@htowngater

Good points, I see how your are only $25 more for Verizon. In my case, my corp discount is only 15% and I'm talking four pda phones so I'm a bit more.

One last point. In terms of voice minutes the two plans do perform quite different.
Sprint 1,600 minutes on the ERP (1,500 standard) + any mobile any time
Verizon 1,400 minutes plus 10 family and friends to be shared with both phones.

So, if you call a lot of landline, to a 10 numbers then Verizon is the winner hands down.
However, if you call more mobile nunbers the Sprint plan is the clear winner.

You might want to double check on that $25 to upgrade. I was looking into getting my family four android devices, so maybe I am extreme. However, for us it was $100 per month.

According to two different Verizon stores, the 'data plan' doesn't really work for smartphones. You still have a 30 (I think) data fee per each Android phone on top of the plan. My memory is not exact, but for me it worked out to something like this:

$119 (1400 minutes)
$20 (two extra lines) plus
$120 (smartphones times four)
Total $259

In fact, you will find that if you go to the web site and choose their unlimited (premium) plans it won't show you any of their smartphones because these won't work with the smartphones. Your only choice is to step down two levels to the 'select' plans and then to add the smartphone. Once you add it it will force you to select a monthly smartphone package of at least $30 in addition to the basic price plan.

Just so that I'm not confusing things, today the only smartphones are non-android -- Windows Mobile, for example. However, the only way to see the Windows Mobile phones online is through the steps above. I'm assured by the Verizon store that this will also be true for the Droid phones when they arrive.

Current e-ink is glass. You drop it and it may break. Flexible e-ink is due anytime now.

Regarding the 0.8 second refresh time -- I hope it doesn't need to 'flash' to clear the screen the way that e-ink does. A 1.6 second page turn would be bad. Even without it, this will require them to rethink menus (nook approach?) cause it'll be slow for interactive stuff.

@Carlos,

The family plan is an even worse deal if you want more than two smart phones. The add-on lines come in at $5 each -- not a bad deal. But if you want smartphones you have to pay $25 additional for each new line.

So for T-Mobile - four smart phones on plus plan =
$119 + 30 + 30 = $179 per month
4*399 = $1596 upfront
Minutes=1500 ---> You might get an extra 400 minutes with the two additional phones (200 each), but its not clear.

For Sprint - four smart phones
$169.97 per month
$1119.96 - 400 mail-in rebates = $719.96
Minutes=1500 plus nights/weekends at 7pm and Free calling to any mobile on any network.

Two problems with large screen e-readers.

1) They break too much. Current technology uses e-ink with a glass screen. Even at the six inch size, screen breakage is common. The prototypes at nine inch have been terrible for durability. Starting in about the third quarter of this year (if they hit the schedule) there will be flexible screens available. These are expected to be more durable in regard to shock. Expect larger screens to debut between 3rd quarter and the first quarter of next year.

2) Size/price: There are two types of readers recreational and professional (work/student). Recreational users want something cheap (small screen), light (small screen, small battery) that they can hold in one hand while they read. Professional users are willing to pay more and want a bigger screen to show full-sized pdf's including diagrams. Current demand for 5" to 6" screens will probably continue even after the larger screens are available. Larger screens are for a different market -- not a replacement of an existing product.

Two reasons: 1) Volume and 2) Volume.

The screens themselves are specialty screens (eInk) from basically one manufacturer for all of the book readers out there. And the capacity of that manufacturer would be considered rounding error for the big LCD manufacturers.

Then take that total capacity and split it among all the eBook manufacturers (Sony, Amazon, Hanlin, Netronix). They each have custom software and unique hardware configurations. They must recover their design costs across a relatively limited number of units manufactured.

Sony and Amazon do have the ability (if they wish) to cut hardware costs and make it up on the books. However, I really don't want them to do this. It would mean that they would be even more into tieing their devices to their stores and insisting on punitive DRM (as they do today). I'd much rather see them head the other direction to open standards and DRM-free books. Of course, this would suggest that the book readers would need to be profitable on their own merits, and it would keep the cost of the readers somewhat high.

Michael (not you, one of the other ones)

Well, If you want it cheaper ... It is also rebadged by Astak, and it is sold by Fry's for $299 (regular price). However, if you keep checking Fry's you can find it for $269 on sale.

http://shop4.frys.com/product/5834633?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

Ordered on Saturday -- shipment notification on Sunday at midnight.

I think we are limiting the concept with our assumption of a typing interface. Some possibilities include ...
- Text entry via the swype (is that the name, don't remember??) method
- Alternative character sets. For example, some kind of menu system to spell out kanji
- Handwriting
- any other ideas?

Jonathan,

Its probably not a good device for you. Different strokes for different folks. It only makes sense if you are a high usage reader (like I am). If you are a high-usage reader this is a great alternative for several reasons.

1) Battery life. For more than casual usage you don't want to run down your smart phone device.
2) Screen size. I have (and can) read on smartphones, but the constant page turn is quite the pain.
3) Eyestrain. This tech is more like reading a sheet of paper. A lot of folks (although not me) complain that long hours reading on a smart phone leads to eyestrain.

Then there are the advantages versus paper.
1) Entire library. One lightweight device has hundreds or thousands of books. I carry it with me and choose what to read.
2) Re-reading. I like to go back and read books I enjoyed in the past. However, with my allergies pulling out those old books results in me sneezing and coughing my way through the books.
3) Decor (grin). My wife wasn't too fond of my library of a few thousand ratty paperbacks in our house.

Of course, that last item leads me to the biggest issue, and it isn't the cost of the reader, its the cost of the books. In the music world they finally figured out that customers really prefer music without DRM. Unfortunately, as it stands now I have to rebuy books every time I switch book readers and formats. Unless, I buy my books from somewhere like www.baen.com or unless I like the 'classics' like gutenberg.com.