Book Reviews and Money Saving Tips

Much ado about nothing comes to mind with all the hype over the release of the Apple i-Pad or the HP Slate. Who knows what Apple originally intended, the bottom line is that their tablet is designed for a “rich multi-media experience”. The HP Slate was originally conceived as an e-book platform that also gradually morphed into a rich multi-media Swiss army knife. I think the pundits are missing the boat. A good e-book platform at a $99.00 price point would be a run away best seller. Another notebook without a keyboard is likely to be not so much. I’m an avid reader. I have 75 books loaded into my pda which also has a version of Excel and Word as well as a version of media player. I purchased an infrared keyboard for it and with it’s built in WIFI it is an adequate substitution for a laptop that fits in my pocket without looking like I am overly glad to see you. The screen is way smaller than a Kindle but bigger than my cell phone. I own it. It is paid for and I own it. See where I ...

When we can buy laptop computers for $299.00 why does the Sony Reader Digital Book cost $299.00. I grant you the $299.00 computer is not a powerhouse but it sure will do a lot more than an electronic book. If we can do digital photo frames with remote, mp3 and multiple format flash readers for $50.00 why is an electronic book $299.00? I have 75 books on my PDA. The backlighting means I can read in low light or no light. It is slim and fits in my shirt pocket. It cost more than the Sony book but it also has a spreadsheet, word processor, wireless internet access, 600 songs, a couple hundred photos of my grandchildren and my calendar. Now that is good value for the money. Who knows, maybe the electronic book is coming of age and if Sony does well there will be competition. Call me when it gets down to $50.00 and then I will jump on that bandwagon. In the meantime, my trusty PDA is my well loved Swiss army knife and I will continue to use it.