I love my E-book !!!

Have you recently thought about buying an E-book? 

Maybe it is about time to make the move and buy one.

 I did so last Christmas and I must admit that even if the technology is not yet fully mature, I like it. I have been able to play with it for these past months and it is definitively something that I am going to continue using. If more books came out in digital format, it would definitively prevent me from buying paper.

I bought a Sony PRS-700, an e-book with touch screen and note taking possibility. I will not advocate for one brand or type of e-book. Each one comes with its pros and cons and each user will find the right model for them. I chose this one because of its sleek design, the freedom to load any kind of documents on PDF format, and the note taking capability. These two last points actually made it appealing to make it more than just a book, and use it as a kind of notebook to overview PPTs and DOCs for work.

Conclusions:

PROS:

1.       It is light and easy to carry everywhere. This, for me,  is a must, as I basically read when I travel.

2.       Can potentially store hundred books. So I will never run out of something to read, if I remember to keep loading new books.

3.       It is green. My dream: no more paper to store. I love my home library but books are just starting to kick me out of my place. My new strategy: I give as a present the books that I read as I read them. But this means that I cannot re-read them (even if I barely do). With an e-book, no problem, I will keep the books for as long as I backup my computer :D :D .

CONS:

1.       Losing it is a tragedy. It is much more expensive than the average book but as easy as any book to lose. I once thought that I had lost it in a taxi. I was really upset with myself! Luckily, I just had misplaced it, but I would have never got that angry if it just had been a book.

2.       The note taking capability is far from being acceptable for use. I have managed to take a few notes at meetings and use it for reviewing, but it is just too slow. We have a usability/technology challenge here.

3.       It will never substitute the pleasure of scribbling during a meeting :P

4.       It does not give me more time and energy to read. 

(from Accenture Post on the 22/09/2009)