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Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
11/17/09
Just to note any sort of wireless bridge will do the same job as MS's wireless adaptor too. #gizmodoremainders
11/17/09
I imagine that VZW will offer one for their network, AT&T one for theirs, and the generic one that comes from the apple store would only have wi-fi. Or maybe the device will have the guts for 3G (various bands) and wi-fi and you just pick a carrier.
Maybe not. Now that I typed it out it does seem complicated but I could see it. #gizmodoremainders
11/17/09
I choose mosquito!
...sorry, I am really feeling this stout. #gizmodoremainders
11/17/09
Where have I seen this from Apple before...iPhone/iPod Touch...? Hmmmm.....
Apple isn't going to "confuse consumers". I'm siding with the analysts in my beliefs about the Apple tablet on this one. I believe one model will have 3g with (most likely) AT&T, and one with just wi-fi.
Some consumers NEED internet everywhere. That's what the 3G model is for. However, I'm sure Apple knows that a HUGE customer base simply won't be attracted to ANOTHER contract on top of their iPhone, which is why they will opt for the non-3G model (as I know I will).
When you think about it, it makes more sense to have two models than just one 3G-only model.
Or maybe Apple will cater to the consumer and let you just insert your SIM to pick your carrier, like every GSM device should be... #gizmodoremainders
11/17/09
My notebook at my old job had a VZW chip in it, just not activated. If you go to customize a laptop you almost always get that choice as well. You pay full price (no subsidy) but you're not locked into anything. Seems like the carriers are starting to get more comfortable with the idea of being just a pipeline.
The only problem might be how much bulk both (three?) cards take up in the tablet. #gizmodoremainders
11/17/09
Also, if the Apple Tablet will keep a girlfriend from leaving, will it get me one. My couch needs a cuddle buddy and I think I'd be willing to pay the Apple tax for one. #gizmodoremainders
09/14/09
09/14/09
The Sony 505 and the Kindle use the same screen. They're both 6". Same part from the same manufacturer. There's more stuff around the screen with the Kindle so it can look smaller.
For folks unfamiliar with the 505, if the lack of functions like search and dictionary would bug you in the reviewed Pocket Edition, the 505 doesn't have them either. Pocket is pretty much a 505 only smaller and with no SD. It's great if you don't care about those features. Good price and sleeker design than the Kindle. Native PDF support (though the small screen won't help you read a non-reflowable PDF much). I wouldn't want people to get the impression that it was close in feature set to the new 6" model, though.
09/14/09
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Actually the Kindle is $299 now, same price as the touch Sony.
I'm surprised by the touch screen interface being reversed from the more intuitive swipe-left-to-go-forward. I assumed that there would be an option to have it the other way - there isn't?
09/14/09
09/14/09
Companies need to expand upon this idea of a featureless ebook reader and reduce the price. I would get an ebook reader, but I don't read much, so I can't even justify this $200 price tag. At a lower price, I'd get something like this, and then maybe, over time, I would step up to more advanced models. From someone going from books to ebooks, these features won't be missed, and I feel like that's the market that should consider the Pocket and comparable ebook readers.
09/14/09
09/14/09
I wouldn't mind an ebook reader that can only hold 10 books (maybe fewer, though I feel that storage isn't what's keeping the price up), a screen, three buttons (power, page forward, page back), and networking only via USB to a PC. No wireless, no buying on the unit, only connect to your computer to transfer ebooks to the reader that you've bought. And hell, if the price is right, I might even buy it as an entry-level reader. Again, to you, that's absurd, but I'd like it.
09/14/09
09/14/09
You requirements for a reader are completely reasonable...they just can't yet be done
09/14/09
This, though, is a reading issue. Anyone (like me) who leafs back and forth while reading a particularly engrossing book has no ebook equivalent except for search. Without a way to poke around, you can really only check out the few pages ahead and behind, because E-Ink is so slow and painful to flip through.
But your overall point is valid. Strip everything else and yes, you still might have something nice there.
09/14/09
09/14/09
09/15/09
So yeah, I'd have to agree with fryhole (love the name) that the screen is what's really keeping the price up, so I just hope that that can go down over time.
09/14/09
When I went to the Sony store to check out their e-readers, naturally I picked up the larger Touch version first and my first reaction was that e-ink isn't as clear as I would expect. That was until I compared it with the Pocket version and thought that amazon may have been right to leave touch out.
Now I'm not as excited about the new readers coming out, like Plastic Logic's, which try to one-up the kindle with touch. Perhaps e-readers need to start posting contrast numbers.
09/14/09
Then next thing you know, they'll be competing for refresh rates...
09/14/09
09/14/09
But the glare was a problem with the 700 model, and having gone to the Sony Store to see if they've improved it with the Touch...I'm sad to say they haven't.
BTW: on the 700, you can change the way you use the touchscreen to turn the pages, into a more natural right-to-left motion. I'm assuming the Touch has the same ability as well.
09/14/09
And yes, I hated the 700 so much I never bothered to look into that setting adjustment, but you are right. This one has it too, as I noted in an update above.
09/14/09
I'm glad you wrote this article, I've been wanting to buy an e-reader and was looking into the different available products earlier this morning. I came to basically the same conclusion you did about this generation of Sony readers: decent but not great. The Kindle 2 is out of the question, it's a joke with 60% of the front surface area being stuff other than the screen. I've come to the sad conclusion that the PRS-505 from Sony is currently the best purchase out there, despite being released 2 years ago and is now discontinued.
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09/14/09
Even then, the price of the devices would have to drop a lot. Of course, I don't see stand-alone readers being with us for very long. Eventually people will be reading more on their phones and tablets but the hardware isn't quite there to make a great reader. They're ok readers but not ideal for many folks that want to read for hours at a stretch (eye strain, weight, battery life). That's why there's a substantial market for eink readers despite being expensive and a bit clumsy still.
09/14/09
as far as alternative tech is concerned, maybe you're right and things like the inevitapple tablet will in the future do it. However that will be a feature of tech with a million-and-one apps and things so then maybe its worth the money
09/14/09
09/14/09