Introducing myself-What should an ebook reader be?

Being a keen reader I was asked to consider using e-books in place of my usual weight training exercise. So what should a good e-book do?

1.   Small and light but not too small so it is uncomfortable in the hand. If I’m travelling light it needs to fit my handbag or if I’m loaded up it has to go in my laptop bag and not make me feel like I’m weight training! If I’m reading it will be in my hand for hours….will I have hand ache?

2.   Good battery life. There is nothing worse than being in the middle of a page turner and the device dies on you.

3.   Easy to charge directly on a plug. No fiddling about needing a pc to charge or bulky current converters. I am a gadget girl but that does not mean I’m willing to carry a million leads and plugs and chargers. I want as few as possible to charge as many devices as possible…if not your device is staying home.

4.   Easy to put all types of reading on be they business courses, fiction books, newspaper downloads or RSS feeds…converting from file type A to B to C is time wasting…it needs to be a quick and efficient operation.

5.   Stylish-Ever been tempted by a Kindle…not me I’d need a man bag to fit that one in…design and style wise it just does not tempt me. Seen those Cooler devices with the amazing range of colours. No idea what they are like to use but aesthetically they are going the right way to get ebooks main stream.

6.   Easy to use…I want a book reader I can use not one I have to carry the manual for…if your device is not intuitive to use for someone unfamiliar with it…then send it back to the designers and make them start again.

7.   The books need to be fairly priced. Now that I do have an issue with…why should I pay the same price for a book that has not had to be printed, shipped on a lorry etc…despatched to a shop? In simple terms I believe that saving should be passed on…I fully support the authors for their hard work I recognise the marketing of the book etc are all essential ingredients to a successful book but what on earth mark up do the book sellers think we are prepared to tolerate for the convenience of the ‘e’ format?  No printing, No shipping, No sharing…..clearly should have an impact in price terms.

8.   A great choice of titles- no point in having the reader if all I can read is the old out of copyright stuff! I want the top sellers as soon as they are published.