Something on my New Year’s Resolution list (unpublished as of this writing) is reading more fiction. I bought Cell by Stephen King clear back in February 2006 and later in the year unsubscribed from the magazines I was reading via Zinio (MacWorld and PC Magazine). I only read about 100 pages of Cell on my Tablet PC and then was sidetracked and never returned to the story. I like reading on the Tablet PC, but it’s a bit bulky and gets kind of hot. Also, as my wife pointed out, there is something attractive to the feel of a book in your hands and portability (no batteries required). The way you can twist the cover behind, the smell of book paper. I know, I know, sounds strange, but books give a different physical experience than any digital reader I’ve ever tried. The future is digital reading and as much as I’m excited by this future a part of me still wants to hold on, literally and figuratively, to paper.

Eric Rice posted about receiving a Sony Reader for Christmas and a couple people, myself included wondered where the pictures were. Eric delievered pictures via Flickr. From looking at the pictures and viewing the specs, I’m having trouble getting past the price tag.

$350 for grayscale?

That seems so Palmesq to me. My first Palm was grayscale and seems forever ago in tech years. The Sony Reader looks like a sleek, smooth device, but seems a step backwards when one could get something more powerful in color. Still interested in looking closer at this device but trying to steer clear of Sony products. Conflicted. Damn you, Sony.

What about books in color? It’s hard to compare the Sony Reader to a book when some books come in color. What about magazines? Looking at the pictures in the RSS feeds Eric is subscribed reduced my interest in the device.

I wish somebody would get a UMPC at or below the $500 price point and that to me would be a great device for e-reading. My Pocket PC is too small to use for e-reading and my slate Tablet PC is a little too big. The UMPC fits the sweet spot middle ground, doubles as a small PC that runs the full Tablet OS and is in color. Least expensive UMPC I’ve seen is the EO v7110 from TabletKiosk ($899 USD).

• Trading books you’ve read for books you want to read
• Buying that first eBook: Cell by Stephen King
• ‘Specially designed for comfortable reading’ er, not
• “Most important thing we’ve ever done,” says Amazon’s Jeff Bezos of Kindle
• Ooooo Compute! Magazine
• An interesting way to share books online: bookcrossing