Comments on: Will e-books ever be a best seller?

Sony's Reader has been little more than a footnote so far. Now Amazon is looking to light things up with its new Kindle device.
Photos: Amazon's Kindle device

[coltakashi]

Is it a fully digital book?

The stories I have read about these electronic books do not mention whether the documents retain the digital attributes that make researching and writing on computers desirable. How easy is it to search through a book, or all the books in memory, for particular words or phrases? Is there an intelligent search engine that can run from plain English sentences to find things? Is there a cache for saving the found pages so you can set them aside and read through them later? There should be a significant market for reference books that can be carried in this way. What about the ability to highlight portions of text? Perhaps in distinctive ways? To cache all the highlighted portions and jump through them while skipping the unhighlighted text? To copy and save it to a new document, say if you are writing a research paper? One of the reference books that is most frequently used is the Bible. Additionally, copies of state and Federal statutes, or Federal court decisions that are relevant to a case you are working on, would be highly valuable.

The bottom line is that, because a reader can also highlight a paper page, can insert PostIt notes to mark passages, can write marginal notes in response to the text, and can copy and paste the text (using a copier or scanner), paper books are more interactive and therefore "high tech" than a simple digital book reader. Some PDAs and small laptop computers can do all these things. Is there an ability to interact with the text in this way in e-books? If not, you are only marketing to people who are linear readers, people who would be served just as well by buying paperbacks on eBay.

[Anysia]

I have been reading ebooks for years

And not on a proprietary ebook device. I have used Palm/Treo unit or my PocketPc for ebooks. I like the convenience, and the ability to have a few dozen good books on one smallish SD card.

[bartnj]

ebooks

You really enjoy reading a novel on a Treo? Really?

[hitno]

Books on Phone

While dedicated eBook reading devices like Amazon Kindle and the Sony Reader will appeal to some hard-core readers, we've found http://TextOnPhone.com provides a quick and easy reading experience on a small device that fits in your pocket.

http://www.apple.com/webapps/entertainment/textonphone.html

[PoeticaL]

let me know when Apple has e-ink

then I'll read on their phone. Or perhaps when iPhone is available on the network of my choosing. Or maybe when...pigs fly.

[ddanckaert]

I Love Kindle -- And I just bought Two!

I've bought ebooks in the past. Notably, mobipocket titles for reading on a laptop. I also bought a couple PDF-based books from Amazon. Reading on a computer sucks.

I also have an iPhone, and the idea of reading a book on it strikes me as insane. First, because it would consume the battery, second, because the screen size it too small to be desirable.

Here's why I like Amazon's Kindle:

(1) No recurring cost (yes, if you have subscriptions)

(2) Immense Storage capacity. I'm picking up two 4GB SD Cards on my way home tonight to put one in each of my Kindles (the other Kindle is for my wife).

(3) The ability to have my subscriptions delivered automatically, so when I go off to work each day they're ready and waiting.

I commute on the Washington DC subway and while I can browse the web on my iphone for a few minutes, most of my trip is underground where I can't read anything on it unless I happened to have downloaded a long blog before I went under.

(4) The books are cheap.

(5) The screen size is great, and the ability to read in sunlight or inside is wonderful.

(6) The battery life is great. When I'm done with my kindle each night, I'll plug it in until I go off to work the next day.

(7) Access to Wikipedia. Wow. Whenever I want to read on a topic, I always Google "wiki subject" and now I can do it for free anywhere.

So yes, the upfront cost was not insignificant, but I like it. As long as the media content is inexpensive, I'll buy. If they get stupid and raise prices, I'll go back to getting the stuff for free from libraries and the web.

[Tomcat Adam]

Recurring Fees

Merely using the device costs you;
to view your OWN PDFs on your own SD card costs you $0.10 per page, non-negotiable.

[brushcut]

Sharing books

Is it possible for you to download a book, read it and then pass it on to your wife's Kindle? What protection does the Kindle have to keep users from trading books on line?

[maven12]

Missing 2 important points

1) By using ebooks, one can save forests of trees being cut down so that people can read a book (typically) only once. Ebooks are bad news for paper salesmen, but great news for the earth.

2) While one can use the iPhone or any other small form-factor device to read books, it's far from an effective method. The iPhone may have cool finger-swiping zoom features, but that is simply proof that one shouldn't be viewing large amount of text (or images) on such a small screen. i.e you need the right form factor to make a book conveniently readable. Just because you can dig a trench with a teaspoon instead of a spade doesn't make it sensible.

