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Researchers Demo Flippable-Page E-book Reader
holy_calamity writes "E-readers are getting better but still limit users to keyboard-style interaction. Researchers at Berkeley and Maryland Universities have changed that with a reader that has two 'pages.' The two displays can be moved like a real book's pages to leaf through a document, or detached to compare and share virtual pages. If they are folded back to create a tablet with displays on each side, you can turn it over to flip pages. A video shows it in action." You may be reminded of the promised second-generation OLPC device, which looks somewhat similar.
Seems like the logical thing to do would be to simply allow multiple readers to cooperate in document display, so when you snap together (say) 4 readers, you get a 4-page view, split them apart you get 2 2-page views of different documents. You would use proximity sensors to define which pages were "together", and simple mechanical clips to hold them together when not laying flat. You could then hand one side of the page you were looking at to a co-worker, then pull a blank sheet out of your drawer to restore your own reading area, while he walks off with the other page.
This is becoming more like an extension of the Xerox PAD and TAB.
The documents mightn't be stored on the device, rather they would be accessed via the office wifi network.
whats up with the video? seemed more like a slide show to me.
Anyhow. I like the concept - I have long been advocating this kind of thing.
But why stop with a eReader? Make a standard tile module with a touch sensitive tactile screen and the skys the limit. four make a monitor, 64 make a tv, 128 make a wall screen. two make a laptop. one makes an eReader. 40 make a beowolf cluster for number crunching.
make options like a keyboard only to lower cost. or a processing one with extra ram and more grunt and no screen. maybe a half size one for a pda.
use a common API, common interface and I guarantee that lots of smart people will think of many amazing uses for them.
is a lack of foresight making people think small, or are people listening too much to busiess concerns?
Interesting concept... I don't think it looks very user friendly though. If the idea is to create a book like feel with an electronic device, the mark was missed by a long shot. IMHO the user needs to be able to flip pages just like a regular book. Now... when someone finally makes a book with e-paper... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeaT62OMi8M Then I'll be interested. Until that day comes... I'll stick with my laptop.
Exactly; meanwhile they still cost too much and how do they compare for readability to a printed page again? Let me know when they come down below $100 and are as readable as a printed book, otherwise you can add all kinds of great features that add no value for me (and probably 99% of the potential ebook users out there).
I like it when the model after real desktop work flows.
Just like this Proof-of-concept desktop environment (ok, might be a little offtopic)
NB: The message above might reflect my opinion right now, but not necessarily tomorrow or next year.
Seriously, I'm not trying to troll. I've heard that one way to determine if a new technology will take off is to see if pornographers are early adopters. With that in mind, I predict that this will be an expensive flop.
That is a myth, based on confirmation bias.
Pornographers try EVERY media. So naturally it's on all existing and successful media, but it is also on every form of failed media.
Assuming it failed after entering the market.
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So a paperback it too small for you?
That's fine, but it seems odd to me.
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Even better, with my Sony Reader I can just press a button to see the text in a larger font if needed...
I was more interested in the ways in which it didn't emulate a physical book. The ability to turn it into the equivalent of a double-sided sheet of paper, or to split it apart to view separate documents. That's a bit more than past two-page readers, that only used the two "pages" for cosmetic purposes, can claim.
Editor Emeritus and Senior Writer, TeleRead.org
Am I the only person who prefers to read pdfs on a screen rather than a printed sheet of paper, let alone an e-reader?
For me, it's all about the size of displayed text. The larger the better. I've got good eyesight, but it's simply easier on the eyes to have text in a large font that I can read from a distance. I also like to be able to zoom into images (think academic papers, with complex plots that are often printed way to small to save space).
Now, I can see the advantage of having a mobile device. But while I'm at my desk, I'll take the display over a printed sheet any time.