Loud

First up, I saw a display that supports animations. You probably know your Kindle can’t show anything other than static text/photos. A prototype I saw allowed for simple animations. I say “simple” because I’m talking about animated line-art, not video like you see on YouTube. Nevertheless, it was implemented in a manner that lends itself nicely to simple, motion-filled ad blocks on a portion of the display. Although the Kindle’s content is currently ad-free, I’d like to see Amazon enable ad support so that publishers/authors will have a new way to monetize their content.

Joe Wikert’s Kindleville Blog: All Kindle, All the Time: My Visit to E Ink

That, right there, is the core problem with the publishing and media industry today. Any sensible person who has used one of these devices (mine is a Sony PRS-505) would see improved animation capabilities as something that could, dramatically, improve the user interface of these devices.

The effect of proper use of, even limited, animation on the user experience is stunning and it bodes well for the future of ereaders that this is being worked on.

But equally stunning are the thoughts and attitudes that the otherwise excellent and intelligent Joe Wikert expressed above. Animated ads in the context of static text are a cancer on reading.

The way our eyes and brain are built means that any motion on the periphery of our vision has an irresistible pull on the readers’ attention; animated ads degrade the reading experience more than anything else that’s within the power of the publisher to destroy, leach, screw up or sabotage.