A while back I wrote a post about my thoughts on eBooks and the readers available for them. I wanted to briefly capture some added thoughts based on two recent experiences. Over the weekend I was showing my Sony eReader to a friend. She is in the book selling business, so naturally she was very curious to see the device. After both she and her husband looked at, they looked at Stanza, which is the ebook reader I use on my iPhone. The general response was that they liked Stanza better. I was puzzled. I thought the tiny screen on the iPhone would be off-putting. It turns out, the liked the screen and the "natural page turning" effect that Stanza provided. And, the husband added, "I could see taking this around easily" as he held my iPhone.
Then, last night, as my daughter was using my eReader she quipped, "This would be so much better if I could keep my email notification at the bottom of the screen." I looked puzzled, "What do you mean?" Her reply, "It sucks this can only read books."
Now, I know that these are only two example from my personal life, but I think they point to an important aspect that you will see emerge with eReaders. I think that with whatever Apple showcases next week, this mythical "slate"-like device will be expand the bounds of the eBook because it will incorporate the polish the Apple has exuded on the iPhone (with regard to eReader apps) and it will offer more than just books.
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