email from Polymer Vision

[mrfbaggins]

So like the rest of the world I emailed Polymer Vision to ask when the Readius was being released.

End of 2008 in Europe, with rest of the world to follow!!!!

Today is the 23rd of December


OK so what am I missing. I'm sorry, the product may have amazing potential, but your marketing leaves a lot to be desired.

Right now we are in a big black hole where this product is concerned, following a year of hype

Unless I hear they are launching soon, I'm going to jump to the PRS700.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by mrfbaggins

Unless I hear they are launching soon, I'm going to jump to the PRS700.

They are completely different devices. In no way whatsoever could the PRS-700 be regarded as a "replacement" for the Readius. The PRS-700 is an eBook reader; the Readius clearly is not.

[mrfbaggins]

Originally Posted by HarryT

They are completely different devices. In no way whatsoever could the PRS-700 be regarded as a "replacement" for the Readius. The PRS-700 is an eBook reader; the Readius clearly is not.

I beg to differ. If the devices were so different, then why list the Readius in the mobileread site in the first place.

Of course they are designed differently, and cater to different markets. The core role though, that of reading text in a well presented and non-backlit way, is identical.

I do regard the PRS700 as a replacement for the Readius for my needs.

Why?

I want to read multiple formats. Yup both do that

I want portablility. Yup both are

I want E ink technology. Yup they both have it

Are they affordable? PRS700 yes, Readius who knows

Do they differ in other ways? Of course they do. An iPhone is more than a cellphone, but they both answer calls.

Are they both designed to present text in a similar way? Yup

OK so one presents in a higher quality, and with a bigger screen. Ultimately this is what guides deciding which option. Plasma, LCD, Rear Projection televisions are a good example. They are all TV's, same basic concept, different flavours.

My research has been extensive for what I need. The PRS700 remains the only other option for me. I stand by my opinion, which is a reasonable one.

The point I was making about there being poor marketing from Polymer Vision, was lost somewhere. Let me restate it.

Polymer Vision, what's going on with your cool product?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by mrfbaggins

II want to read multiple formats. Yup both do that

What commercial eBook formats can the Readius display? Last time I looked, the answer was "none". That is why I don't regard it as a viable eBook reader.

[mrfbaggins]

Originally Posted by HarryT

What commercial eBook formats can the Readius display? Last time I looked, the answer was "none". That is why I don't regard it as a viable eBook reader.

This information is straight from the website.

Supporting HTML, PDF, ASCII (specific eBook reader to be announced)

Yeah it is not great, but it is viable. Not confirmed, and PDF, HTML and ASCII does not equate to none in my world. I for one have an extensive PDF collection.

You don't like the product, this much is clear. Don't beat so hard on those of us who do.

Or are you going to lurk in this READIUS forum to ambush all evil doers who dare to say, "I might like it" or post putdowns unrelated to the questions asked .

[crucify]

It's more like a high end and futuristic cell phone.
I think the price will be above €400.

[mrfbaggins]

Originally Posted by crucify

It's more like a high end and futuristic cell phone.
I think the price will be above €400.

Check out

The Mobileread Interview: Karl McGoldrick, CEO of Polymer Vision

He states it will be focused on ereading and data content. I hope he is right, as I don't want another mobile phone.

As to your price guess of $400, that would be reasonable. Any more and it is pricing itself higher than better resolution ereaders, so its connectivity becomes less attractive.

[ProDigit]

I think the plastic reader will be aimed more around $700

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by mrfbaggins

Check out

The Mobileread Interview: Karl McGoldrick, CEO of Polymer Vision

He states it will be focused on ereading and data content. I hope he is right, as I don't want another mobile phone.

As to your price guess of $400, that would be reasonable. Any more and it is pricing itself higher than better resolution ereaders, so its connectivity becomes less attractive.

there is quite a difference between €400 and $400.

Dale

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by mrfbaggins

You don't like the product, this much is clear. Don't beat so hard on those of us who do.

On the contrary, I think that it has huge potential to become a really excellent bookreader. However, I think that the current format limits really do make it impractical to use as one. The device may support PDF, but virtually all "eBook" PDFs are formatted for A4/Letter page size, and will (I suspect) be completely unreadable on this size screen. Have you seen any demonstrations of its PDF support?

If they added support for a "real" eBook format such as MobiPocket, this could be a "killer" device. Until then, I'm afraid that I'm sceptical.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

there is quite a difference between €400 and $400.

Dale

Not that much, once you factor in that the €400 price (probably) includes VAT of around 20%.

[zelda_pinwheel]

according to the site it already supports html, that's an excellent ebook format. it's reflowable, archivable, formattable thanks to css... any epub book can be unzipped to extract the html file, and they are very easy to create oneself. and any mobipocket file can be exploded into an html file as well, meaning there is already a huge library of available titles.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

according to the site it already supports html, that's an excellent ebook format. it's reflowable, archivable, formattable thanks to css... any epub book can be unzipped to extract the html file, and they are very easy to create oneself. and any mobipocket file can be exploded into an html file as well, meaning there is already a huge library of available titles.

I was thinking more of commercial eBooks, Zelda, rather than "DIY" ones. Yes, I know that Mobi books, etc, can be converted to HTML, but is the typical "man in the street" really going to want to have to go through all the hassle of doing so, do you think? People want a book reader where they can just go to an online store, download a book, and read it, not have to be a "computer whizz" and do all sorts of format conversion.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I was thinking more of commercial eBooks, Zelda, rather than "DIY" ones. Yes, I know that Mobi books, etc, can be converted to HTML, but is the typical "man in the street" really going to want to have to go through all the hassle of doing so, do you think? People want a book reader where they can just go to an online store, download a book, and read it, not have to be a "computer whizz" and do all sorts of format conversion.

given how much format conversion and de-drming already goes on (by choice or by necessity), i suspect that there are probably a significant number of ebook readers who either don't mind it that much or consider it's still a necessary evil. it's not actually that complicated, and there are quite a lot of people on this board who don't consider themselves "computer whizzes" but still convert ebooks as a matter of course.

[HarryT]

I have a couple of friends whom I've persuaded to buy CyBooks, having seen mine, and neither of them would ever dream of doing anything more than download a book and reading it. I've offered to show them how to use "ConvertLIT", etc, but they just aren't interested. I think they are far more typical of the "average" eBook consumer than you or I are.

However, let's wait and see what Readius themselves do in the way of offering commercial content. My fears may be groundless.