my ideal ebook reader

[piranha]

firecat asked how the kobo falls short of my ideal, and a) it's a long list, and b) it's not that the kobo falls short in specific, but that all ereaders fall short at this point, so i thought i separate this from the reader review itself.

• full text search.
  
• full colour, high resolution, primarily to view images. though i could live with high-level grayscale instead and forget about reading graphic novels/comics on my ereader.
  
• comics view functions, if i get colour e-ink.
  
• foreground and background colour/contrast control.
  
• intuitive navigation.
  
• annotations: highlights, notes, drawings.
  
• clipboard.
  
• bookmarks.
  
• integrated dictionaries of my choice.
  
• wifi/3G/bluetooth (this is not a top requirement).
  
• if the above, then also integrated google/wikipedia lookup.
  
• integrated translation for several languages of my choice.
  
• several fonts of my choosing, as well as sizing.
  
• tagging of books.
  
• handle the major formats so i can stop converting.
  
• touch screen (pressure-sensitive stylus would work best for me, but multi-touch could make navigation very easy).
  
• handwriting recognition.
  
• split screen or easy switching back-and-forth so i can see different passages at once.
  
• open-source OS.
  
• external memory expandability.
  
• good library management.
  
• lightweight.
  
• decent battery life (a full day would be acceptable, a week would be fabulous), and quick charge.
  
• USB connectivity.
  
• rugged.
  
• well-priced (and naturally it should come with a pony).
  

i don't ask for much, do i. *snrk*.

i don't need easy integrated purchasing from anywhere i am, and i can totally live without wifi as well; that would just be nice for looking up information. i'm also fine without audio.

Comments

[piranha]

my list isn't at all dependent on what books can do, because we have better technology, so we can improve a lot on what books can do. books are not my dream technology and never have been. :) i basically put everything on this list that i've long wished for from my reading experience. i'll quite happily leave books behind almost entirely at that point -- though there is a special pleasure to holding a beautifully bound and typeset book, and i cherish the few hardcovers i have with personal dedications by friends. but most of my books are mass market paperbacks which fall apart sooner or later anyway.

re transitioning: the main thing that's held me back from buying an ereader before were limited availability of ebooks and the price of the reader. the former has really come along and is steadily continuing, and now finally the latter is in my ballpark as well.

books can do "split screening" because i can have several open at once and arrange them around me (important for research).

i bet the ipad is wonderful for comics / graphic novels / manga. also for magazines, and for craft and art books. but it's just too large for me to read fiction on in bed, which is where i do most of my reading these days. i'll just continue to read those materials on my regular computer for now.