One of the great hits of TeleRead right now is Chris Meadows’ post on using a Bluetooth mouse with an Android tablet. I’m not surprised. But what about E Ink machines like the Paperwhite?
As with text to speech, Bluetooth is missing from Amazon’s E Ink devices. Don’t know the term? The tech is named after the Viking king Harald Blåtand, a Dane, shown below. He was enough of a communicator and smooth talker to unify Denmark and Norway for a stretch. E-book devices should do a Blåtand act and communicate well with keyboards, mice and other accessories.
Ideally, Amazon and other e-reader makers will pay attention. If writer-publisher Michael W. Perry is right, as I suspect that he is, based on the progress of related technology, then the E Ink Kindles’ WiFi chips may already have Bluetooth capabilities (more on the tech here). Michael also writes: “A keyboard, including the small pocket-sized ones sold on eBay, could be used for text input. Even better for everyone, particularly those with mobility issues, the two buttons on a Bluetooth mouse could be used to page forward and backward though a book.
“Just imagine. Put your Kindle on a stand at a convenient distance and then page with a mouse placed wherever you want. That’d much more convenient either button clicking or screen tapping.”
Not to mention, gasp, the possibility of text to speech via a TTS chip and Bluetooth headphones or earbuds.
While E Ink screens are not as quick as LCD ones, e-paper displays are only going to get speedier and speedier.
Some e-readers from Onyx already have Bluetooth. It’s time for the majors like Amazon to step up to the plate and deliver. The Bluetooth in the LCD-based Fires should simply be regarded as a start.
My immediate response to the headline was, “I bet they snub the Boox in this article.” Props to the author for proving me wrong! =)
Thanks, and keep speaking up about Bluetooth for e-readers beyond the Boox and any other exception! The old King would almost surely approve.