sdc100 wrote:You can't integrate an eInk screen with resistive or capacitive sensors so a touch screen is not possible (yet?). You can, however, use stylus technology. My Entourage Edge, for example, uses Wacom hardware on the Eink screen. The great thing about using a stylus is that I can rest on hand on the screen while writing just like I would with real paper.
I want to offer a little more information about touchscreens and e-readers. While it is certainly possible to integrate them into e-ink devices, companies have largely not gone this route for three reasons. First, most touchscreen technology adds a surface layer on top of the display, which generates more glare in sunlight (which, as most people on this thread have admitted, is one of the main advantages of an e-reader over a standard LCD tablet; you can easily read them outside on a bright summer day). Second, touchscreens are somewhat more expensive. Lastly, touchscreens only add limited functionality to this kind of device. While a tablet benefits from multitouch gestures and other such features, most people will only be reading books on a Kindle. You can usually get by just fine with a pair of forward and back buttons (although, admittedly, this does not reproduce the feeling of reading a book).
The only real e-ink competitor with a touchscreen is the Sony Reader Touch Edition. It uses a special technology (called zforce) that works through infrared sensors and therefore doesn't produce any glare. I've gotten a chance to play around with one, and I'd still go with a Kindle for several reasons. For starters, the Kindle grants you access to Amazon's vastly superior e-book library. In addition, this Woot Deal is almost 1/3 the price of a Sony Touch Edition. Finally, the Touch Edition doesn't have wireless, so you'd have to download your books to your computer and then transfer them to your e-reader. In contrast, the 3G access on the Kindle would let you download books while you're on the beach. As long as you have cellular access, you should be able to easily download books.
To top it all off, I just wasn't impressed by the touchscreen on the Sony Reader. Maybe I'm spoiled by the recent crop of tablets, but it seemed to suffer from e-ink's slow refresh rates. E-ink is good for one thing: reading e-books. If you're looking for it to do something more, you should probably buy a tablet.
Now, if you want to read/annotate pdf files, I think you really should go with a tablet with either an active digitizer (like the new HTC Flyer) or a resistive touchscreen (like the ASUS T91MT). I just bought a Pocket Edge, and I've found the e-ink screen is frustratingly unresponsive. Until they implement a faster technology, I just don't think e-ink is the right route for written input.
I think this is an awesome deal. If my girlfriend wants one, I might buy one when she comes home.
