‘Reluctant’ reader
Here’s Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist on the Sony Reader, which is much tinier in real life than photos would suggest. It’s thinner and lighter than your average paperback, and sexy in silver:
The Sony is much sleeker than the clunky Amazon Kindle, but you have to sync its 160-book capacity manually, there’s no wireless. The screen is clearly first-gen technology: it’s gray, not brilliant white; the resolution looks like second-gen inkjet or thermal transfer fax machine; page turns are slow with an annoying flash while all pixels are turned black before the page is redrawn. Though you can resize the text, you can’t change the font.
The key problem with the ebook market is still, of course, badly-designed DRM which locks books to individual devices. It isn’t standardized, so you can’t move books from one brand to another.
Witness the power of my Monkey Hand Technique:
on Tuesday, December 11th, 2007, 2:19 pm in Literature, Photographs, Tech › 
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I only hope the technology gets better and there are enough first adopters to create that critical mass needed to take such a device to the next level.
The price tag needs to drop to about $100, include wireless, epic battery life, huge hard drive to store books, magazines, newspapers, and blog posts.
Manish did u look at this one physically..did u buy it? are there a lot of south asian writers on this sony e book?. can we all check it out at any sony store or is it also online purchase? do u know how much this one is. what do u mean by you cannot move books from one brand to another?thanks Manish…
I saw it in person, haven’t bought it yet. The DRM situation is bad– if you buy a book from Sony, it probably won’t work on Amazon’s device or vice versa.
where did u see it in person Manish, at sony store?
looks like amazon ebook has better features than sony ebook. am I right?
what is the price of this sony ebook ?
thanks manish..
I also waiting to check both of them in person and buy..it will save me multiple trips to library in winter, save me money buying books and carrying heavy books whereever I go…
wish there were more south asian authors on both these ebooks..
Hope you are liking boston Manish, sorry cannot make it for this ultrabrown meetup this time. Happy holidays and have lots of fun in boston.
A good Desi boy wouldn’t be posing with such scandalous text in his hand:) Have you read this book?
very nice looking.
but am I the only luddite left in the world? who likes teacup stains, dog-eared corners and broken spines?
prakruti: list price is $299, and I saw it at Micro Center.
Yup.
I’d say you’re in the majority, but hardcovers are heavy.
Manish,
Whenever you can , could you answer this question:
Kindle or Sony?
I just got promised a e-book reader for my birthday and need to decide :-)
Headmistress:
I was in the same frame of mind as you - after all what is better than turnign the page on a good book? Curling up on your favorite chair on a rainy day with a crinkly paperback in hand? But ,after spekaing to a few people, an ebook is convenient for travel .And if you are fast reader -like I am - you will never run out of stuff to read on a journey!
If you value design (Audi TT’s, Macs, espresso machines), and you’re comfortable syncing it via cable like you do with iPods or cameras, Sony. This is what I’d buy right now.
If features or wireless sync, Amazon.
If you’re reading high-end, high res technical manuals, iRex.
Thanks ,Manish.I’m leaning toward the Sony now
Even being a pro-technology and making a living in the field, when it comes to books, I still prefer good ol’ yellow papers which I can turn. a) I don’t wanna look at screen anymore after being on it pretty much whole day. b) Maybe its the age?
I’m sure the next generation will be more adept with e-books.. I do buy Runa’s reasons though. On travels, these lil things can come in handy for fast readers. Oh well! For now, I’ll resist and stick to paper. :)
This isn’t a regular screen, though. There’s little eyestrain because it reflects ambient light like a book rather than burning backlight into your eyes. And it’s even smaller and lighter than a paperback, so it’s easier to cuddle up with in any position. About the only thing it doesn’t have is bendability, and they’re working on that too– they have a scroll form factor that’s coming soon.
Like the Net, ten years from now you’ll wonder how you ever did without.
Fun Kindle review which seems to have been written while tripping on E:
The Loo Compatibility factor will make it, or break it; at least, that’s what I think. Real masterpieces are devoured on the pot, rather than on plush leather armchairs.
Did you like this book, Manish?
Vegetarians don’t take epic shits!
Yes, I did– but it’s more a stilted political tract than a fluid novel.
thanks Manish , then sony ebook is cheaper than amazon kindle..
sony ebook can only hold 80 books at one time while amazon kindle has all of them.
amazon kindle is wireless so I wonder if it will work if we travel and go to India or outside US..that way sony will work as long as you are connected to broadband or internet but I wonder how long will it take to download..
kindle is egronomically complaint , is sony ebook egronomically complaint?
amazon kindle u can read blogs, newspapers everyday without downloading..with sony ebook Iam assuming u have to download updated blogs or newspapers daily..
Iam all confused ..probably I need to read all three ebook features after I come back from vacation and also feel them with hand and see them physically before buying..
thanks Manish, ur post on all three ebooks are great. without you I would not even know ebooks exist..
u are right our kids will be all ebooks, edegrees customed to suit their aptitudes, eclasses and all that…probably we will also wonder how we did without it five years from now..and may be prices will come down too in months with more advanced features..and paper books will be extinct or will be specimens in museums..