Re: Why the Kindle and other e-book readers are doomed

In article <h167v4$3u1$1@xxxxxxxxxx>, Kurt Busiek <kurt@xxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

On 2009-06-15 12:19:58 -0700, Mike Ash <mike@xxxxxxxxxxx> said:

If we can continue the discussion without vitriol for a moment (yeah
right)....

Seems to me that there is absolutely nothing magical about the size of
paperbacks as applied to the ideal size of a reading surface. Books
trade off page size against thickness, and paperbacks just happen to be
at a good compromise position in that tradeoff. That doesn't mean
they're the smallest readable surface, just the smallest one that
doesn't make the thickness blow out of proportion.

An electronic reader won't need to be thick, so that part of it goes
away.

Looking at my example paperback, it seems to me that I could do just
fine having a screen only half the height of a typical page, and the
same width, and possibly less yet. My iPod Touch is somewhat narrower
and about 1/4th the height when held horizontally. Something like that
but a bit larger would both fit in a pocket and be a reasonable reader,
if it had a good screen.

The Kindle screen is smaller than a MMPB page; the machine doesn't fit
in your average pants pocket, but that's because it's bigger than the
screen; the screen itself is a comfortable reading size and an iPhone
or iTouch unit the size of that screen would fit into pockets without
difficulty.

But I think the iPhone is probably a comfortable enough reading size
for most, for the reasons you outline. I don't think I'd like it
because it's a light source, not because the screen's uncomfortably
small.

For an illustrated work, it's probably too small, unless the
illustration and design were customized for the iPhone. But text on
the screen seems fine. It's a little like reading a Big Little Book,
in that the amount of text on each page isn't what it would be, but
it's not so little as to be unworkable.

Agreed on the screen. Aside from being power-hungry, backlit LCD screens
are considerably inferior for long-term reading.

The suitability of the size for reading probably depends greatly on an
individual's reading habits. If you're good about reading linearly, top
to bottom, then the small height shouldn't be a problem at all. On the
other hand, if you jump around a lot, then it will probably drive you
nuts.

I've read a couple of books on my iPod Touch, and overall found it to be
reasonably acceptable, aside from the inferior quality of the screen for
the task. Larger would be better though.

--
Mike Ash
Radio Free Earth
Broadcasting from our climate-controlled studios deep inside the Moon
.

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