11-09-2006, 01:57 AM | #16 | |
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In addition, you also need to discharge Lithium Ion batteries once a month to keep them at peak storage efficiency. So, with an ebook device that runs so long on a charge, how do you get it to do its once a month discharge? I also hope Sony doesn't attempt to exploit "green" in their sales efforts for the Sony Reader. Their decision to build the Lithium Ion battery into the device in such a manner as it can't be simply removed: in the future I see this as becoming illegal. We simply can not allow manufacturers to continue to build things like Lithium Ion batteries into mobile devices and not allow them to be easily removed for proper handling post consumer usage. Sony has a zillion removable Lithium Ion batteries for use in devices such as their DSC-T9 pocket cameras. They have little excuse for not using one of them in a similar manner in the Sony Reader system. |
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11-09-2006, 04:02 AM | #17 |
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scotty1024, I agree with you about the replacability of the Reader's lithium ion battery. This may have parallels with the 1st-gen iPods; hopefully Sony will not make the same mistake as Apple, which initally did not offer a replacement option for worn-out batteries. Since the average lifetime of the rechargable battery was 18 months, many owners were furious that thay had no choice but to buy a new iPod. I remember seeing a news article about a guy protesting this problem by going around NYC putting up posters over the official Apple posters, with his new poster warning about the replacement non-option. Eventually, Apple did offer a $99 warranty-preserving replacement service, and they have been offering it for all subsequent models.
Sony should do the same for the Reader; to do otherwise would be a public relations faux pas. |
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11-09-2006, 04:47 AM | #18 |
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I think apress.com is going in the right direction, most ebooks are 50% or more off the hardcopy price. However ultimately I feel it will go in a direction where you buy the books directly from the writer, cut the middle man and you can lower the price signficantly and still as a writer have more at the end in your pockets. Won't work for all the writers but a big group i guess
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11-09-2006, 05:49 AM | #19 |
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Do NOT discharge your Lithium Ion battery!!! Discharging will cause reduced capacity and lifetime.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_ion On book and song prices I think e-books should have at least an 50% price reduction compared to paper versions. Otherwise, what is the point. An $.99 for a song is bloody expensive IMHO. You pay about the same amount for a DRM encoded incompatible content as for a CD version. |
11-09-2006, 06:24 AM | #20 | |
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11-09-2006, 06:34 AM | #21 |
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# Unlike NiCad batteries, lithium-ion batteries should be charged early and often. However, if they are not used for a longer time, they should be brought to a charge level of around 40%. Lithium-ion batteries should never be "deep-cycled" like NiCd batteries.
# Li-ion batteries should be kept cool. Ideally they are stored in a refrigerator. Aging will take its toll much faster at high temperatures. The high temperatures found in cars cause lithium-ion batteries to degrade rapidly. # Lithium-ion batteries should never be depleted to empty (0%). # Li-ion batteries should be bought only when needed, because the aging process begins as soon as the battery is manufactured. [citation needed] |
11-09-2006, 08:49 AM | #22 | |
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Yes, chargers can be dumb and overcharge (when left on dock) thus reducing lifespan. So don't do it. Simple as that. I haven't heard of once perm onth discharge???? Are you sure? See: http://batteryuniversity.com/ One of the main advantages of LiIon is low self discharge, so that they can sit idle for a long time without needing recharge. In any case, you really have to abuse a LiIon battery to last only 2 years. I have a Palm Zire71 which is at least 2 years old and still working well. Sure I notice a lower capacity and higher self discharge, but it is still good enough to last 1+ week on a single charge. LiIon batteries in general last far longer than mere 2 years. I do agree that LiIon batteries that are sealed, such as in most PDAs and this gizmo, are very bad design. I mean it is bad enough that I have to pay extra money for the special form factor of these things (as opposed to much cheaper mass produced AA format), but to also have to take apart a gizmo and risk damaginig it is too much. I will wait for the next reader to see if they address this problem. On the other point, I don't think that color version is going to appear within 2 years. They have their hands full improving this Reader. So in summary, this Reader version will easily last more than 2 years, probably closer to 5+ years. Keep in mind that this gizmo doesn't draw much power. Hence battery should last minimum 5 years. As for the price of eBooks, I see it in relation to elasticity of demand for books. In general book demand is very elastic. Hence the higher prices for eBooks will simply re-derict demand to free books (Gutenberg) and/or pBooks. Another phenomenon will be that many sophisticated readers will turn to non-corporate sources on the net. The current trend is increasing switch from published news sources such as newspapers and magazines to blogs and forums such as this one. The same will occur for books. There will be forums for both amateur and semi-professional writers that will interact with reader in a more direct fashion. When they undercut published eBooks then publishers will take notice and adjust (eventually). |
