Modern Marginalia

Key Decision #1: Thanks to Mobile Tech Review, I decided against upgrading to the Sony Reader 700. While I absolutely rejoiced over many of the 700's features, seeing the side-by-side comparison of the 700's touch screen with the 505's E-ink did it for me. While Sony did some clever engineering to get the touchscreen display to approximate the E-ink display, it's not quite clear enough for me. I need to preserve my eyesight. Which leads to...

Key Decision #2: Not to use the Apple iPod Touch for reading. Let me preface this decision, however: the iPod Touch is extraordinary. If your eyesight's largely unencumbered, you'll love it for reading. The Stanza app is pretty easy to use, the Touch's display is wonderful, and you can "pinch or sweep" text larger to meet your reading needs.

So why doesn't it work for me? Near as I can tell, it's the backlighting. When my eyes move across the e-page, I see the slightest of streaks from the words. And when I look up from reading, my distance vision is blurry and sometimes remains so for an hour afterward. Worse, it's not solely a reading problem. I have the same problem after watching videos or playing a game on the Touch. Love the device, but I'm limited to sparing use.

These two decisions are quite subjective. I arrived at them based entirely on my personal needs, and I have absolutely no desire to pit any one device against another. They all do their jobs more than adequately and I'd be the first to employ an older-than-textspeak wordism: YMMV. Your mileage may vary.

Undoubtedly so.

Next Up: Discoveries of a tech and tech support nature.

With that mind, I'm happy to report that Ravenous Romance launched today, bringing its cache of provocative erotic romance to avid readers everywhere. You'll find a handful of initial novels and short stories there in e-book and audio formats -- with more to coming daily mid-month. My first novel with Ravenous Romance, Blind Seduction, will drop on December 20th.

I have to say: The process of getting from here to there is noticeable different in e-book publishing. In the most general terms, everything moves faster. There's very little lag time between my delivery date and when I see the proofs. And there's little distance between signing off on the proofs and seeing the book come into print. All told, it was probably no more than seven weeks between delivery and drop dates for my first novel.

Granted, Ravenous Romance is ambitiously moving its titles into production, an effort that might slow once they have a larger stable of steadily-working writer. But generally speaking, what takes months to accomplish in traditional print takes weeks in the electronic world.

I'm also impressed that Ravenous Romance chose to employ the .ePub format for Sony and Apple devices. Any little effort to cut down on e-babble constitutes forward thinking in my book. (Pun optional.)

I'm pleased. So far, so good.

Adopting and using the technology may still take time. People stop and talk to me almost every time I read in public. All of them are aware of digital reading. All of them are impressed with my now-meager first gen Sony. But no one ever talks about wanting to rush out and buy a reader.

Why? Pricing, complicated by today's economic downturn. People aren't rushing to buy big-ticket items these days. They're budgeting. Which means it's not as easy to part with $300-400 dollar so frivolously right now.

Supposedly, the Astak Mentor should see shipping in early 2009 with a starting price of roughly $250.00 dollars. Frankly, it can't come soon enough. The sooner consumers have more price options, the more likely they'll consider adopting new technology. And if I've heard one thing repeatedly about reading devices, it's "I'd buy it at $100.00."

But the idea of digital reading itself is becoming more visible. The Sunday following Oprah's Kindle lovefest, my local Target featured the Sony Reader in its weekly circular. I wonder how many women viewers noticed it and asked, "There's something other than the Kindle?" Hopefully, they'll notice the price too. Which, hopefully, will lead them to ask what else is out there.

Curiosity. Visibility. They are, to quote another famous television personality, "a good thing."