Cowon should make a portable ebook reader

[vbored]

I think ebook readers are exactly at the point that mp3 players were before apple made the ipod. There are a few ebook readers that you can buy, but they all suck.

Cowon should make a portable ebook reader with a passively lit screen that looks like paper. The thing should be really easy to use and look cool.

First company that comes to market with a great ebook reader will make a boatload. Piracy will be the driving force for sales, just as with mp3 players. The truth is that nobody wants to pay for music, movies, software or anything that can be digitized anymore. College students who have to buy extremly expensive textbooks would LOVE a produce like this.

what do u guys think?

[addz]

Oh please don't get Cowon started on another project ahead of themselves.

As a student myself, i would find this concept really annoying. Not all books i have come in ebook form / are hard to find / or not even knowing where to find such books e.g. Discrete Mathematics or Computer Science books etc.

Call me old fashioned but i prefer the old paper and pen and book method, writing notes in hand on books etc. tbh with you my Uni does provide free ebooks for journals and some other books.

If the "ebook" became more of a standard, e.g. variety of well known/educational books in electronic form bring it on. Nothing irritates me more then having to carry a heavy load of books around, i don't mind about the prices though.

[vbored]

Am I the only one that thinks ebook readers will eventually sell like ipods? What happened to the paperless office?

If the "ebook" became more of a standard, e.g. variety of well known/educational books in electronic form bring it on.

The "ebook" (adobe .pdf) already is a standard. You can already find nearly any new/popular/classic book you want in .pdf format including textbooks.

whatever maybe ill have to start my own company and come up with the ipod of ebook readers

[Explorer]

There is at least one other person that thinks an ebook reader would be great.

Explorer

PS Not a big fan of pdf format.

[shodan]

ebook reader? what for? The Q5 can read PDFs.....

[vbored]

Yeah the Q5 does read .pdf files but that is a tack on feature and not its main function. Cowon should design a device with its main function being to read ebooks. The main problem with reading ebooks on the Q5 is that for one the screen is not shaped right, but more importantly the screen has a backlight. Reading for hours from a backlight screen can be a strain on the eyes.

Ebook readers such as the PRS-500 have a screen that looks like paper and dont need a backlight for you to be able to read from it. The problem is that the PRS-500 (like anything Sony makes) sucks really hard. Cowon should use its touch screen expertise to make a ultra thin tablet sort of thing with no buttons that looks cool as hell. Think about it: you could carry around 1000s of books and all your textbooks if youre a student without weighing you down. I think its the future for sure.

[saix]

Originally Posted by vbored

Yeah the Q5 does read .pdf files but that is a tack on feature and not its main function. Cowon should design a device with its main function being to read ebooks. The main problem with reading ebooks on the Q5 is that for one the screen is not shaped right, but more importantly the screen has a backlight. Reading for hours from a backlight screen can be a strain on the eyes.

Ebook readers such as the PRS-500 have a screen that looks like paper and dont need a backlight for you to be able to read from it. The problem is that the PRS-500 (like anything Sony makes) sucks really hard. Cowon should use its touch screen expertise to make a ultra thin tablet sort of thing with no buttons that looks cool as hell. Think about it: you could carry around 1000s of books and all your textbooks if youre a student without weighing you down. I think its the future for sure.

don't forget they should allow you to highlight and underline things as well including saving the highlights in the book.

I swear whomever created the e-book reader read my mind a long time ago where I though people should make thin digital books since e-books were just coming out and I hated reading stories and knowing nothing bad would happen since there were 100 pages left to the book....

[PhilK]

Originally Posted by shodan

ebook reader? what for? The Q5 can read PDFs.....

So what ?
How many people have the Q5 FGS ???
I have an O2 and a D2 and would like a decent reader in them.

[Balodoth]

With iPad soon to come out, it would be wise to wait and see if the product genuinely is a game changer. Don't forget that Apple's impending product has sacrificed battery life in exchange for a color LCD screen. This isn't a bad thing, but since Cowon already does AMOLED, the only reason for making an ebook would be for extended battery life and a bigger focus on text.

That being said, I always prefer what a company like Cowon can bring to the table. It's the best way to get the features standardized by the giants (e.g. Apple and Microsoft) without the drawbacks--perhaps with a couple extra bells and whistles. I see the next generation and a half of ebooks requiring color epaper, huge format compatibility uncluding DRM, PDF perusal speed at least doubled. Newer features like touchscreen and wifi should be present as well.

One place that Cowon could leverage their products would be in implementing a dock for product integration. In other words, an MP3 player like the D2+ or S9 could attach and function as a secondary color screen. This could overcome epaper limitations somewhat like Barnes & Nobles' Nook, but would likely require a proprietary connection and firmware overhaul so is unlikely to connect with currently released products.

[JunglePimp]

iPad isn't going to change much in the market given the price tag and the features. Look at Notion Inc Adam Pc, it beats the iPad by miles. (Don't go by the pre-release bookings, it's an apple product).

Afaik Cowon is going the creative way, trying to make too much, resulting in things going out of their hands. All the other models after S9 have failed terribly. Cowon needs to go back to the basics, come out with a media player that functions better than the S9 and is more advanced, then can they look forward to creating something else.

(And that wouldn't really just have to be a pdf reader, may be they could look forward to integrating a pdf reader in one of the PMPs as a side-feature).

[vbored]

Now this is an old thread.
Asus is getting into the ebook reader industry. They are set to launch 2 epaper ebook readers in Q2, and a OLED one in Q4. They look promising, with something for everyone. I've never purchased a epaper ebook reader but I might pick up a DR-950 if the reviews are good.

[sameer]

ya sony,asus all are in the ebook readers war,almost all major brands are launching there ebook readers,but do we really need a separate ebook reader,why not buy a netbook or notebook in lieu of it???

Originally Posted by JunglePimp

iPad isn't going to change much in the market given the price tag and the features. Look at Notion Inc Adam Pc, it beats the iPad by miles. (Don't go by the pre-release bookings, it's an apple product).

Yes its too tempting,heres the comparison.


It beats the iPad,Hands Down!!!

[sameer]

Hey guys iPad faces another competitor..."Gemini".

Link

[Peaceful1]

why not?!
cowon can make one it's not out of thier knowledge range

[JunglePimp]

Yeah but ebook readers on small devices fail to deliver a good output. Usually an ebook consists of pictures and footnotes and working notes etc. which all gets messed up on a 2-5 inch screen.