The right tool for the right job. That's what an ebook should be - and saving a bit of the world doesn't hurt either.

[CrimeandPun]

wrong again

There are plenty of ways to produce books on recycled paper. But what about the continual cost of electricity for all these devices (if they're plugged in), or the cost of batteries, to recharge them if they're capable of it, and to eventually throw them out? Is that a sophisticated environmental response? I think not.

[peachesandolivia]

E-Books

I imagine that people who travel a lot in cars or planes or trains could use the ebook reader. Or salesmen that wait in physicians offices, or someone who might be handicapped in some way. In my personal life, I like the feel of the book in my hand. I don't read ebooks on my 30 inch computer screen either.

[philhardwick]

Read a book; pass it on.

Have you ever read a good book and then given it to somebody else to read? Don't think one would do that with a Kindle.

[49Gonzo]

Good, but could be great!

I would really like to buy either Amazon's or Sony's version, but for me they are missing one important aspect. They can handle their formats but cannot handle .pdf format (or not well). I have plenty of .pdf files that I would love to load to it. I realize that both companies are trying to continue making money by also selling the books, but then they shouldn't cost so much. If they sold it for $300 and also gave you a $300 credit to their library, I'd go for that. Sony gives $100 credit for classics; I've read all the classics that I care to read. I'd rather have current bestsellers. Sell me one that handles .pdf files, comes with a matching credit for reading material, and then I'll take e-books seriously.

[CathWren]

Credit for classics

I've seen a number of people rave about the credit for classics they got with their Sony but gutenberg.org has all those classics and many many more for free. They even have audio versions of some books now.

As for other books, including current bestsellers, more and more books are becoming available in eReader, Mobipocket, and MSReader formats all the time. Furthermore, the backlists of many current authors are also becoming available in one or more of these formats. I routinely pay between 6 and 8 dollars for current books and sometimes as low as 4 for backlist issues. Ten dollars for a bestseller still in hardback is a good price but it isn't a good price for most other books.

Catherine



CathWren

[guitardad72]

Already Read on Cell

I just upgraded my cell to a AT&T Tilt (by HTC). I read my News via RSS through GReader. I got PDF's, word Docs, webshite bookmarks to read on there with my down time. I read on my phone as I go to sleep.
Only complaint is screen is still small but it's an everything phone, I'd not be interested in an E-Book reader. I would just want the application for reading E-books to be on my available for my cell. Probably already is unless Sony has pulled one of the infamous copyright protection on these ebook files.

[sharee100]

not just cell

I have E-Reader (software) and mobi pocket. I have the software on my cell phone and on my pc's. The software did not cost $300 or even $200 or even $100. And there are lots of free books to download. I have a T-Mobile Dash. I had windows mobile on my sprint phone and read e-books then, too. With the software you can change fonts, colors, text size and even backgrounds on the pc version. I don't carry books anymore. And I am giving some of my paperbacks/hard covers to my local library. And I don't have to worry about misplacing my book or forgetting where I left off in the book.

[tedhartman]

Just too expensive

E-readers do only one thing. A waste of resources. Single use devices are dead.

Its like paying 600.00 for a good portable DVD player when he Laptop will to even better, and again to more things.

You can buy a small laptop and use that as a reader and it will do more things. Just find a referb 12 inch, ready to go...

I can almost use my PSP to read E-books (well, its coming) My Arcos 605 does quite well. And has more than one goal it its life.

[Phi87]

Yes but not for 300 - 400 bucks

I'd love to have a real ebook reader small and thin enough to fit neatly into a backpack, had a decent sized screen (bigger than a PDAphone), and decent memory -- but not at 400 bucks! In addition, there's lots of apps for it in schools and adult education businesses if they can get to the price point.

[kweimer]

Read a Real Book

e-Books is not for me. Who wants to read a book of any length from a computer monitor...much less a postage stamp size device...well maybe a little larger than a postage stamp...but not by much. Even if I download a one page document to my computer, the first thing I do is print it out so I can comfortably lean back and read it without the glare of a computer monitor. No way am I going to read a 90 page hardware instruction manual from a desktop computer monitor...much less a 300 page book.

[Hogleg MacDrillun]

no, no

with all due respect, I don't think you get it. At this point, eBook readers are intended to supplement, not replace printed work. As for glare, there isn't glare on most eBook readers. They use eInk, a totally passive form of image reproduction. There isn't a back light, and they resemble more than anything a very thin paperback, where the screen looks like paper with real print.

