When paper first came out, the Egyptians said they still preferred the look and feel of their solid stone tablets. I jest, of course, but the common issue brought up when it comes to e-book readers is that paper is still better (these are the same people who would have no problem spending hours reading blogs and websites on their LCD and, my goodness, CRT screens).
What follows is an apologia and survey of e-book readers. Now that Apple's iPad is released (which has been hailed as Kindle's greatest challenger) we have a clearer picture of the state of the market today.
For Malaysians theStar's feature on ebooks are a good place [1][2] to familiarize yourself with the scene.
Firstly, what most would call the "proper" E-Reader's are E-Ink based devices. The Sony Reader and Amazon's Kindle are two of the most well-known. E-Ink basically offers the closest thing you'll get to ink on paper and has the advantage of low power consumption as it only needs it whenever you "flip" a page.
Apple's iPad on the other hand is basically an LCD based device, so it's not all that different than reading from your computer screen (if you have an iPhone or iPod touch, it's basically a bigger version of that).
Good old book (left) with E-Ink based device (right). Click for higher detail.
I personally am biased towards E-Ink readers - they work best when it comes to novels and general non-fiction (two of the main things I'm reading). I also read textbooks (with some adjustments) and the occasional manga (manga not comics, because manga is primarily black and white). My paperless (more like cheapskate) college only provides the lecture notes as softcopy, so that saves on my printing costs too.
For those more inclined towards colour and larger books, then probably the iPad (or your netbook) works best.
Adapting to reading on an e-reader is quite easy, especially if you read a lot and so adjust more quickly. The main drawback then, is the initial investment required. MPH Malaysia is currently selling a 5 inch e-reader (6 inches is the industry standard) for RM1299 [3] which I think is slightly pricy, considering that you can get the same device here for cheaper.
My own e-reader was purchased at the nice price point of RM990 (although if it spoils, I'll have to fork out postage fees to Taiwan.)
Really though, the convenience of carrying around hundreds of books in a single device is worth the purchase cost. As for books itself, while Amazon is not selling in Malaysia yet, there are numerous other stores [4] as well as all the free public domain books available.
But in the end, e-readers are for the voracious readers. The one book a month or "I never read books" folks or even paper purists will find it hard to justify such a purchase. Personally, I am enjoying reading without paper.
What follows is an apologia and survey of e-book readers. Now that Apple's iPad is released (which has been hailed as Kindle's greatest challenger) we have a clearer picture of the state of the market today.
For Malaysians theStar's feature on ebooks are a good place [1][2] to familiarize yourself with the scene.
Firstly, what most would call the "proper" E-Reader's are E-Ink based devices. The Sony Reader and Amazon's Kindle are two of the most well-known. E-Ink basically offers the closest thing you'll get to ink on paper and has the advantage of low power consumption as it only needs it whenever you "flip" a page.
Apple's iPad on the other hand is basically an LCD based device, so it's not all that different than reading from your computer screen (if you have an iPhone or iPod touch, it's basically a bigger version of that).
Good old book (left) with E-Ink based device (right). Click for higher detail.
I personally am biased towards E-Ink readers - they work best when it comes to novels and general non-fiction (two of the main things I'm reading). I also read textbooks (with some adjustments) and the occasional manga (manga not comics, because manga is primarily black and white). My paperless (more like cheapskate) college only provides the lecture notes as softcopy, so that saves on my printing costs too.
For those more inclined towards colour and larger books, then probably the iPad (or your netbook) works best.
Adapting to reading on an e-reader is quite easy, especially if you read a lot and so adjust more quickly. The main drawback then, is the initial investment required. MPH Malaysia is currently selling a 5 inch e-reader (6 inches is the industry standard) for RM1299 [3] which I think is slightly pricy, considering that you can get the same device here for cheaper.
My own e-reader was purchased at the nice price point of RM990 (although if it spoils, I'll have to fork out postage fees to Taiwan.)
Really though, the convenience of carrying around hundreds of books in a single device is worth the purchase cost. As for books itself, while Amazon is not selling in Malaysia yet, there are numerous other stores [4] as well as all the free public domain books available.
But in the end, e-readers are for the voracious readers. The one book a month or "I never read books" folks or even paper purists will find it hard to justify such a purchase. Personally, I am enjoying reading without paper.
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