Can The New Large Screen eReaders Succeed Where The Kindle DX Failed?

More Than Just Reading

Periodical consumption isn’t the main focus of all large-screen readers. Plastic Logic is billing their long-awaited Que as a digital briefcase. Beyond eBooks and eMags, users will also carry digital documents from PDFs to Powerpoint presentations to spreadsheets. Any document you can print you can put on the Que then mark up and annotate on the touchscreen. In addition, users can sync their calendar and e-mail (with attachments) from their computer.

This is a robust feature set for one device, but it has to be, considering the market. If an eReader is going to eliminate the need for paper in most situations, users will have to be able to both read and manipulate digital docs as they would physical ones.

I haven’t had a lot of time with the Que thus far (we’ll have a full review as soon as the device is ready) but I noticed two missing elements that I’d like to see on an eReader that wants to replace my briefcase. The first is the ability to edit documents. Que users will be able to annotate with scribbles, highlights, stamps, and notes. It doesn’t look like they’ll actually be able to change documents, though the notes will stay with the files once they are synced. Also, there’s no journal or note-taking function for jotting quick notes either via handwriting or the on-screen keyboard.

These features would benefit both business users and students, though perhaps vendors aiming their devices at the latter market are more likely to see them as a high priority. For instance, the Entourage eDGe dual-screen eReader allows for handwritten and typed note taking within eBooks and has a journal function for handwritten or typed notes. The eDGe is also a full-fledged Android device, and with the combination of DataViz DocumentsToGo app, users will be able to read and edit office documents.

The eDGe’s software and two-screen design appear to answer all of the complaints from the participants in the Princeton experiment. From what we’ve seen of the functionality, students will get their wish of interacting with books in a more organic and natural way. But concept doesn’t always match up with actual functionality. We’ll have to wait until we get our review unit later this month to try it all out. Plus, the eDGe is about the size and weight of a netbook. Students may prefer a device that’s a bit slimmer and lighter to act as a companion to their existing netbook or notebook.

In the coming months we expect to see even more larger eReaders — including the iRex DG800SG and Samsung’s E101, among others — rise up to challenge the Kindle DX. And the next DX can’t be too far over the horizon itself. Taking the Princeton experiment as a guide, I hope that vendors will consider how users in the real world will want to use these devices and design them accordingly. Good ideas and concepts are great, but when put to the test, even big players like Amazon can stumble.

Click here to watch hands-on videos with the Plastic Logic Que and Entourage eDGe eReaders >>