Concept E-Book Has Pages
by EcoGeek.org on 11.19.06
Criticisms of electronic books abound. Everything from their weight to their smell has been derided by lovers of traditional books. These days, however, it doesn't take long for a new innovation to arrive in response to these criticisms.
The objection we focus on today is, in my opinion, a rather lame one: You can't flip pages with an e-book, pressing buttons is just not the same! While I agree that it isn't technically "The same," I don't think it's much worse. It's not like we're genetically predisposed to turning pages. I'm actually pretty sure pushing buttons is easier to do. But just because a criticism is silly doesn't mean that innovation won't respond. Thus a turnable e-book concept from Timothy Yeoh: The Turnover.
Very simply the Turnover would have two electronic ink screens that lay on top of one another. When you finish with one, you turn it around to the back, exposing the page behind it. The page you've just been reading refreshes with the text from the next page, and when you turn again, it's changed. It's quite magical, and an innovative solution to a criticism that, I'm afraid, was kinda ridiculous in the first place.
See also ::Sony Reader and ::Newspaper Without the Paper
::Hugg and ::AboutMyPlanet
It just needs another 300 e-ink pages, that way you could download a book via USB or something and then it would be just like a real book --- NO BATTERIES
It just needs another 300 e-ink pages, that way you could download a book via USB or something and then it would be just like a real book --- NO BATTERIES
e-ink uses extremely little power. It's quite feasible that the book could be powered by solar panels, much like a solar powered calculator.
I love the idea of e-books and can't wait for them to actually become cheap and decent enough to use for the train ride to and from work each day however this page flipping thing just makes me think that there is more stuff to break. I have to agree though that I impressed that someone is taking the time to respond to issues that others raise.
See, when you're rethinking an old interface (deadtree)with new technology it's not a good idea to hang on to the old notions. They doubled the display cost for a display that MOST of the time only shows others what you're reading? Seems like a huge carbon hit to show off.
For me, it's not so much the "flipping pages" that I want. It's the ability to page through and look at multiple pages very quickly. This is more applicable to non-fiction - research papers and the like - where you might want to flip a few pages back to quickly clarify your understanding of something, compare a figure/chart, etc. There's also the ability to comment/highlight that will need to be addressed. What I think they need to do is revisit the ancient scroll - the storage/control part is a cylinder with a soft screen that rolls up into it - nice and compact.
It would be nice if there was a special reading tool that let you roll through the pages very easily( to reference things) like the mouse/roll button, but more effective and precise. mabye it exists, I dont know
I love paper books and I'm addicted to my gadgets. This isn't the solution though - I want something that doesn't give me eye strain, that weighs in less than a paperback and that allows me to read at my own pace without clicking, pressing or turning.
Flexible, paper thin screens that respond to flexing, folding & touch sound good to me... the argument that we need something tangible in order to value it is the same used by vinyl fans at the advent of CDs, and by CD fans at the birth of the mp3.
In fact, roll on biotech implants, then we can just 'know' the contents of a book and leave our hands free to knit or something.
markyMark -- your point about the ability to reference multiple points in the book simultaneously is exactly where e-books can excel...if we choose to use them that way. For instance, the ability to create an infinite number of bookmarks within the text seems like a significant advantage. Perhaps a functionality similar to the "memory" preset on our car radios (push and hold a button to assign a frequency to that button) would work well for e-books. If I had the ability to bookmark half a dozen pages simultaneously (and also have those bookmarks "remembered" each time I pick up that book again), I would be happy!
Again, what it comes down to is completely rethinking the way we interact with books. There's a reason that books exist in the form factor they do today -- we've collectively decided that this is the easiest way to interact with the written word. I much prefer a fully bound book to a stapled collection of 8.5x11 pages. While we should respect that disposition, that shouldn't cause us to ignore potential improvements.
/$0.02