I’ve finished my reflective commentary on using the Sony Reader in my graduate seminar and on possible redesigns for the Reader. I thought I’d share my commentary here. It’s a bit long (11.5 pages), so I’m attaching it to this post as a PDF file if you are interested in reading it.
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I study rhetoric and composition as a PhD student in the English Department at Penn State University.
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Like you, I write in the margins and underline a lot. That’s why I haven’t invested in a Sony eReader or Kindle. However, I do have a tablet PC that allows me to write on the documents and I do like that.
Interesting commentary. Thanks for sharing it.
Yeah, a tablet PC seems a lot more useful for academic settings than the Sony Reader or the Kindle. Another option that I’m looking forward to in a few years is the ereader Plastic Logic is making, which will be flexible(!) and allow marking up like a tablet PC.
It’s interesting – the Sony Reader and the Kindle (to a lesser extent because of its TTS feature) – are print replicants. They are not trying to leverage the technology to do new things, instead they use technological innovation in pursuit of a conservative comfort.
Interesting because Microsoft Reader has, for much of a decade now, had Bookmarking, highlighting, writing in the margins, as well as Text-To-Speech, right-click dictionaries, digital note-taking etc. In other words, using technology to go beyond the book.
Here’s hoping the two tech trends eventually come together.
Thanks, Ira. I’m not familiar with the Microsoft Reader software really. Good to know it has those functions.
I agree that the adherence to the print book format isn’t going to help these companies much. I was thinking about about accessibility, and that at least the Kindle has some voice functions to read the text aloud, though that too seems limited from what I’ve heard.