Dual-display e-book concept mimicks reading, makes complete sense
By Joshua Fruhlinger 
posted Jun 26th 2008 12:53PM
posted Jun 26th 2008 12:53PM
It's no surprise that more displays is always better, but when it comes to mimicking the act of reading a book, dual displays is a clear step forward. Researchers at Maryland and Berkeley Universities developed a prototype dual-face, modular e-book reader that allows readers to fan pages to advance in a book or via trackball. If you're doing some serious research, the displays separate from one another, allowing one to display in landscape mode while the other runs in portrait. To complete the book meme, the device can be folded over to run in a more compact manner, and a simple flip changes the page. Possibilities for future e-book readers are endless here, so we applaud Maryland and Berkeley for using those research dollars.
If it makes sense then it wont ever be produced.
And if it is produced, it will run some kind of proprietary crap software on the PC side, won't be compatible with existing e-books, and won't have any software available for users to create their own native format e-books or convert existing e-books.
I love e-books! I have a Sony Reader. I use it every day, but it falls far short of what it could have been had the customer experience been the focus.
Wow! They took two eBooks and put them side-by-side like a real book. I wonder how much money & time these geniuses spent on this project. These innovators deserve an award.
How about one screen , swipe your hand left to right to turn the page. right to left to go back.
That's odd. You can buy $30.00 e-book and other function hardware equipment for your Nintendo DS that does the same idea :o. How...odd.
Oh well, I can always spend lots of money on new hardware for the same dual-screen effect?
I don't want to use two hands to read a book!
I want a lightweight, one hand operated landscape-style reader.
I want it to be priced reasonably, and handles multiple formats.
I don't want to pay the same price for an ebook as the cost of a normal paperback. (This should be simple, no printing costs = less cost per ebook)
Thanks!
me too
i want a one-handed method to read books (and view images), too :3
I don't want to read. I just want information stuffed into my head.
The fact that they can separate negates my big complaint with this concept. I don't want a two paged, heavy, awkward e-book. I want to hold it in one hand, turn the page with a single touch, etc.
You realize that you can fold the second screen all the way around the back, so its basically a 2 sided e-book reader. Then you can just turn the pages by flipping the thing over.
Hmm... I liked this idea the first time it was introduced... as the Nintendo DS.
I want it to just be a page, which you turn over to turn over. Bit like this, but take away those buttons.
wasn't the whole point of e-reading or whatever it's called to get rid of something big and bulky for something slim and sexy?
This is a monumental fail.
Also I agree, a touchscreen swipe of the finger to turn pages makes more sense than this.
This is a concept; a prototype. If it ever moves forward, many things will change, including slimming it down.
youre like a virus now.
no e-ink display?!?
Make it out of paper.
Yes! And bind it with a cardboard cover instead of that crappy plastic stuff.
That's a novel idea!!
Would they ever have the spine to be bound to such an idea?
...budaching!
Why would you want to run your finger along the display of your phone (or media player, if counting the iPod Touch) when something like a simple tap at the corner or along a side could do the same thing, except with a lot less effort (and smudges)?
Gestures dont require buttons. Thus, minimizing the amount of UI used.
Hey clack, Apple is giving away free a MacBook Air to anyone who jumps off of a cliff. I advise you do it soon before they run out.
I'm actually suprised Apple hasn't released an ebook reader....
Why?
Steve Jobs says people can't read. Why would he then invest money into a device that nobody can use (according to him)?
In seriousness, they'd be much more likely to give the iPhone / iTouch ebook capabilities instead of developing a devoted piece of hardware.
I didn't specify hardware or software. But I was thinking more software. they already have underlying hardware.
i appreciate the effort, but i will always read physical books. Unless they are textbooks, which can fuck off for being so expensive.
we should make text books none profit, open source
I think that's a valid point (that you will always read physical books), and *currently* I agree, but with e-ink coming up in the future (ignoring the piece of crap e-ink devices out there currently), I think it may be possible to enjoy reading on a device. A nice, thin, book-sized tablet with a protective cover that can flip around to the back on a hinge (like folding a book open to see one page) with simple buttons along the side or bottom would be nice. Of course, it would have to render PDFs nicely or it's a no-go. However, I would much rather carry around one small tablet then 10 books (and reading a book is always awkward when you're trying to hold it open so you can see the text in the middle without breaking the book's spine).
Think about the environment a little, will ya?
I hate to break it to you but it really doesn't get much more physical than holding a reading device in your hand.
Anyone ever heard the phrase "don't feed the trolls"? Ignore him and he'll eventually leave to fulfill his gigantic need for attention elsewhere.
The concept actually makes sense if you can navigate the screens separately. For reading a novel it's pretty much the same if you read page 3 press a button and switch to page 4 or if you see pages 3 and 4 on two screens at once. For scientific literature however it would be great to have a device where examples, pictures or anotations are displayed on a second screen. Not having to turn pages back and forth to find what you were just reading about would be really nice. It would even be an advantage that e-book have over normal books.
write one with iPhone SDK if you are smart enough
huh? so my reply to mock an apple fanboy remained while the comment i replied to got magically deleted. now everybody thinks i'm a fanboy and got low ranked.
interesting
Another Clak Shitstorm
I agree with Andrew. . for the most part. I want a one handed reader that I can read in EITHER landscape or portrait view via accelerometer. I'd also like. . .
