eBooks...
This story is all about eBooks on phones. Its good to see this application getting the recognition it deserves. I began reading ebooks about 5 years ago on my Palm V. I found them to be an excellent way of reading. No more cumbersome books, illuminated display, easy bookmarking. Even less strain on the hands - the forward backward button slipped nicely into one's thumb.
Then I ran out of books, even dodgy pirated ones - I got a bunch in a zip file from someone and worked my way thru them spelling mistakes and all. Commerical ones were good, but very expensive. They seemed to offer no reduction in price over paper copies, but the medium was much more transitory. I mean I could hardly say I have a first edition ebook on my shelf. Even lending them was not really an option as credit card numbers were used to lock them...
So I slowly stopped. I then stopped carrying my Palm. The book reader was the one application that made me carry it. Entering notes was too hard, addresses were also not that important, and my phone already contained all the numbers I needed. I got fed up with looking like a squirrel storing nuts for the winter and gave the whole thing up.
I was saving myself for cellphone/PDA integration. I bought a Nokia 7650. Bad move. The screen was far worse than the palm, and the batteries only last about 3 hrs. The Palm could manage several days of reading -you don't want to run out of power in the airport after all. In addition the eBook reader was worse. It couldn't read half the formats, didn't support proper bookmarking and was mostly rubbish. Made me realize how good the Palm was. Once again my dream of electronic reading material had been consigned to the bin.
So whats this rant about? Well I have had this phone for over 2 years now. I hate it, and I want to get a new phone. Looking around it seems mobile manufacturers have been mostly obvious to this app. Its never a standard feature. I hope this will change and that phone's battery life for apps (not calling people) will be greatly enhanced over this awful 7650. I hope that the ground will be made up with the Palm.
Otherwise I might have to dig it out again. I actually miss it...
Then I ran out of books, even dodgy pirated ones - I got a bunch in a zip file from someone and worked my way thru them spelling mistakes and all. Commerical ones were good, but very expensive. They seemed to offer no reduction in price over paper copies, but the medium was much more transitory. I mean I could hardly say I have a first edition ebook on my shelf. Even lending them was not really an option as credit card numbers were used to lock them...
So I slowly stopped. I then stopped carrying my Palm. The book reader was the one application that made me carry it. Entering notes was too hard, addresses were also not that important, and my phone already contained all the numbers I needed. I got fed up with looking like a squirrel storing nuts for the winter and gave the whole thing up.
I was saving myself for cellphone/PDA integration. I bought a Nokia 7650. Bad move. The screen was far worse than the palm, and the batteries only last about 3 hrs. The Palm could manage several days of reading -you don't want to run out of power in the airport after all. In addition the eBook reader was worse. It couldn't read half the formats, didn't support proper bookmarking and was mostly rubbish. Made me realize how good the Palm was. Once again my dream of electronic reading material had been consigned to the bin.
So whats this rant about? Well I have had this phone for over 2 years now. I hate it, and I want to get a new phone. Looking around it seems mobile manufacturers have been mostly obvious to this app. Its never a standard feature. I hope this will change and that phone's battery life for apps (not calling people) will be greatly enhanced over this awful 7650. I hope that the ground will be made up with the Palm.
Otherwise I might have to dig it out again. I actually miss it...
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