The Ultimate eBook Device

Planet eBook's resident editor and technofile's dream device

Most ebook formats these day give you the ability to annotate and markup in some basic form, perhaps look up a built-in dictionary and the like, but there's a lot more that could be put into the dream system -- the software would be more intuitive and user-friendly and the hardware, as well as being more intuitive, more powerful and with enough capacity to view all the types of books I've grown used to. For the sake of brevity I'll try to keep as much to the hardware side of things, and next time look more at the eBook and software it uses.

Please indulge me as I drift into dreamland for a few moments, devising *my* perfect ebook reading device; you'll get your chance to indulge us by heading to the forum and telling us what you want. Go here to join the discussion forum. It should be noted that many of the features I desire are already out there, but the devices typically come with only some of the things I want in my ultimate device.

Dedicated to eBooks or multi-purpose device?

There are really two schools of thought out there: an eBook reading device should be dedicated to the purpose of reading books, or the reading should be one part of a flexible device. I want my device to be multi-purpose, because if it's going to be a 'dream device' it's going to handle all my reading and writing requirements as well as my general multimedia entertainment requirements. So couple with the good eBook reading experience comes the ability to listen to audio books, music and access standard file types like HTML, TXT and RTF.

Simple connection to network and Web

It doesn't need a a cradle, instead it ought to connect wirelessly to the network or with a standard network cable and card - in essence it can connect to a network and the Internet easily. While I'm at it, a built in modem would be great while traveling.

Input devices

Because my device will be used by holding it in one hand, with the other used to navigate and manipulate, the main input method used would be with a stylus and the built-in navigation buttons. While it would use a stylus and buttons for simple functions and writing it would also allow me to use a keyboard and mouse should the need ever arise. I want to be able to write easily on this thing.

Note: if you haven't used a stylus before (the pen-like tool for writing on handheld devices) you'll be surprise at how accurate and easy they are to learn how to use. I'm not trying to take sides here (and was amazed with how easy it was to write when I got my Palm Pilot years ago), but the Transcriber software that you can use with Pocket PCs is amazing. What I want with a stylus-based input device is one that adapts to my handwriting as much as possible, one that allows me to write anywhere on the screen and allows me to write full words rather than writing each letter on top of the previous one. From what I've seen from existing devices that make use of a stylus, when handhelds and tablets get that extra bit of processing power, the stylus will grow in popularity.

If you've got an opinion, we want to hear it. Head to the Planet eBook Forum page.