Comments on: In praise of the single-use device

By: In praise of the single use (dictionary) device

In praise of the single use (dictionary) device — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:43:29 +0000

[…] Kottke pointed to a piece on Snarkmarket with a back and forth about the value of single use digital devices. The back and forth is interesting, and the conclusions reached — that multi-purpose devices […]

By: Hilobrow | Middlebrow is not the solution

Hilobrow | Middlebrow is not the solution — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:44:03 +0000

[...] In a discussion of single-use devices at Snarkmarket, Tim Carmody suggests splitting the difference between e-readers and digital Swiss Army knives like the iPhone. “Tear down the walls between the ’separate’ functions on multi-function devices,” he writes. “It should feel like a device that has one function — just that the function is complex, multilayered, integrated.” [...]

By: alesh

alesh — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:34:44 +0000

I think the problem that needs to be tackled is battery life in handhelds, laptops, cell phones, etc. Until it is, I agree that e-ink screens will have a place.

By: Christopher Fahey

Christopher Fahey — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:53:08 +0000

Yes, devices like iPhones are seen as Swiss-Army all-in-one devices. But, in a way, *within* the iPhone app landscape we are seeing a trend towards single-function apps (versus the all-in-one apps desktops and even mobile apps have long had. The hardware advantages of single-function devices are as you note pretty compelling still, but the software and UI experiences of platforms like iPhone are perceived correctly as flexible enough to support any function.

By: Britta

Britta — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:57:52 +0000

There's also the WikiReader, very specifically designed to be a single-purpose and simple way to put Wikipedia in your pocket: "In a world with constant interruptions comes a device specifically designed to facilitate your focus. With 3 simple buttons and 3 million topics, WikiReader brings the iconic Wikipedia to all generations." (which is cool, but I can't think of anybody I know who would want one.)

By: All This ChittahChattah | ChittahChattah Quickies

All This ChittahChattah | ChittahChattah Quickies — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:03:19 +0000

[...] In praise of the single-use device – 1) The overall trend is clearly towards media devices with multiple (but discrete) functions. 2) There’s still room for a solid handful of dedicated-use devices who do their job really, really well; for reading plain text, a device like the Kindle could fit into that category. 3) A lot of what we read isn’t plain text. It never was. [...]

By: Micah Sittig

Micah Sittig — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:58:25 +0000

There’s still something to be said for highly-readable low-power-consumption screens of the ebook readers. Will they find another application, or will they be a niche product with a small but stable consumer base? (think Minidist or DAT)

By: alesh

alesh — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:45:57 +0000

I save internet pages in plain text to read in Instapaper on my iPhone all the time, and it's instructive in two ways: (1) the internet often CAN be successfully be reduced to plain text and (2) the idea that you need a big screen for reading text is silly -- you need a big screen for graphics; the iPhone is perfect for reading text (especially with a page-flip interface ala Stanza vs a scroll interface ala Instapaper, but ok this is now officially more then two points). But for whatever all that is worth, I agree with Thompson -- an electronic READING device without WiFi and a decent web browser is at best like a sailboat -- maybe not without its charms, but just counting the days until it's made laughably obsolete by relatively obvious technology. I described my ideal e-book reader a few months ago.