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11-09-2006, 09:06 AM | #23 | |
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- if no one buys ebooks, or the device doesn't catch on, Sony probably won't produce more Readers. - if I think there's a chance Sony won't produce more readers, I'm not going to plop down more than a buck or two for any book that effectively has a 2 year lifespan - period. Books aren't rentals - my library lets me do that for free. The argument that I could keep the Connect software around and read it on my PC (until the Connect software breaks with some future OS version) holds no water... if I wanted to read a book on a PC I'd not have purchased the Reader. In that case, the availability of software that removed the DRM would be the only thing that would make me buy eBooks. I came to a similar realization with online music stores a long time ago, and the only reason I buy music (and lots of it) online is because I can zip the DRM off and feel I haven't thrown away my money. Kind of an irony... I'm happy to pay and not copy, but only if they don't put junk on it to keep me from copying - because the major side-effect of DRM in restricting how I can personally use it is a show-stopper for me. |
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11-09-2006, 09:12 AM | #24 | |
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No, I don't believe that companies purposely create tech that dies. I do believe, however, that they don't focus on creating tech that could easily last a very, very long time. And I do believe that if they really wanted to, they could make a Reader that lasted 10 years. |
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11-09-2006, 10:10 AM | #25 |
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If anybody remembers the passage of music from vinyl to CD, where older titles regularly make a transition to an other format. It is totally possible to expect a day where out of print paper books transfer to e-format!
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11-09-2006, 10:20 AM | #26 |
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So I just read the full review that prompted this thread, and I have to say that I believe many people approach the issue of e-books incorrectly. The author was discussing the high cost of e-books relative to their...corporeality.
The thing I love about e-text is that I do *not* need a shelf, or a room to hold them; I just need some space on an 80 gb hard drive. The ephemerality of e-books should be a selling point, not a sadly admitted limitation! How cool is it to have the collected works of Shakespeare take up one electronice file folder rather than a box that's 8.5"x11"x24"? The crux of the matter is the perception of who owns data or intellectual property, and who gets to use it, for how much money. Limitations to ownership, such as DRM software, are what point up the un-physicality of this data, and the model needs to be adapted. I will admit that there is something nice about gazing upon a shelf of treasured books, arranged like so many trophies of my reading skill; there is a pleasantness of having texts arranged willy-nilly that allows for random access and increased brain function. But in my little house, and on my little boat, I'd much rather use that space for something else. |
11-09-2006, 10:24 AM | #27 |
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Regarding Batteries and the longevity of technology in general:
How great would it be if the overhead of development was low enough that tech. companies could offer lifetime warranties? I haven't bought a backpack since I started high school fifteen years ago. Every time one breaks, I take it to Eddy Bauer and get a new one. If a fender on the boat pops, gets ripped by a rusty bolt, Taylor Made will ship me a new one. Obviously, there is such a thin profit margin that SONY might go broke offering to replace Readers with cracked displays, non-responive buttons, dead batteries. However, imagine that there were only small improvements to the Reader, maybe search functionality in two years, a colour screen in five. Now imagine that every time you broke the Reader, they gave you a new one.... |
11-09-2006, 02:13 PM | #28 | |
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Not that publisher costs have that much to do with retail prices, but I wonder what the typical cost to produce, store, and ship a paperback book is, when you take into account average print runs, stripped or discounted books, etc.? What about retail location costs, e.g. floor space, staff, etc. at the bookstore? The author gets their pittance, the publishers pay for some amount of marketing, editors and copyeditors need to get paid, etc., and those costs probably wouldn't change much, but I'm just wondering what proportion of the actual costs is due to the physical medium. (And the electronic medium isn't free, either-- server storage, system administration, etc. are all involved, but I would expect costs to be much lower.) |
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11-09-2006, 02:33 PM | #29 | |
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11-09-2006, 02:45 PM | #30 | |
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I also have two genuine Radio Shack recordable 8-tracks, a Pentium II CPU, an 8" silicon wafer (the kind they make chips on) -- copper electroplated, and a collection of aluminium foil animals. That barely scratches the surface. Everyone who comes in my cube stops the first time and stares for a moment. |
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