Good point. Except I don't think they have a choice: nobody has a backlit eink display yet. The technology is not there yet. Sony tried to build lights into the 700, but it compromised the clarity greatly.
On Wed Sep 2nd, 2009 9:00 AM EDT James Fraser wrote:
>Hello,
>
>--- On Tue, 9/1/09, Ryan Vetter <physicalconstants@yahoo.ca> wrote:
>
>> A Newton killer? Actually, the eink displays are incredible, much better
>> than the dim, grey Newton's screen. True, you don't get a backlight with
>> the eink displays, but the contrast is just so much better than the
>> Newton, and the clarity too...
>
>There's no doubt that screen technology has come a long way since the Newton was considered state of the art.
>
>But I find it amazing that the same company that is purportedly attempting to offer end users an improved reading experience can't be bothered to throw a backlight into the deal. For $399 CAD, the end user is, apparently, still expected to supply his own light source (or spend even more dough for an aftermarket add-on).
>
>I have a hard time believing that the folks at Sony are entirely unaware that, sometimes, people like to read in low-light (or dark) conditions. Sure, the OMP didn't have a backlight. However, Apple realized that one was necessary and incorporated one into the MP130. I can't claim to be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but color me baffled that Sony can't pick up on something Apple did back in 1996.
>
>Please don't read this the wrong way: the PRS-600 is an impressive device, to be sure. And it's certainly difficult to please all of the end users all of the time. That being said, I think I understand what Dan was getting at when he said, "it is not that hard to design a unit that everyone wants rather than keep trying to force what we don't want on us."
>
>An eReader manufacturer that doesn't see fit to include a backlight into their not-inexpensive product is not giving me what I want, but what they think I ought to have. And until that former condition is met, my money tends to stay in my pocket. Other folks might feel differently than I do and I respect that.
>
>
>Best,
>
>James Fraser
>
>
>
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Received on Wed Sep 2 12:58:18 2009
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