The iPhone vs. rivals as an e-reader—and an uppity question for Palm about the TX
The iPhone has a nice, sharp screen. With the right software, it could be perfect for stashing away a library in your pocket.
So how does it compare with other hardware for e-reading?
Palm Addicts explores the topic in iPhone as e-book reader, a natural trait or a forced add-on feature?
Perhaps the salient message here is the fact that PA cares so much about e-reading.
Hello, Palm? Why not pimp out the TX as a dedicated e-reader?
Meanwhile Palm itself is doing squat even though some firmware tweaks could turn the Palm TX into an incredible dedicated e-reader, especially with WiFi built in.
Guys, don’t you get it? Mobipocket will soon be running on the iPhone, not just on the TX. Do something.
What’s more, eReader itself—the former PalmReader—will eventually run on the iPhone platform.
Big R&D expenses, other costs already covered
I’m hardly the only one to see dedicated e-reader potential in the Palm TX.
Will someone from Palm kindly tell us why the company isn’t willing to make more thrifty use of R&D expenses and other money already invested in the TX?
If it’s so bleepin’ obsolete, why haven’t prices been slashed? Even discounted, new TXes seem to sell in the mid or upper 200s.
June 29th, 2008 at 11:00 pm
I have a few reasons why. Tell me which one is best.
Palm:
where a monkey randomly hitting a keyboard isn’t a math theorem; it’s how we got our business plan.
where a thousand monkeys at a thousand keyboards isn’t an epigram; it’s our R&D department.
creating innovative products since _____(TBD).
innovation? What’s that?
And one last one: Palm’s business decisions lend credence to the story that the company got its name because “bones” and “tarot” were already in use.
June 30th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
It is a damn shame. Palm could have owned the internet tablet world if they made something like the TX, just with a more usable (say 6-inch) screen (and better software).
I still use my TX to check e-mail and futz around on the web, but reading ebooks is a major hassle. And it isn’t that the screen hurts my eyes, I just get tired of scrolling all the damn time.
September 13th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Haven’t you guys heard of Repligo from Cerience? Anyone who considers the T|X as a potential dedicated pdf reader should definitely check it out. Unfortunatelly, it seems the company has dropped support for PalmOS, but I guess one can still get a copy of their latest version (Repligo Viewer 2.1 for Palm).