Today, I want to do a review of the e-book reader that I just bought, the Aztak EZ Reader 6". I have been playing around with the idea of getting an e-book reader ever since the first edition Kindle came out. Then the Kindle II came out as well as the Kindle DX, and all of a sudden they are everywhere. And if they aren't everywhere in your city, they will be soon. There are just so many advantages to using e-book readers.
One huge breakthrough that led to the rise in popularity of these devices is e-ink or Electronic Paper Displays (EPD) technology.
- No refresh rate -- that means your eyes will not strain while looking at the screen
- Screen is easily viewable in bright light environments
- Text on screen is high contrast like books or newspapers
- Battery is only used to change the screen -- almost no battery is used when page is "on"
- Screen is viewable from many angles
For a businessperson like myself I tend to read many books at one time. Currently I'm reading just three books, but I have many more that I really want to get into. The inherent problem is that sometimes I'm in the mood for one book and sometimes I'm in the mood for another. This may sound trivial, but I'm not going to be carrying around three different books with me wherever I go. With an e-book reader, I can read any book I want at any time. What's more, e-book readers allow you to store literally thousands of titles on the device at one time, so if you want to re-read a chapter from "The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding" during your next project, you don't have to hunt down the book; you can just click on the title. Finally, every businessperson that works as hard as I do needs to take vacations to relax and get some perspective. I'm planning an extended trip to southeast Asia in the next month and I really want to travel light. I'm not even going to bring my laptop. But I will be packing my new e-book reader because I can catch up on all my reading and even download new books while I'm traveling. Not to mention if I get stuck on one of those planes that don't have the personal in-flight movies, the e-book reader will be my savior.
And speaking of books, almost every book imaginable is available for download online. Many older books are free and my Astak EZ Reader 6" came with 200 of them preloaded on the 2 gigabyte memory card the unit shipped with. I've also heard that public libraries will allow you to download e-book readers from the web. Amazon and other booksellers are making it easier all the time to download books. And, there are easy ways to download some of the newest books online for free, but I am not condoning that behavior. Imagine being able to read any book you ever wanted, any time you desired, and all in one place. I really think that e-book readers are going to follow the same model as MP3s. Within 10 years the sales of e-book readers will overtake paperbacks. And did I mention the environmental impact of e-book readers. Imagine all the paper that will be saved.
Okay, so I know that I haven't actually reviewed the Aztak EZ Reader 6" yet. I just couldn't help suppress my enthusiasm for this promising technology that is going to revolutionize books, magazines and newspapers within the next 10 years. I'll do the specific review for this product later this week.
No comments:
Post a Comment