Well it’s coming up to sixth months since I had my Sony Reader for Christmas so I though an update was well overdue. Especially after seeing: Hornby doubts demand for e-books.
What you really want to know, I’m sure, is if it has been gathering dust? Yes and no.
Yes as I can’t say that I’ve been using it everyday. But I have been using it and reading the occasional book from it.
And for me the main reason I don’t use it is that the high percentage of books that I end up reading are review copies. I would be happy to read review copies in epub format (the same as sold by Watersones, WHSmiths and Borders) but then most reviewers want actual copies so it’s easier for everyone to have real copies.
As technology and a way of reading it’s still young and publishers and readers are still trying to find a way of best using the technology. Nick Hornby’s right that is never going to be an ‘ipod moment’ for ebooks. The whole iPod-thing was driven by music labels fighting back in the wave of “free” mp3 that had flooded the internet. Plus music is a passive activity.
But as a tool for reading ebook readers have a some great advantages:
- You control the type. Real easy to make it larger
- You can buy a book and be reading it within minutes – yes you need the internet but no postman/shop needed
- You don’t have to hold it open and it can be propped up/laid down
- No-one knows what you are reading. Mills and Boon, Harry Potter, Jane Austin it could be anything.
- A 1000 is no heavier than 100. A problem I always find is large books are harder to read but not on an ereader.
The big battles for ebooks are taking place over in the US with things like Google Sets Plans to Sell E-Books – WSJ.com, Scribd-S&S deal: Setback for Amazon but win for publishers, writers, ePub and Adobe | TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home and also 10-hr. Kindle DX hands-on: $489 is worth it if you value a 9.7-inch screen and Amazon’s large book collection | TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home
UK publishers seem settled on the epub format, thankfully. I’m just waiting for someone like Stanza, who promised to use Adobe DRM, to bring epub with DRM to the iPhone so that I can swap from one to the other and keep on reading. I always have my phone so would be easy to have a book.
Sync, I’ll admit, is a killer feature of Amazon’s Kindle as their Whispernet syncs from the Kindle Reader to Kindle app on the iPhone so you never loose your place but I really don’t like the Kindle’s shape and keyboard buttons or being locked into a Kindle and having Amazon being able to kill by book collection if it suspends my Amazon account.
Reading off a device like the iPhone or a Sony Reader is never going to be the same as reading from a book. It’s not really supposed to be. It is very book like though. And I really do think that if you are comfortable enough downloading music and getting on an iPod then you want load up your Reader. I’m happy enough reading both.
At the moment I’m torn between hoarding, I mean collecting and holding on the the books that I like and want to see on the shelves and the convenience of bullet points above.
I’d say that ebooks have a place and they may attract more readers who use things like iPhones and they are going to attract people like those that read Mills and Boon books, which have little re-read value and are cheap and plentiful – you could load a few on the Reader and you don’t have to carry more than one thing and no one knows what you are reading.
I think that’s enough rambling for now.
Any thoughts on ebooks, ereaders and related stuff?
First of all I don't own an e-book reader. I think in the end it is a question of like and dislike. Imade my decision: I prefer real books. In case you are happy with e-books then go for it.
I spend so many hours per day in front of a screen, I don't need one more.
I know what you mean – but anything that has e-ink will be reflective and it looks when reading it like print on grey paper. Works brilliantly outside and is nothing like being in front of a screen apart when you need to recharge it!