Internet ready so I can read blogs
Downloadable books
touch screen page turning in a command area (touching an area separate from the reading portion of the screen)
Include a writing functionality either by stylus or (preferably) digital keyboard for note taking
. . .
my 2 cents
It does make some sense, but:
When I'm reading a book I'm only looking at one page. I know to go to the next page, but while I'm reading it basically doesn't exist.
Ebook readers are already overpriced, I wouldn't be going for this based upon price.
However, it could be very useful for books with lots of pictures or some text books where you need to go back and re-read a lot.
But there's nothing wrong with having options on the market.
I envision Apple doing something similar to this as well. Here are some really simple concepts off of the iPod Touch/iPhone that I put together:
[IMG]http://i28.tinypic.com/mx22c7.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i25.tinypic.com/2saz3gx.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i25.tinypic.com/14nh3jl.jpg[/IMG]
Why..
I like this idea simply because when I practice my school problems, I need to be looking at a reference page and writing at the same time. Make a tablet pen on one of the sides and the ability to save handwritten notes (either on a seperate sheet, or jotted into the origonal book).
Then get rid of distribution and printing costs for textbooks and it would be the perfect product and pay for itself in 1-2 semesters (assuming books would go down to 40 bucks or so)
The publishers would get to sell the licenses anew each semester without dealing with the flood of new books on the market, wins all around.
I'm sorry. But that has to be the absolute dumbest and most useless idea I've ever seen that wasn't a joke or parody.
Paper books are still superior. For research, you can have dozens of books open and earmarked (along with loose paper) without having to wait on loading screens. The only real alternative to this is a full scale table that serves the same function, but is $30k+ a pop, weighs many pounds above and beyond a stack of books moved in chunks, and requires a power source. E-ink may not require much power, but the touchscreen will.
not really. With a proper menuing system, (or even a tabbed system on a touchscreen device) You'll be able to have just as many books open at a time without having your work area buried underneath textbooks.
Granted the current 6inch screens won't work well for this. But a letter/A4 sized device would be fine IMO
I always thought I'd keep reading real books. But once I started reading on my PDA (in landscape mode with mobipocket) I haven't stopped.
80 books later I just look at the dusty pile of paperbacks I have yet to read, and then shrug and grab my PDA (currently storing 120 books)
I do want one of the new eink readers. But the flash/refresh on them is distracting enough for me that I'll keep waiting.
You mean like tabbed browsing?
Please, don't feed the animals. Eventually they will starve and look for food elsewhere.
This seems like a terrible idea. Whenever the book is flexible enough to allow it, I always fold it over so that I can hold it in one hand anyway. And then I can use the other to drink or hold a pen to take notes/ annotate.
eBook readers will only become big when they offer a real advantage to make them better than actual books. I would think that things like including hyperlinks to outside primary information / citations with integrated wifi and a browser in the reader would be decent. Also, I imagine they could do something transformational as far as highlighting and annotating the books. And let people share their annotations for collaboration.
Hmm... running though this logic it seems like the way to break open the eBook market would be to invent one specifically for the college / grad school market, where there you would have the added advantage of if you could sell the concept to the school, the school would then mandate that all their students buy eBooks for getting digital versions of textbooks and interactive class things / sharing notes and annotations.
Makes complete sense? I guess if constantly draining your battery with a 2nd display, when you will only ever be looking at one at a time makes complete sense.
You do realize that ebooks typically don't use power to maintain a static display, right?
In case anyone really wants to see the full story on this device, read the paper on the prototype (PDF).
Let's try that again: http://www.cs.umd.edu/%7Efrancois/Papers/EBookReaderCHI08.pdf
Double the screens and double the battery drain. This seems like an interesting idea until you factor in that you will have to lug a truck battery around to keep it running.
Microsoft Reader and WM5 for reading all the way!
I'll buy one, but only if it says "Don't Panic" across the back....
How about an ebook that uses actual pages made from electronic paper? Not just two pages, but like real book with 300 pages. You put in the memory chip, and the pages are filled with text from your book of choice and laid out just like the off-the-shelf hardcover version?
It would maintain the feel of reading a book. It would be easy on the eyes, as it's electronic paper and would just look like crisp book pages. It would be capable of presenting any book up to 300 pages, and you could always cycle it somehow to push back already-read pages in books over 300 pages long.
I used to be a bookseller, and a lot of my customers told me they'd "never" use an ebook because they like the feel of reading a real book. They like the weight, they like turning pages, they like the look of pages, and they like it to seem as non-electronic as possible. I lean that way myself-- I might use a one-page/one-screen ebook, but I'd prefer the whole book-reading experience.
Price is a factor, too. I'm attracted to the Kindle, but I wouldn't pay that much for one. It's too high-priced right now.
