Comments on: Panasonic Word Gear e-book-reader: Text said to be pretty, too!

By: Bill Janssen

Bill Janssen — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 22:01:25 +0000

Well, it’s an intriguing citation, but I suspect you’ll find that it’s wrong, and that the device is stylus-free (or that the stylus works only on the grip :-).

It’s interesting to compare this to the OLPC display. They are both high-res, and they both use heavy slabs of glass. However, the OLPC has this nifty dual-mode system, which apparently will effectively give it a 20-hour battery life instead of the 6 hours (still pretty good) claimed for the Panasonic device, which needs a full-time backlight. On the other hand, the Panasonic device probably has a better color display than the OLPC display.

The OLPC device also has Wi-Fi, which I think is going to be a critical competitive differentiator. Without Wi-Fi and a good Web browser, these things are just not going to fly.

By: David Rothman

David Rothman — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 19:41:28 +0000

“You’ll be able to control the Panasonic book reader by using the E Sensor, a touch sensitive controller and there’s even a stylus with a battery life of about 6 hours.” - Unbeatable.co.uk.

Hmm. We’ll see about a “stylus with a battery life of six hours” (someone missing a comma or dash?), but at any rate, it would be shame for that touch-sensitive screen not to use one. Whatever happens, let’s hope the Word Gear somehow has a word-based search feature.

Thanks,
David

By: Bill Janssen

Bill Janssen — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 18:05:40 +0000

Notice? Unlike the Sony Reader, this one has a stylus, suggesting…

What make you think it has a stylus? I’d guess the opposite, given the description of the “E Sensor”.

By: David Rothman

David Rothman — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 17:31:37 +0000

Yep, Jake and Franko, here’s boring but heartfelt “me too.” You’re right on! Jake, I sure wish the library world would take e-book standards more seriously–especially now that the Sony is grabbing so much attention. The Sony does BBeB, which is reflowable; but as I’ve shown, the device comes with rather severe limitations from a library perspective. Thanks. David

By: franko

franko — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 16:18:53 +0000

i’ll second what jake said: HELLO, adobe?? wake up and smell the opportunity, here!

and reflowability is a must, i say! death before side-scrolling!!

By: Jake

Jake — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 15:16:03 +0000

PDF is a defacto standard (although sadly proprietary) - it is everywhere and yet all the portable e-reader implementations I’ve seen so far seem to treat it like a poor relation. Difficult to read, requiring mega-tweaking, panning, sometimes un-searchable etc. Does it have to be this hard to access and view PDF’s?

If Adobe was on the ball, they would partner with a hardware firm to design an e-reader from the ground up that displays PDF’s perfectly, and implements other features of Acrobat (like great search capabilities). There would be a big demand for such a device in business and education. A well-designed and displayed PDF is a thing of beauty. I’ve never credited Adobe with much vision, but one hopes they wake up and smell the coffee on this opportunity.

By: David Rothman

David Rothman — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 14:26:23 +0000

Hi, Frank. Just some followup. Perhaps the Panasonic will read PDF, but I don’t think there’ll be magic solution to these size problems. If Panasonic were really clever, maybe it could use a reader with reflowability (see today’s item on PalmPDF) and a size adjustment. Still, I won’t hold my breath. And again, Mac compatibility is far from certain. Best of luck. David

By: franko

franko — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 13:27:33 +0000

thanks for the info, david. yeah, yeah — i’m a broken record when it comes to ebooks: mac, pdf, mac, pdf. i just have SO MANY pdf files, and i personally don’t have any issue with them (so far!), so i’d love to have a reader that just displays them in a readable size.

i’m going to keep my eyes and ears open for more on this one, since the new sony reader has fallen off my “maybe” list.

By: David Rothman

David Rothman — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 19:02:15 +0000

Excellent questions. Info is sketchy, but size is 105×18-28.4×152mm. Weight: 325g. Just ran across more at Tech Japan:

The “Words Gear” is a new portable book reader/media player from Panasonic sporting a 5.6″ display with a resolution of 1024 x 600.

The “E Sensor” that sits next to the screen is a touch-sensitive control device shaped like the letter E, allowing you to control the device’s functions with one finger.

The Words Gear can handle audio, video, still images, and electronic books stored on cards inserted in its SD card slot. It supports “SD-ePublish,” which supports CPRM, for copyright protected content. The battery life is about 6 hours.

Slated to launch in tandem with the new device is a new company jointly established by Panasonic, Kadokawa Mobile, and Tokyo Broadcasting, dubbed the “Words Gear Corporation.” The company will be handling the production and distribution of content for the device, primarily via saidoku.com, whose “image character” is none other than Kaori Manabe. Hubba hubba.

Notice? Unlike the Sony Reader, this one has a stylus, suggesting that perhaps users be able to do advanced things such as search for words (sarcasm alert). The iLiad, too, has a stylus.

As for formats, I have no answer to the PDF issue or Mac compatibility, although I wouldn’t bet on it. Big thing to remember is that, at least at least, the Panasonic will be sold only in Japan.

No E Ink, but if you want to read in dim light or the dark, this one will be better.

Let us know if you find more info!

Thanks, and good luck finding an e-reader meeting your needs!

David

By: franko

franko — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 17:53:29 +0000

it’s not e-ink, so i’m sort of less inclined to it, but does anyone know any specs on this? what format(s) does it support? can i sync it with a mac as well as a pc? if it supports PDF in a decent way, and i can sync with my mac, i might be willing to overlook the lack of e-ink…