6 ms·

Kurzweil Takes On Kindle With New E-Reader Platform Blio

17 points by kkleiner 17y ago

Herring 17y ago
>Every time I see a Kindle, or a Sony Reader, I desperately want to buy one, but I never do. I keep telling myself that waiting just six months will mean a better version and more variety to chose from. Bad idea. 6 months is a lot of reading he's losing.
- msg 17y ago
  A lot of e-reading, that is. Reading continues as it has for centuries... I sympathize with his point of view. The smartphone market, the netbooks, the tablets, are all changing so fast that you have to settle for second best if you want to get in. For me, cell internet access was such a big draw I couldn't stay away from the phone eventually.
  - pavs 17y ago
    While generally I agree with you. New type of software/hardware tends to reach a point where subsequent improvements doesn't add _huge_ value to end users. Which is when I think it is a perfect time to buy a new technology. Some example I can think of is: Iphone Original and 3g. The original was good but with 3G Apple reached a point of equilibrium where it is safe to say that waiting 6 months to a year for the next iphone won't give you hugely superior product. (Maybe a free firmware update to a better software) But ereader market is not very matured, until recently it was dominated by sony, who didn't care much about innovation - because there was no major competition. With big players like Amazon - B&N - Apple entering the market, just now, it will initiate some major changes/improvements in a very short time. Which is why the perfect time to buy an e-reader in my opinion is at the end of this year. Personally I read a lot on my macbook, which I think is a great indoor reading device.
  - Herring 17y ago
    >A lot of e-reading, that is. Reading continues as it has for centuries... Perhaps not, unless he's reading on a cell phone. You read a lot more with a dedicated device. I find myself pulling out my kindle & losing myself in a book whenever there's any down time.
    - msg 17y ago
      I meant, by staying out of the market, the author is losing out on e-reading only. But this doesn't mean not reading, just because the mobile phone is a crappy reading platform. It just means carrying around a paperback. I see why you might read much more by carrying around a Kindle rather than a phone. I'll give you that. But I'm not the target market for the Kindle, because I am willing to check out a book from the library and carry it around instead.
      - Herring 17y ago
        Yeah I got your meaning. I just think perhaps you'd do even more reading if you got a kindle. (Well it can't be less..) Like I've been running through lots of academic papers recently. I just loaded the empirical bayes paper from the front page & I plan on reading a few pages before I sleep. Tomorrow I'll compare it with the dozen other texts I have on the kindle.
admn_is_traitor 17y ago
Its like someone released a "build and sell your own e-reader" kit to all these people.
andreyf 17y ago
Woah, it's go 3D page turning support! When can I buy it!?
philk 17y ago
This doesn't seem to have anything in it that PDF doesn't. Also, the idea that it's not using e-ink is not a selling point; I don't want to read lots of content off a backlit screen with (if mobile) comparatively lousy battery life.
CWuestefeld 17y ago
Blio preserves the original format of books including typography, and illustrations, in full color Why do people continue to believe that this is a feature rather than an annoyance? The fact is that different devices, having different sizes, resolutions, brightness, etc., all provide different experiences for reading. Forcing us to consume the document in the same manner despite the strengths and weaknesses of the device is torture. For example, I do my ebook reading on a PocketPC. It's got good resolution at VGA, but with a 4" screen, trying to faithfully reproduce two-column text as shown in the OP is just absurd. Similarly, I can't fathom why we want to preserve pagination. The reader software I use allows either smooth continuous scrolling or half-page-at-a-time, which I prefer. It allows me to maintain continuity without having to remember back to the last words of the previous page after turning pages.
- GiraffeNecktie 17y ago
  Over the years I've read perhaps more than a hundred books on my trusty Tungsten C. I love the fact that the screen is backlit, which means that I can read at night without disturbing my partner. The idea of preserving pagination for an electronic device makes no sense at all. Just give me plain black text on white, allow me to adjust the size, and let it scroll continuously in a single column.
  - CWuestefeld 17y ago
    Rather than black-on-white (as with paper), I've started using an ivory over very dark blue. One of my most common uses is the same as yours, reading at night without disturbing my wife. I find that light-over-dark is much easier on the eyes when viewing in the dark.
rbanffy 17y ago
So, he is attacking the Kindle with Acrobat Reader. Good luck.
sbt 17y ago
I don't get it. I thought the whole benefit of having an ebook reader was the e-ink. Until someone develops an actual color e-ink, how does this differ from a tablet with some pdf software?

