These are the revised points I would like to address with an e-reader:
Reader should:
- - - BE EASY TO USE FOR A LEFT-HANDER
!
- - Be comfortable to operate one-handed
- - Be lightweight and easy to hold for lengths of time while reading, yet still not feel like it's going to blow up from overheating, fall apart due to shoddiness if I push a button, etc.
- - Be small enough to carry in a pocket if possible, or at least a bookbag or something, with a screen at least 7" or the rough/exact/measurement of a readable softcover book's page.
- - Have a non-gloss finish, which would be nice to prevent fingerprints, but plastic's cheap to manufacture with while balancing a decent sales cost, so I'm not holding my breath.
- - Have an ergonomic structure (ties into the above point) with comfortable buttons that are easy to press and access and a comfortable grip in the hand(s).
- - Have a realistic-looking page display (black on white) and be easy on the eyes for lengths of time, indoors and out with little to (preferably) no reflective screen glare.
- - Utilize e-ink and not any form of back-lit LCD, which causes eyestrain and the aforementioned glaring in bright areas.
- - Possess an expandable SD/SDHC memory card slot for adding files.
- - Have excellent PDF rendering and re-flow/formatting to the device screen. Most of my books will be in PDF unless someone can verify that converting them would be a good thing for me to do(?) and I would naturally want to maintain the comfort to read the page and neat appearance of the formatted text.
- - Allow me the ability to view and play numerous formats easily - including audio files.
- - Any plug-ins/ports should be tucked out of the way (i.e NOT on the bottom where cables might lie in my lap, unless I can flip the reader as a lefty and thus move them above or to the side for reading).
- - Excellent battery life; these things are made to be portable, I want it to last when it's being transported away from home.
- - Allow the battery to be user-replaceable.
- - Not be tied to any one mobile carrier; if it is, it should be Verizon, as that's all I have available to me.
- - OR, the touch-screen should be responsive and as hassle-free as possible.
- - On that note, the ability to annotate and mark text would be nice; maybe with the option to save it for later upload to a PC? That would help me as an English major if I ever need to pull information from a text.
- - Internet access for book browsing/sampling (if possible) and purchasing, although if it comes down to it, I'll do it through my PC. I don't really need ANOTHER Internet-capable device and am trying to focus primarily on reading alone.
- - A PC client may be helpful, but I don't don't know how badly I'd really need one(?)
- - Be no more than $225...and even then, I'm being generous. However, if something's out there with a lot of these features, I may reconsider and go a little higher.
I realize e-readers are emerging seemingly overnight, and maybe my ideal plastic-back doesn't exist exactly as I'd like it, just yet, but a guy can still ask and dream, eh?
Also, I apologize for all of these criteria; I feel like I'm asking for a lot for such a primarily single-task device, but at the same time, I want to get my money's worth just like anyone else, and want to make the most out of my reading, turning it back into the relaxing hobby it used to be for me.
I'm also posting this on
Mobile Read, which is an e-reader forum, so that's why there's all the nit-picky details. I tried as best I could to group similar feature request together for simplicity...but nothing's ever simple with me, sadly.
All help is definitely appreciated, and thanks again so much. You guys and gals really make the BOTL a joy for me, and I can't wait to combine the love of the leaf with the joy of the leaflet :SS (so terribly corny lol).
Kegan