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I am going to take the weekend to read some books in digital formats. Mainly on the iPhone, but I feel like a digital screen is a big change from the printed book.
I have never read a book in digital format, although I probably have read parts of many books online.
My original thoughts on digital eReaders was that they will have a place but the printed book will too. There is no better way to really understand something that to just try it out – hence this weekends experiment.
There are many choices in the eReader world including options from Sony and obviously the Kindle. The problems with getting books in these formats is the license.
I love being able to give or receive a recommended book, as was the case with Predictably Irrational, and that option does not exist with the book I recently bought from Amazon using the Kindle app. If I like the book, I have to recommend someone to purchase it again.
I was thinking about this problem yesterday and it stuck 24 hours later and is worth sharing. I would prefer to be the new DRM keeper of the book I bought. For example, imagine if I purchased a book, then could “loan” it out to you with a maximum amount of days before it “expires” being 365. If you needed longer, you would simply have to come back to me and I can extend the “rental”. This would keep the social interaction intact, and keep folks on schedule to finish a book.
I am not sure this system completes the social contract as when the book “expires” you do not really have to return anything – but maybe a notification system would do this for you.
Further, imagine if you loaned someone a book and could track each others progress and have discussions. Knowing someone is reading a book you loan them is a good feeling.
This problem may not be solved for some time, but thinking about libraries in the future can lead to some interesting conversations about the future of books.
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September 6th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
Why read on a mobile device with a screen the size of your hand when you can listen to any content for free on a platform That my company is developing.
We plan to take publications to mobile devices in audio format. I know you work at Union Square ventures and would like 5 minutes of your time to explain this more in depth. If you are interested I have sent you my email and number through a linkedin message.
–Bryan Colligan
September 6th, 2009 at 8:21 pm
Can you send me a link? I would love to try it out before we speak.
On Sunday, September 6, 2009, Disqus
September 8th, 2009 at 2:28 pm
I was just searching around and stumbled upon this blog.
I have few problems with electronic book concept.
The book concept is kind of like music concept. Like electronic music has mp3 there is dominating PDF format for books. You can do a lot of things with both but in each case you can hack them and spread them via P2P networks. You can go to thepiratebay and get 5000 books (with in few hours) in area you are interested in.
I think if there is to be book system it has to have centralized access control. Imagine something like iTunes store for books. You loose your phone or other device, no harm done. All of your books (or licenses) are stored at one lactation.
If you want to share all you need is grand trial to guest in your account on whatever licensed data you might have there.
So if you pay subscription you get access to a lot more than you can possibly read.
If you pay premium subscription you can invite who ever you want to read under you account with some kind of measurable limit.
The centralized system that would serve this process would have to accommodate a lot of publishers and give each and every one of them control over their s”tuff”. So in the end you will need platform that has to comply with current publishing system and adapt to new technologies rolling out.
Amazon or even Google Books try to do it but they put themselves in bad position. Because if any (or all of them) publisher doesn't like what they are doing than there is a law suit.
With books there is still the concept of owning it. There for if you pay only membership you don't feel like you should own the book. It is kind of like library pass.
But there is problem with sharing the access. What if you decide to lend your account login to friend?
Well you would have to lend him your device as well. If you would figure:lets just go online and change the device back and forth on my account.
Then the system will place fee for the change to stop the sharing unless your are willing to pay every time you change devices accessing the books on your account.
I guess this is enough of rambling. I just wanted to put my 2 cents in.
September 9th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
just testing something on disqus
September 9th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
Its a great point – I think as people move towards devices we will see these solutions materialize.
I would love a system like iTunes for books – which is basically the kindle app for iPhone right now and the Kindle itself.
For now I will continue to use an iPhone but I am thinking about an electronic reader at some point.
September 9th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
Test confirmed
September 10th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
Back at my school (low voltage electronics) in Slovakia we had very fun project. Using LCD screens from calculators, laminating them together, creating sort of bendable black and white display that accepted text via parallel port (later USB version was made). It was simple kind of inexpensive and re-assembled news paper. Since than I was half expecting something similar to come out. It would be great if you could hook up wirelessly to this kind of device? You could be reading comfortably as you are used to in your bed. I think creating solar power charging for A4 size (1/8″ thick) device would be no problem. Imagine you have something like that with you on subway when you want to read the news via blackberry. It hooks via blue tooth and you are of reading news like you would with paper version. And it would be easy to carry as well. I think if this device would be very successful if it could be made dirt cheap, under 20 bucks. Most of the newspapers could be selling subscription of their news directly to people's accounts, instead cutting down trees and selling them out to be become garbage the next day.
If you want to become device centric you will have to cut loose of the distribution of the books or what ever else people read. Make it as adaptable to current systems as possible. I think this is the only way to succeed with this kind of endeavor.
I think when you buy kindle from amazon you are paying for the network, manpower to sustain the system and royalties, more then for the device. Hence 400 buck a pop. Amazon is marketing it purely on power of their brand. I would really love to see the real coast of kindle that amazon pays to the manufacturing.
Hot darn I want something that I can bend, sit on and let drop in mud and still be able to read from it. And I think that is the feeling of most consumers. Although if you drop newspapers in mud it is hardly readable hence some improvements by the new technology.
I'm assuming plastic would be used for this device but what if all the natural resources used to make plastic are gone any ideas there? Just to think little ahead.
Another of my 2 cents. I wonder if I can get to an dollar here
September 10th, 2009 at 10:07 pm
Perhaps OLED technology will allow what you need. For now we are tied to
expensive devices and paying for the networks and infrastructure.
September 10th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Not really, you can hack the kindle somewhat easily to connect to your computer and load unsigned PDFs on it. But you got to be a geek or you got to know one to do that.
I think it is matter of time that eReaders will start popping out like the MP3 players back in the day when iPod was extremely hip.
As far OLED I think lasers would be better choices to go after. To create something you can read from, you have to get creative not all scientific and play with the latest gadgets. You could still patent the the device.
I hope that soon someone will make free wireless internet. Hot spots are nice but they don't cut it. The dependence on networks is relative. The wireless companies will feel the torn of VoIP, and I hope with in the next decade.
September 18th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
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September 27th, 2009 at 1:10 am
Right wiresless hotspots are truly highly over utilized which leaves nothing to boot when trying to use the device. But still usefull yea..
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January 26th, 2010 at 2:07 pm
The story makes it sound like you can only buy books at Sony's Connect but I think that would be true only for Sony's BBeB DRM. If this thing can display PDF then you would be able to buy PDF format from any number of other sites no?