Why do/dont you have a "wireless reading device"?

[Evandar]

LOL...no, I'm imagining in like 100 years there won't be any books at ALL (who needs 'em?), and everything will be digital...and then WHAM! Something happens and we can no longer access our digital "books." And surely there will be SOME survivors who'll need our knowlege!

Yeah, I understood your point, which is why I don't see why you compare it to the library of Alexandria...anyway, the solar flare(s) of 2013 should be a small glimpse into such a future, mwahahah.

 

[steverobbo]

I've had a Sony PRS 505 for 3 or 4 years now and I love it, but I still read paper books so i flit between the two. I read paper books from the library when I cant find them for a reasonable price in e book format. For example I am currently reading The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco in hardback and when I have finished that I am going to read Dickens a Christmas Carol that I have got on my ereader, and I love the variety of that.

I also prefare the size of my ereader to a normal book, the Eco hardback is big and bulky whereas my reader is small and slimline which is easier for when I am reading on the move.

There is no right or wrong between the two, it's all down to personal preference.

 

[ColdSun]

I just received a Nook Color for my birthday and I totally love this thing. I still have my old Sony PRS-505 and eBookwise-1150 readers, but this new Nook Color has me hooked. It can surf the web, read magazines in full color and of course it has many reading features. You can even select text from what you are reading and send it to your contacts (including FaceBook and Twitter). Very cool device and the best birthday present ever.

 

[algernoninc]

I have upgraded from PRS 505 to 650 and I love the improvements: more contrast, better night reading lamp, no more glare off the chromium bevel, dictionary, note taking, better software, faster chipset, bigger storage. Only small drawback: with the lamplight cover the reader is now too wide to fit in a coat bucket when i go to the park for reading outside. otherwise the 650 is smaller in size than the 505.

Regarding the iPad - it has better contrast than eInk, but it is pretty useless outside in the sun, unless you need a mirror to check your face. Inside it is also a little too big to hold comfortable in bed compared to Sony and it has less battery life [but still more than a notebook]. The iPad shines though when you use it for technical documents / magazines / pdf's where the bigger resolution is capital. Also great for comic books - I use it in landscape mode. I could watch movies on it but i don't like the hassle of using the exasperating itunes interface for managing them and constantly filling up my limited 16 Gb storage.

Regarding the eInk vs paper controversy: I'm fully in the eInk camp, I read through the thread and it appears that most of those who posted against haven't really tried electronic readers and are against on principles. The experience is not really all that different from reading a printed book.
My big selling point on the technology is less tree cutting: I get rather mad when I see the amount of waste when my letterbox is filled with advertising brochures from supermarkets on a daily basis. It's not so much about books as about newspapers and magazines.

 

[Hellions]

I do not own a wireless reading device. Not because I'm opposed on principle, but rather because the current market is experimenting and looks like a dreadful morass of instability and uncertainty. E-books don't appear to be cheaper than printed books, especially for someone like me who tends to concentrate on mass-market paperbacks. It's wait-and see for now.

My big selling point on the technology is less tree cutting: I get rather mad when I see the amount of waste when my letterbox is filled with advertising brochures from supermarkets on a daily basis. It's not so much about books as about newspapers and magazines.

I really don't think it's quite that simple. All those batteries powering up your devices aren't exactly eco-friendly either, nor is the electricity used to recharge them. And like any modern gadget, people replace them with little hesitation in order to acquire the new and improved reader (with plenty of nifty features you just can't live without). Recycling old cellphones/computers/[insert your gadget] is an environmental issue and so will adding discarded wireless reading devices to that pile of electronic waste.

Print technology does have its drawbacks but going wireless doesn't amount to taking a stance in favor of the environment.

 

[Marian Perera]

I like print copies of books. They line my shelves and make the place look like a library. The ones with the best covers face out to display those.

And then there are the autographed copies, the out-of-print books, the large art books and the sentimental-value books like my copy of The Good Earth that my grandmother got for a Christmas present in 1949 (her name is written inside).

That's why I prefer print copies.