Now Asus, makers of inexpensive netbooks, is entering the eReader market with a very interesting variation. The Asus entry is pretty much a netbook reconfigured to work as an eReader. It opens like a book, with a hinge down the middle and a screen on either side. The reader can either have both "pages" showing the book text, just like a printed book, or they can make one page the book and the other a web browser. Or, the screens can be a web browser and a a virtual (touch screen) keyboard.
Designers of e-ink readers have tried to approximate the book by making the screen as easy on the eyes as paper is— not backlit, high contrast. But all those e-ink readers show only one screen, not booklike at all. So, will an LCD double screen (which offers full color) on a netbook offer enough of the "real book" experience to win over some folks, especially if it's dirt cheap by comparison?
My guess is yes, it will work for a significant percent of folks. I don't think it will wipe out the e-ink readers because they offer something of value for voracious readers who read for hours at a stretch— no eyestrain. Plus, Kindles offer "ease-of-use," the ultimate in instant gratification, a.k.a. wireless delivery.
But maybe Asus will find that the password to mass market acceptance is "cheap"?
