Ink

I've lost count of the number of new e-Book devices were either announced or previewed at CES this week. And I'm still not sure why. I've never believed the notion that nobody wants to read books any more (it seems obvious that isn't the case), and I think there's still a place for a device that performs a few tasks very well (as opposed to something that's almost infinitely extensible, all things to all people) — but these devices strike me as virtually indistinguishable from one another, and still far too limited.

Mostly because they're just too small — I think, as much as people want to read books, they'll still want to read magazines, with photos, illustrations and (hopefully) good design. (Yeah, I know, trends in publishing would seem to indicate otherwise, but stay with me for a moment.) I don't think the reading experience ought to be reduced to simply text — if anything, I think the Web has shown that the reading experience can be incredibly enriched by escaping the limitations of traditional print publishing, and I think book publishing will (eventually) move more toward that direction.

I don't think any of these devices are ready to accommodate that. (There was one, Plastic Logic's Que, that had a larger screen — larger, I think, than many of the other devices! — but it's a great deal more expensive than most, and seems intended mostly for business users.)

I don't think the technology is ready to accommodate that, either. I remember years ago, E-Ink was being hailed as this exciting breakthrough — both because of the paper-thin form, and the incredibly low power consumption. And it still is kinda cool — but I don't think it's "there" yet. And other display technologies have caught up, more or less, as has battery technology. True, we still don't have devices with LCD screens that will last a week between charges — but that doesn't seem to be the disadvantage it once was.

I think it's the limitations imposed on these devices that hold them back, and keep them from being really, truly useful. No backlight. Limited user controls, in most cases. No multi-touch. (Once you use an iPhone, you want all handheld devices to be that easy.) The user interfaces seem sluggish. What do you get for these compromises? Better battery life, sure. Perhaps a slightly lower price — though not so much so that the devices don't seem disproportionately expensive.

As I said, a device like this doesn't have to do everything, but it should at least do those few things incredibly well. And not be overwhelmed by the compromises.