Would you read a book on your DS? Get 100 classic books.. if you must

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You guys all know that I’m a serious fan of eBooks. I think this is one technology that’s going to take off big time in 2009, though I’m not convinced that the DS is the platform to help it win worldwide domination. The thing that makes e-readers like Sony Reader and the BeBook so desirable is their use of e-Ink technology, as that’s a lot kinder on the eyes than LEDs, giving you a comfortable reading experience.

The large screen size is also a plus, so why would you want to give these benefits up to read Dickens on a teeny tiny DS Lite? Sure, if you already own one you might see it as a way to save yourself an extra £100 pounds, but then you do have to put up with the issues that come with reading on a DS.

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You use the stylus to scroll through the pages, and you get a zoom option which will help magnify the words albeit at the expense of the amount of text you can fit on the screen. I like the fact they let you add your own bookmarks and even search the text for favourite phrases/ notable lines to impress dates with your knowledge of obscure Dickens quotes.

100 classic books on the DS includes the expected exciting classics such as Dickens and Austen (basically ones which are no longer in copyright), but you do get the option to download ten more through the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection (but there’s no info as to what they are – I’m guessing even MORE classics).

I’m not sold by the idea of reading in this manner, as I think the screen size is to small to provide an enjoyable reading experience. Nonetheless, it could be a good way to introduce younger people to classic texts, and I’m sure grannies would be happy purchasing a so-called ‘educational’ game for their grandkids.

£18 from Amazon on Dec 26th
[via Electric Pig]

See here for more books

Zara Rabinowicz