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As others have noted, the iPad and a bunch of competing products will be coming out this year. They are all practically designed for us Japanese learners. I'd wait until they are out. For best bang for the buck, a Windows-based machine is probably the best solution, since you'll be able to run all that existing software out there... But even the iPad and the Android-based devices will be able to use all the websites.
Joined: Aug 2008
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I have been studying Japanese on my iPod Touch for the last 10 months and I am really impressed by the device capabilities.
I mean, who need flash to study Japanese?
Flash slows down the web and it is mostly advertisement. Plus it is not optimized for the Apple platform. Surfing without Flash is a relief. It is much faster!
I am really excited about the iPad. that will be amazing!
Joined: Dec 2008
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I'm leery about the ipod touch/ipad and other readers that use LEDs rather than e-ink. I stare at a computer all day and it kills my eyes.
Joined: Mar 2008
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I'm waiting till e-paper comes out (maybe +2/3 years?). They'll probably run for hours off 1 button battery, be thinner than a button battery, be lighter than a button battery, be much easier on the eyes than lcd.
Edited: 2010-02-16, 4:32 pm
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I read basically all my manga on my iphone using Comic Reader Mobi. It's a fairly expensive app, but it provides the most enjoyable manga reading experience I've found- bar buying a physical copy. I prefer reading with Comic Reader Mobi on my iphone than using the manga reader on my computer! I'm betting the larger screen on the iPad will make it an absolutely kickass manga-reading device.
Edited: 2010-02-16, 11:23 pm
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Using an SD card costs nothing per month and takes less time/effort to transfer. How often do you REALLY need to pull down new books while you're driving? I'd rather they dropped $100+ off the price of the ereader. The 3G service is not there for user convenience, it's there to push users to the marketplace where they'll spend money. That is why the 3G isn't optional.
The ereader market will never take off ever. They crippled it from the beginning by overpricing the devices, then continued kneecapping it by keeping the price up with 3G radios and lifetime contracts, and charging almost the same price for an exploding DRMed ebook as the re-sellable dead tree copy. Their greed (using 3G service to push users into the marketplace) is limiting the device from becoming mainstream, and within a few years the market will be absorbed by tablets, cellphones, and netbooks. The entire concept was a no-go from the beginning since casual readers won't drop more than ~$150 on a device, and hardcore readers prefer dead trees.
The iPad is a different story since it is a tablet and not a single purpose device, the 3G radio is an option, and the contract's cost isn't built in to the device. If I ever got one I still wouldn't buy the 3G model though, I'd just tether it to my iPhone over bluetooth or wifi.
Edited: 2010-02-17, 1:06 am
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The worst part about this whole "closed 3G bookstore attached to e-reader" problem is that we really don't need anymore online bookstores other than Amazon, Barnes&Noble, and Apple iBooks.
Frankly, I think B&N and Amazon could eliminate all e-bookstore competition if they opened up their bookstore software to all e-readers (I don't ever expect Apple to open their store to anyone).
It would make everything easier for publishers, since they could chose B&N, Amazon, iBooks, or some combination of the three.
Really, I feel like the e-readers market should be a battle of hardware (not software).
The big three can provide all the content we really ever need.
Edited: 2010-02-17, 9:48 am
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Yeah, it seems silly to me that e-readers are being developed as a means to push the market, instead of the market serving the device (like with iPod). Who exactly thought it was a good idea to market BOOKS as if they were telephones?
Skiff looks nice as a stopgap, but I wouldn't be willing to drop more than $150 or so on it. The ridiculous obsession with cramming 3G and their contracts into these devices (and thus their prices) is seriously crippling the market imo. I don't even need wifi in a dedicated ereader, let alone 3g.
