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Reading revolution

By Raymond Zhou (China Daily)
2010-01-28 08:44

Pen is a stroke of genius

Hanvon sells 60,000 units a month and is scheduled to surpass the Kindle in sales sometime this year.

Hanvon has recently developed new models that offer wireless connectivity and they will come out later this year, such as the WIFI-equipped N618 and the 3G-ready T618.

Meanwhile, its wide range of products, from 1,300-yuan ($190) student models to the 3,400-yuan luxury version, are rich in functions serving the language market. Some of the models have so many books installed that, if you deduct the cost of paper editions, the gadget is virtually free.

One thing Hanvon has - but Kindle lacks - is the pen. Hanvon, the company, started by developing handwriting recognition and electromagnetic technologies, which are used in its sophisticated electronic pens.

Now, every medium-and-high-grade Hanvon e-book comes equipped with a pen, allowing you to eschew the miniature keyboard for natural input.

This is extremely handy for Chinese language, which requires the practice of "strokes" as if it were a brush, and also for Chinese culture with its tradition of leaving personal annotations while reading.

All this supports my argument that the Hanvon is not just for serious readers, but for those who want to learn a new language and a new culture, while retaining a semblance of reading and writing as we know it.

In our lifetime the touch of paper may become a memory, so let's embrace the future and all its trappings.