Actually went to Dymocks in George Street and checked out the iLiad. I really wanted to buy one with the money earned judging the SMH Young Writer Comp but couldn’t justify the outlay for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, I had the salesman search for the PDF of the last few novels I read and really liked. When there is no download for Tim Winton’s Breath you know that a lesser known Australian author like Toni Jordan has no hope of being available. Secondly, the limited memory and finally, it is just too expensive (with limited books available, especially academic tomes).
Having said all that, the iLiad looks great and anyone who feels that reading off a computer screen is too harsh on their eyes will be amazed by the look of this e-reader. It is just so book-like and the page almost yellowing, in a good secondhand kind of way.
I know that Americans using the Kindle, Amazon’s reader, are able to download books over a mobile network – which would be amazing – at a much better price.
I hope that what we are being offered improves in the not to distant future.
darcymoore
More on the Kindle:
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080804-despite-flaws-kindle-a-growing-success-for-amazon.html
darcymoore
A review reflecting on the Kindle NOT being the next big thing
http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2008/08/portfolio_0805
darcymoore
Is it time to embrace the e-book?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7545000/7545598.stm
darcymoore
iPhone e-reader app:
http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/08/using-the-iphon.html
darcymoore
“Computer scientists have developed a program, called reCAPTCHA, which is being used in lieu of CAPTCHA by several sites, to help digitize old books and newspapers.”
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/08/14/2311253
darcymoore
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/64281.html?wlc=1219744033
The future methinks.