Thinking about buying an e-reader? Read this first

Thinking of buying an e-reader? Or should you wait? Coming soon is the next generation of e-readers (can you remember when ‘the next generation’ of anything took years rather than months?). The device will feature two screens that open up like the opposing pages of a book, with one side being a standard e-reader and the other a liquid-crystal display that can show color graphics and video. From the New York Times, here are more details:  

“The e-reader screen is 9.7 inches diagonally; the color touch screen on the liquid-crystal display is 10.1 inches. The two screens interact in many ways. For instance, if the textbook on the black-and-white e-reader displays an illustration from a file that is in color, “the machine can move the illustration over to the LCD and run it there in color,” Mr. Atkinson said.  [That would be Doug Atkinson, VP of marketing & business development for the company behind the device, enTourage Systems.]

The e-reader screen is used with a stylus that can underline or highlight text, take notes in the margin, pull up a blank piece of e-paper for solving math problems, or touch a link for a video of a chemical interaction that is then displayed on the LCD screen.  

The virtual keyboard is on the LCD side, as well as an audio recorder and a video camera.

The device uses Google’s Android operating system, so other applications like word processing can be added, Mr. Atkinson said.   

The two screens swivel, so that the LCD screen can be tucked beneath the e-reader if space is tight. Then the device can be used as a note-taking tablet, or it can be flipped over to the other side for sending e-mail.”  

This kind of system could make it a lot more practical to use e-readers for textbooks. There are more such devices on the way and everybody is waiting to see what Apple comes up with. Of course with the pace of technology now, any time that you buy will be followed by a newer, (usually) better version soon.  

(Whatever form the words take people will always need good books and if you want to write one, get helpful guidance from my book, “Your Writing Coach,” published by Nicholas Brealey and available from Amazon and other online and offline retailers.)