Comment Smartphones Work Pretty Well (Score 1) 143
I have been reading ebooks for ten years, since acquiring my first Palm Pilot. I've
evolved my devices to a Toshiba Pocket PC PDA, then a Samsung (Palm) smartphone, and
now a Palm Treo Pro (WM). My sources are RSS feeds, Gutenberg classics, free ebooks,
and occasionally books downloaded from usenet. About 90% of my reading is electronic,
excepting technical books and new fiction I borrow from the library.
The small screen sizes have never bothered me nor have I suffered any eyestrain in my
60+year old eyes, which have actually improved with age. I have enjoyed many happy
hours reading in lines, in airports, on trains, backpacking, etc. while others fretted
or were bored.
The only thing I have lost is viewing images and maps, sometimes of value in travel
books or some fiction, or reading electronically at a beach, for which I have a supply
of paperback "beach" books. However, I can curl up on a sofa or bed and read quite
comfortably, without a lamp, or when someone else is driving.
Although I do it a lot, I don't "really like" reading online using my 6 lb. 15"
notebook and have considered moving to a netbook. But today's smartphones give me
nearly everything I need in single device that fits in my shirt pocket, including
music, and even limited TV and a basic GPS.
However, physical size and professional layout is necessary for most technical books,
such as Tufte's, with maps, diagrams, images, etc. So I suspect I will always need
some device with the resolution of paper or a bigger screen, until such time as direct
eyeball projection devices are perfected and comfortable.