E-books: Features

you vs. technology Some features and assumptions to consider when deciding among tablets and eReaders:

you, the reader: readers' needs are different -- "one size does not fit all; your mileage may vary..."; evaluate hands-on if possible
the eReader or tablet: more than the sum of its specifications and reviews; part of a "reading system", including you, books, stores, environment, ...; there are always design (and environmental) tradeoffs: no 'perfect' information system/device: desktop, laptop, tablet, eReader, smartphone, media player, wristwatch, ... even paper (including eyeglasses, lamp, shelves, search, ...)
weight, portability: eReaders are lighter than tablets; The Mystery of the Flying Laptop (TSA screens laptops but not netbooks, tablets, e-readers, phones, ...); 4/6/2012; Q. When an e-reader is loaded with thousands of books, does it gain any weight? (A. yes, on the order of an atogram, or 10^-18 g.); 10/25/2011
battery life: hours (tablet); days - weeks (eReader)
eReader: books only vs. tablet: enhanced books, apps, media: storage capacity for books, documents -- and apps, video, audio?; Finding Your Book Interrupted ... By the Tablet You Read It On (distractions: e-mail, Facebook, videos, ...); 3/5/2012; Reading Books on a Tablet Is Dumb (single device vs. distraction); 3/5/2012
display: area: phone; eReader; tablets: 7" (Kindle Fire), 10" (Apple iPad);
rumored: larger Fire, smaller iPad; contrast, brightness (indoor vs. outdoor use); fonts; resolution (pixels; ppi:pixels per in.); Kindle Fire: 1024x600 @169 ppi; iPad2: 1024x768 @ 132 ppi; 'new' iPad: 2048x1536 @ 264 ppi ('Retina display'); black&white (eInk) vs. color (LCD); LCD vs. E Ink: Which is better for e-reading? 5/31/2011; How Electronic Ink Works
navigation: keyboard and/or buttons vs. touch (and gestures); page turning, scrolling, Table of Contents (TOC), library, store; ease of search, definitions, annotation, bookmarks
networking: desktop(USB), WiFi, 3G-4G (cellular); bookstore-only or web?
online stores: book -- and app -- availability; samples; lending: file formats: open (ePub) or proprietary; Mobi; PDF; other?; how many apps available? from vendor only? security, e.g., screened for malware?; Informal e-reader library comparison (book and periodical availability: Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iPad); 10/28/2011; content: quality, adware (e.g., E-book 'missing content'? Amazon must do better); 9/30/2011
reliability, support; software upgrades: e.g., Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support; 10/26/2011
DRM (digital rights management, i.e., copy protection): usually specific to publisher, author and/or book: text-to-speech?
loan? print? email? copy/paste?; users "DRMed" if E-books do (incompatible across platforms);
authors "DRMed" if E-books don't (more difficult to create revenue); Read E-Books On Multiple Devices 3/8/2012; iBook’s DRM Defenses Are Now Only for Show (Requiem); 2/25/2012; Our relationship with e-books: It’s too complicated (Balkanization, ebook hell; sharing notes/passages: OpenMargin, Readmill, Findings; sharing books, unavail features, DRM); 11/1/2011
Text To Speech (TTS): Text to speech on the iPad Tutorial (with iBooks, etc.); 4/8/2010; Random House shuts down Kindle text-to-speech for their titles 5/15/2009; Disability groups demand full return of Kindle's text-to-speech 3/20/2009; Kindle Read-to-Me; Kobo, Nook: TTS not currently supported?
media: pictures, animation, video, audio (music, narration), esp. children's books: So Now What Will iPad Rivals Say in Their Commercials? (Adobe drops support for mobile Flash); 11/9/2011; Booktrack adds sound effects and music soundtracks to eBooks 9/7/2011
other hardware features: speed, camera, GPS, storage cards, ...; Furniture Meets the Digital Age (adapting to E-readers and tablets; 3/29/2012); Dressing Up an E-Reader for Style and Comfort (lights; screen management; audio enhancement; stands); 2/16/2012; Tablets: What Amazon and Apple know that all the CES tablet peddlers are still missing (services rather than features); 1/10/2012
total cost: device, books, advertising 'tax', subscription/carrier lock-in, accessories, ...; save money on refurbished models (w/ original warranty), or older models discounted when new models are introduced.; "lifetime value" 10/26/2011; (razor and blades business model)

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