Products should be easy to use.  Seriously.  You can call Americans stupid or impatient, but no one will read the instruction manual.  Technology is supposed to make your life easier and not become another hassle that you have to deal with.  If it doesn’t blend easily into your everyday life, then you will simply not use it.

The Sony E-Reader is an unfortunate example of a company really not doing enough to make something easy.  The company releases a new revision of their e-book reader every year or two.  From a hardware perspective, it’s a very attractive device.  It has a nice screen, good battery life, and it uses that fancy electronic paper that is easy on the reader’s eyes.  It also supports many file formats, which is a mixed blessing.

Of course, what’s missing here is any mention of how one actually gets content onto the device.  Readers want to be able to turn the device and basically begin reading right away.  Consumers do not have patience for connecting a device to a computer and synchronizing content through some laborious process.  Also, there is no obvious place to buy the content from!  In other words, it is basically a product without any books!

I find it hard to believe that almost a year after the release of the Amazon Kindle, with its integrated wireless book distribution, that Sony is still updating the same old disconnected device.  I love the Kindle, and the freedom for readers that it represents, but I would also like to see viable competition in the marketplace.  Sony, please wake up and get a clue.  Nobody cares what formats your device supports.  We only want to know if we can get a copy of our favorite book inside of 2 minutes.