17 points by kkleiner 17y ago

>Every time I see a Kindle, or a Sony Reader, I desperately want to buy one, but I never do. I keep telling myself that waiting just six months will mean a better version and more variety to chose from. Bad idea. 6 months is a lot of reading he's losing.

msg 17y ago
A lot of e-reading, that is. Reading continues as it has for centuries... I sympathize with his point of view. The smartphone market, the netbooks, the tablets, are all changing so fast that you have to settle for second best if you want to get in. For me, cell internet access was such a big draw I couldn't stay away from the phone eventually.
- pavs 17y ago
  While generally I agree with you. New type of software/hardware tends to reach a point where subsequent improvements doesn't add _huge_ value to end users. Which is when I think it is a perfect time to buy a new technology. Some example I can think of is: Iphone Original and 3g. The original was good but with 3G Apple reached a point of equilibrium where it is safe to say that waiting 6 months to a year for the next iphone won't give you hugely superior product. (Maybe a free firmware update to a better software) But ereader market is not very matured, until recently it was dominated by sony, who didn't care much about innovation - because there was no major competition. With big players like Amazon - B&N - Apple entering the market, just now, it will initiate some major changes/improvements in a very short time. Which is why the perfect time to buy an e-reader in my opinion is at the end of this year. Personally I read a lot on my macbook, which I think is a great indoor reading device.
- Herring 17y ago
  >A lot of e-reading, that is. Reading continues as it has for centuries... Perhaps not, unless he's reading on a cell phone. You read a lot more with a dedicated device. I find myself pulling out my kindle & losing myself in a book whenever there's any down time.
  - msg 17y ago
    I meant, by staying out of the market, the author is losing out on e-reading only. But this doesn't mean not reading, just because the mobile phone is a crappy reading platform. It just means carrying around a paperback. I see why you might read much more by carrying around a Kindle rather than a phone. I'll give you that. But I'm not the target market for the Kindle, because I am willing to check out a book from the library and carry it around instead.
    - Herring 17y ago
      Yeah I got your meaning. I just think perhaps you'd do even more reading if you got a kindle. (Well it can't be less..) Like I've been running through lots of academic papers recently. I just loaded the empirical bayes paper from the front page & I plan on reading a few pages before I sleep. Tomorrow I'll compare it with the dozen other texts I have on the kindle.

admn_is_traitor 17y ago

Its like someone released a "build and sell your own e-reader" kit to all these people.

andreyf 17y ago

Woah, it's go 3D page turning support! When can I buy it!?

philk 17y ago

This doesn't seem to have anything in it that PDF doesn't. Also, the idea that it's not using e-ink is not a selling point; I don't want to read lots of content off a backlit screen with (if mobile) comparatively lousy battery life.

CWuestefeld 17y ago

Blio preserves the original format of books including typography, and illustrations, in full color Why do people continue to believe that this is a feature rather than an annoyance? The fact is that different devices, having different sizes, resolutions, brightness, etc., all provide different experiences for reading. Forcing us to consume the document in the same manner despite the strengths and weaknesses of the device is torture. For example, I do my ebook reading on a PocketPC. It's got good resolution at VGA, but with a 4" screen, trying to faithfully reproduce two-column text as shown in the OP is just absurd. Similarly, I can't fathom why we want to preserve pagination. The reader software I use allows either smooth continuous scrolling or half-page-at-a-time, which I prefer. It allows me to maintain continuity without having to remember back to the last words of the previous page after turning pages.

GiraffeNecktie 17y ago
Over the years I've read perhaps more than a hundred books on my trusty Tungsten C. I love the fact that the screen is backlit, which means that I can read at night without disturbing my partner. The idea of preserving pagination for an electronic device makes no sense at all. Just give me plain black text on white, allow me to adjust the size, and let it scroll continuously in a single column.
- CWuestefeld 17y ago
  Rather than black-on-white (as with paper), I've started using an ivory over very dark blue. One of my most common uses is the same as yours, reading at night without disturbing my wife. I find that light-over-dark is much easier on the eyes when viewing in the dark.

rbanffy 17y ago

So, he is attacking the Kindle with Acrobat Reader. Good luck.

sbt 17y ago

I don't get it. I thought the whole benefit of having an ebook reader was the e-ink. Until someone develops an actual color e-ink, how does this differ from a tablet with some pdf software?