MAKE ONE SCREEN TOUCH, AND THE OTHER SCREEN NOT TOUCH AND THEN PUT A REALLY FUCKING SMALL MICROPHONE BETWEEN THE SCREENS (but not tell anyone its there) AND THEN INCLUDE A SLOT FOR MEMORY CARDS ON ONE SIDE AND A BIGGER SLOT FOR BIGGER MEMORY CARDS AND THEN MAKE A MEMORY CARD THAT HOLDS SMALLER MEMORY CARDS FOR HOMEBREW DEVELOPMENT.
Why are you yelling?
That thing looks huge and all out of sorts. Couldn't they just use a Nintendo DS for this? Hold it sideways in one hand, then you could just use the D-Pad to turn pages or navigate however so. It's already wireless so you connect to a wireless signal to download books, or they (the books) could be put onto the Nintendo DS media. How many books could fit onto one of those cards anyway? Not to mention, everyone and their grandma's (almost literally!) already has a DS so all you would have to do is develop the software.
I do this now on my Nintendo DS.
I just want a thin, large screen with either touchscreen control or maybe an accelerometer so you can either flick or tilt it slightly to one side to turn a page.
The problem is price. The attraction to these devices is weight. This bad idea works against both. Marketing is the key problem. The various companies now realize that without reading text, pdf html and other non DRM formats no one will buy this product. They still haven't figured out that the consumer must see one to want one, and have questions answers. The FAQS these companies post are nonsense. They aren't taking in input otherwise they would realize they aren't the questions people are asking. They also have no marketing toward older readers who could really use the bigger font feature and the fonts don't go far enough.
Frustrated consumer trying to buy a not piece of crap reader for two years now.
Finally!
They're now heading in the right direction. Leave to Berserkly to run across a needed eveolution (snicker). This prototype can and will be thinner and lighter for production. With the thinner OLED displays, and less power drain you'll have the lighter/thinner displays people have been whining about. While the track ball concept is a fine idea, they need a centered motion center (not something new) so that you can hand wave similar to the motion of turning a page to make it more fundatmental in the way everyone reads books. Now if they could only integrate current flexible displays so that the two pages are seemeless from left to right. That would allow you a more real book experience, and also give you the ability for Landscape illustrations....probably years away. I'd also like to see a WIFI port to download books, and an IR port to share books (if the DRM jerks will let that happen).
As far as software....
I still think Adobe with its flash platform would be the standard for ebooks. Its a well known standard, and seems to be the easiest to convert other scanned data into a readable page format.
They need to come up with a way to "Sticky Tab" pages. Anyone, and everyoen that has read a book has folded a page or marked it in some way to easily come back to. No programmable buttons, but maybe a partitioning of the touch screen so you can just tap the bookmark with it remembering where you left off.
The Zinio reader may also be a good platform to leverage as a starting point.
They're still not quite there. I'll wait for another year or two until the next good tech leap will happen for this product.
I hope those giant numerals aren't supposed to represent page numbers. A verso (left) page is always an even-numbered page and a recto (right) page is always odd-numbered, at least in the United States.
I didn't know paper books have backlighting.
Thanks, but no thanks. I get enough eye strain at work. I'll stick to my current e-ink non-backlit reader.
I agree with the 300 sheet ebook with epaper. But how would you handle the various book sizes?
I think a large single sheet of epaper would be better, you wouldn't pay for more epaper than you needed and you could view almost any page without scaling it. You could also read the newspaper, which is everyone's goal, right? =p
All critiquing aside, the book shown in the photo looks like a very quick read.
It's "University of California, Berkeley" or "UC Berkeley," NOT "Berkeley University!"
True. It also isn't Maryland University. It's The University of Maryland
U of M ftw! Go Terps!
I wonder if it has in big bold print on the back of it the words "Don't Panic!"
The headline had me interested for a millisecond when it said ebook, and then the next millisecond I realized it wasn't an EEE Book modded to have two touch screens with the keyboard taken out :(
See here for video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqGgVrGKTzw
That's a pretty dumb idea IMHO. Why do you have to use two hands to read an eBook? Paper books can't help it, but one hand operation is much more efficient. Don't imitate paper, make something better. It's like making planes that flap their wings to imitate birds...
That is so cool. Great idea
I HAD THIS IDEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think lighter is better. If two screens means heavier gadget, then drop the second screen!
Ebook readers are already overpriced
filmes gratis
e-book are certainly becoming increasingly popular but one area that I would like to see accelerate is the use of digital textbooks.
Today students are getting crushed by the costs of textbooks and they are spending on average $900 per year on these bulky and hard to carry books. For cost, ease of use and for environmental reasons(no manufacturing, no shipping) reasons it would great to see some focus in this area.
Two pages are better than one, whatever it takes to keep the familiarity of a book so people feel comfortable to use the new devise.
http://www.WholesaleCollegeTextbooks.com
great post, you means text book only??????????
Dual-display e-book is really Kool. But the current price is a big high for me Car donations