Posted on 2013-May-20
Discontinued Kindle Keyboard
The gadget industry chooses to discontinue lesser known products when consumers get hyped around the latest creation. The thrilling cycle of new technology reproduction has been circulated in the web to make the life of tech consumers a little easier. For several eBook lovers, Amazon Kindle Keyboard will be sorely missed because of its physical keyboard that makes tying to search for their favorite title a breeze without relying too much on the tiny on-screen that fat fingertips tend to miss. However, the latest wonder from E Ink Mobius screen technology teaming up with Sony tends to create a ripple effect among tech aficionados. Watch the demonstration video here.
E Ink Mobius
To serve the purpose of manufacturing the e-paper ecosystem that replicates the touch and feel of paper, the bendable and writable screen is touted to be “A4-sized digital paper slate.” Based on this early prototype presentation, users can work comfortably either with their finger or digital pen input. While capacitive display is a lot less exciting these days, digital slate with digital input seems to bring so much more for readers to review or comment their documents/eBooks. Working with a pen—whether it be digital or a normal ballpoint pen—can inspire more people to create their own contents.
Tablet with Digital Pen
Several months ago, Samsung showcased their tablet with the screen size measured at 10.1“ to be commonly used with digital Wacom pen. Official commercials demonstrate adaptive use of digital pens to scribble and type more naturally. To benefit from the multi-function flexibility, sometimes speed can be compromised to handle multi-tasking. Yet, several commenters express their positive feelings about the newly launched at the time of their release late.
Sad Farewell to “Caramel Drizzle”
Unlike the multi-purpose tablet, Kindle Keyboard has seen the light of day garnering extensive good reviews from readers. One commenter, Candy Beauchamp, even called the product the “caramel drizzle on your cappuccino.” Back then, lighter weight and better screen specifications were common features that most commenters gave Kindle Keyboard a five star. Unfortunately, Engadget reported a sad day a couple of days ago when Amazon would bring an end to the eReader because the company has been concocting a new smartphone in their secret lab.
Sony’s PDF-Only eReader
Sony might stage a big comeback to the stage this time around as they upscale their e-Ink eReader prototype. Although the recently unveiled 13.3“ eReader still carries no name tag despite it being demoed, mixed reviews weigh in what the future of this eReader would look like. So far, according to The Digital Reader, it only supports PDF, not the open-source EPUB standard. Plastic makes the body feather light but one commenter is concerned about the durability of the screen. Portability seems to be the echoing concern that carrying around the device is nearly impossible.
Handiness Required
With the alleged sole support of PDF, students are obviously among early beneficiaries who might get their hands on this eReader soon. Somehow, we would like to see how companies can adapt this technology to manage their digital documents. Imagine, an HR department scans or digitizes their corporate training manual to be stored in eReaders in eBook formats. Even though the big-screen slate might not be carried around, high resolution tends to compensate such a minor drawback. However, without supporting popular eBook formats like EPUB or MOBI, Sony will have to pitch their niche product sales against the tidal waves of existing all-around dedicated eReaders and tablets. In the tech world where the product’s life span is shorter than ever, creating a product that is functional and usable is still a key to success. Referring to the article published by Engadget, MotorMouth, comments how he deplores the discontinued supply of Kindle Keyboard and says that he regularly uses the physical keyboard to shop for new books. The keyboard is “quite handy” as he recalls.
Label: eBook Industry News
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