help me! clueless and need feedback

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alimaxine

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#7585 26-Apr-2006 03:30

I was hoping to get some feedback for a research paper on PDAs and their influence on paper newspapers versus online editions. Does anyone have a prefrence to which they would rather read? In the future will the original paper form die as we shift to daily news access on PDAs? Are we hungry for personal information selection? Any thoughts? Anything would help! Thanks!!

timbosan

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#33906 26-Apr-2006 07:02

I think there are two parts to this. Technology and content.

Technology - I don't think current PDA's will be used or suitable for displaying newspaper like articles due to their low screen resolution and quality. What is needed is something like the "Sony Reader" (see http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/06/sony-reader-details-and-pics/) which can display a more paper like image.

Content - of course the problem here is the publishers protecting their content, which is their life blood; they are not going to make it available to everyone with a PDA without some form of charging and/or DRM. Articles on websites (say www.nzheald.co.nz ) are a starting point, but are always short versions of what is in a real newspaper. Whilst a subscription model would fix this, I think this may change over time as the techology side improves.

My personal preference is to read full articles in a real paper, mainly for the reason I stated above (Screen quality) but I am happy to read headlines and stuff like RSS feeds on my pda (which is actually a Nokia 9300).

alimaxine

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Wannabe Geek

#33909 26-Apr-2006 07:44

thanks!! your so right, and it helps to break it down to better evaluate...

freitasm

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#33917 26-Apr-2006 09:15

I am a heavy RSS feed user. I currently run my own Newsgator Enterprise Server, which was used for our review and ten for some demos. All content is synchronised to my Exchange mailbox and I can also access it from my Pocket PCs.

While I like reading the snipets on a PDA, I tried reading eBooks on it, got tired very quickly. I read newspapers mainly on a desktop or laptop-based web browser.

During the CES 2006 I took some pictures of the Sony Reader and posted more details here on Geekzone. One interesting thing was the lack of backlight, which is common in all PDAs. The FAQ says it's to completely replicate the paper book experience. Someone asked "How do I read it at night?" and the answer was "Like a book, turn on the bedside light".

It looks like an interesting device and it really worked well when I handled it.

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