[cconsaul]

I've been collecting E-books for years

Regardless of how convenient or inconvenient computers are supposed to be, the get the job done. You can hold more books on a flash drive than you will ever get in your carry on luggage, hold baggage, or whatever box you decide to mail your reading material to your destination. The big mistake that Amazon, Sony, and the rest are making is that they are trying to increase their profit margin (Just like I-tunes) rather than lower it and depend on volume and low overhead (no storefront, no printing costs, no distribution costs etc.) to offset the reduced profit margin. It's called greed and these companies are all consumed with it. I will wait until they get their heads out of their piggy banks and plod along with Project Gutenberg (free e-books) Various online Universities that allow me to read electronic texts to my heart's content, and the scandalous list of free online book services that offer me more reading material than I will ever need. The simple reason that e-texts are not more popular is that the people offering them to us (for profit) can't wrap their heads around the fact that they don't really need to make more per unit than the traditional booksellers. If they don't wake up and smell the coffee soon, Starbucks will take over the whole operation, partner up with Barnes and Nobles, and we will be ordering our books up tall, Vente and Grande (or whatever they call them!)

[ciro pera loca]

Siesta Time with an E-Book

I'm from Mexico. We love to have a siesta (nap) after lunch, witch is the big meal of the day. I like to read the newspaper, a magazine or even a book just before falling asleep with the reading material over my face. I tried to do so with my computer; I found out that doing so it's really hard to have the siesta with the monitor over my face! Nothing is better than a big book in my face to have a 15 mnutes nap!! E-Books? No Way !!

[fleubis]

Kindel

I like the e-ink, but desired titles (technical) are never available. Besides I want Color, hires, the qualities I already have from real books, not be mention bigger, thinner, and cheaper. I'm still an impatient observer. It's a nice and need experiment, however.

[Sylectra]

Better screens will make it happen

Because of the wonderful portability of e-books and the fact that they are faster to obtain (when they are available), they already make a lot of sense, especially for those who want to carry around reference materials that tend to be heavy in paper. The cost, battery drain, and painful reading experience of reader screens in the past has been a deal-breaker for most. But screens are getting better in every way now, which is going to completely change the game.

[richande]

e-books a best seller?

Not in my lifetime or yours, e-books are too expensive and real readers will always buy the actual printed book, an electronic tablet will never do!
E-books will always be a nitch market.

Cheers,

Rich

[kardava]

ebooks

I have been reading e-books for several years.

Although I still buy real books as there are still some titles that don't come out in e-book form.

In regard to dedicated ebook readers, I really don't see them being that popular. I read my on my pocket pc. So I only have one device that does everything, phone, diary, games, music, ebooks, etc.

The problem with ebooks is that the come in different programs with the 3 biggest being ereader, mobipocket & Microsoft reader, with several other minor ones being available.

I hope ebooks continue to grow, but it has been a slow start up

[XMattingly]

I don't need a crystal ball to say "yes"

It's not a question of "if" but "when" an e-book will be a best seller...
though I don't see that happening at least for the next several years.

I think the real game changer is with Kindle's ability to download over Wi-
fi. With services such as this and Google maps on cell phones, we're really
coming into an age where you can have information anywhere, right in
your pocket.

Personally, I think I'll always prefer the look and feel of turning pages in a
real book... Amazon can pump the "simulated paper" bit all they care to,
but it's still an LCD screen, to me. The decisive factor of what will make e-
books more popular will really come down to cost, and proprietary-free
systems. Cost being the price of paper and ink (which will infinitely
increase), versus the cost of the electronic device (which will become
commoditized and decrease). You have to think in terms of e-books
eventually becoming not only ubiquitous -- for example, it's most likely
that one day you'll be transferring books to your cell phone or tablet PC -
- but also eventually cost about the same as an ordinary calculator.

I have been in the print business for about a decade, and the trend is loud
and clear, folks: print will eventually be supplanted by electronic media,
and at best become a niche market. And that's very likely going to happen
within the next 20 to 30 years.

So a best selling e-book may not happen while they're still ported to a
stand alone reading devices, but it will happen eventually.

[meech creek]

Potential not fully realized

I use my Sony Reader frequently, especially when travelling. I found no problems with the transition from paper, and I've been reading books on paper for 50 years.

I would make more use of the Reader if I could buy books from Sony, but Sony only sells e-books to US residents. Same with Amazon.

So if I want to buy anything not in the public domain, I still purchase paper. Seems to me the e-book companies are setting themselves up for failure: defeated by their own pathetic, parochial perspective.

[mharring]

Yup!

Seems just like the recorded music industry. Deja vu all over again!