favour are that they are clear, that you can read them easily in very bright sunlight and that they last for many weeks, even a couple of months, on a single charge.
The thing is, I'm not sure I've much to complain about the displays of most of the other devices. I mean, my Ipod Touch has a pretty clear display that's pretty easy on the eyes and for those who need a larger screen, I'm sure the Ipad or any other good tablet will more than suffice. Also, I'm not sure how critical the clarity of the e-paper in bright sunlight actually is. I know professional photographers love to show students lounging about on lawns reading novels, but it is something that I have seen done fairly rarely in practice and even then only in the summer, which is a somewhat narrow slice of the year in most of the Western world. Most reading is generally done in the shade. Moreover, from personal experience, unless the sunlight is directly aimed at the screen, I can read off my IPod quite easily even when I'm outside. Similarly, while the ability of the device to go for months without needing to recharge sounds really good, in practice most people are always in fairly easy reach of a power outlet. A device that can hold its charge for about 8 hours is quite adequate. After all, I have yet to read a book that is simultaneously so huge and un-put-down-able that I would just have to read it without stopping (even to plug in the device it's loaded on) - for weeks.
Now consider the various flaws of these ereaders. The first is that they are pretty useless for any other purpose and that's a huge drawback when you consider that many tablets cost the same. But much more importantly, even for their designated purpose they are pretty rubbish. Most of them have an intensely irritating habit of doing a slow white to black to white again flicker you turn a page. If you have to turn many pages, and you do, this gets on your nerves pretty quickly. More irritating is their sheer slowness when it comes to turning the pages. This probably isn't such a big issue when you're reading novels and are not really going to go back and forth often. But if you're reading a technical journal article studded with equations, you will want to do just that. And in that case, these devices are really bad. Furthermore, as more and more journal articles are read online, and representing colour online costs nothing, many papers now use colour in their online formats to state their points more vividly. If you're reading such an article on an ereader, well you can suck it.
The thing is, these devices are very popular. In the past few months, especially, I have seen a huge increase in the number of people on the subway and the streetcar reading from them. So, my question is this: Why have they spent so much money on these devices, especially when better options are available !?!
My personal, cynical take on it is this: they are objects to show off with. Since they can only be used to read books, having one of them on the bus advertises the fact that you are the sort of person who reads. Also, the fact that you have spent so much on the devices proves that you value reading very much. Furthermore, an ereader implies that you read A LOT, and you need such a device to manage your huge collection. And by having an ereader instead of a tablet, you proclaim that such modern distractions as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook are beneath you. You sir (or madam) are a serious, cultured, refined and educated individual.
Ereaders are the new phrasebooks.
3 comments:
Maybe I'm just being ignorant, but I would have never thought they were just used to show off with. I was an ereader skeptic for the sole reason that I just like the feel of a book, but I read Pride and Prejudice on one and I must admit it wasn't so bad. I read off the Kindle and I haven't tried the Kobo ones for long periods of time. I actually liked the Kindle. I didn't find it slow at all and it was nice to not have to readjust when lying down to turn the page. I also liked that you could search for things if you were trying to remember a good quote. I still prefer books, but I can see how if you were travelling it would be nice to not carry a bunch of books around. I also find the screen easier to read for long periods than an Ipad or other tablet computer. I guess it's just a matter of personal preference, but I can see the merit in ereaders...
I've never tried the Kindle, but it must be much better than the Kobo or the Sony to be called 'not slow'. The main problem with e-readers is that they aren't good value for money - they cost MORE than a budget tablet, do a lot less and their advantages, even where they do exist, seem to be marginal at best.
"Maybe I'm just being ignorant, but I would have never thought they were just used to show off with." - Well, that's just me being cynical :). But I do think I'm on to something.
The main and perhaps the only advantage the e-readers have over the tablets is that you can read them in bed. You need to be a weight lifter to be able to read an iPad in the supine position for any length of time. I recently purchased a stand which enables me read from the tablet farily comfortably. Now I can confidently predict the death of the e-reader.
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