What should be the next big feature of e-readers?

In a few last years, two major features were introduced to e-readers: touch screen and front light. What should be next?

The history of e-reader development is in fact a history of eliminating its disadvantages. These disadvantages are mostly related to a display. Or maybe they relate to the fact that it’s a single-purpose device?

Color screen or extra apps are not the good direction. They push e-reader to a lost fight with a tablet. Eventually the device will become a tablet with a color e-paper screen, and reading will be just one of the things to do. Bye, bye, e-reader.

Being focused on a single purpose, reading, is the only way to go. Is there any hardware upgrade which could keep e-readers in the back of an avid book reader’s mind?

Drastically improved screen refresh rate could help a lot to prevent from impatience. Anyone who is using a smartphone may sooner or later get irritated with how slow the e-reader is with responding to simplest commands such as page turn.

On the other hand, is improving a refresh rate by 50% something breakthrough at all? Or should it be a new feature? If yes, which one should it be? Anything in mind?

I have to admit, that I can only pick up features that relate to software. Let’s see:

Better customization?

A difference between e-reader and tablet is that you customize the latter with a selection of apps you want to use. Owning the e-reader is like owning one app.

What can be done here, besides the ability to add own fonts, or easy customization of the welcome screen?

Improved reference?

Assuming that using e-reader’s browser won’t be such a pain in a few years, what could be done to improve the way we read books?

One way is adding features like Kindle’s X-Ray. Actually, it’s not a huge challenge, and Amazon is not the only one to offer it. An independent book app for iPad/iPhone, Marvin, offers an analysis of the book’s content similar to X-Ray.

The next thing would be offering instant translations. Something I don’t know it could happen soon, as we enter the fragile area of copyright.

Social reading?

Not so sure about it. Fast refresh rate won’t fix the problem with input. E-readers are not meant for active use (comments, ratings, follower management). E-readers are meant to consume content, not create it.

I’ve never added any note on my Kindle Touch, because I always had a feeling that it would be much quicker and easier to do on a smartphone.

What do you think, is there anything missing in your Nook, or Kobo, or Kindle, that you would want to add? Is there anything which e-readers could (or should) offer that would make you think again “I need to have it”?