E-Books On a $20 Cell Phone 116
An anonymous reader writes "Moon+ Pro Reader, FBReader, Kindle, you name it--many popular Android e-book apps can run on a smartphone available for $20 and shipping. The trick is to respect the device's limits and keep down the number of apps you install. This fun isn't for eager multitaskers. On the bright side, the $20 phone can do Acapela TTS, includes a 4GB memory card and works with cards of up to 32GB--easily enough for scads of pre-loaded books. Plus, the WiFi is great. And the screen of 3.2 inches isn't that much smaller than the 3.5 inchers on the older iPads. What could cell phone e-reading mean in the many "book deserts" of the U.S.? And how about the U.K. where miserly pols are closing libraries even though the Guardian says "a third of UK children do not own a single book and three-quarters claim never to read outside school"? The smartphone post on the LibraryCity site tells how librarians and others could start "cell phone book clubs" to promote the discovery and absorption of books as well as smarter use of technology."
Re:Seriously? (Score:4, Interesting)
I prefer to read on my phone over any other format. I can hold it and turn pages with one hand, and since only one paragraph fits on a page, I never lose my place even if I am distracted. I read MUCH faster on my phone than when reading from a paper book.
My current phone is bigger, but I read many books on my Iphone 3, with a screen size of only 3.5 inches, so I think the experience would be similar with these small phones.
And I am not alone, e-reader apps have always been among the most popular.