BOWIndex.com e-Book News

Called Away for Awhile

2006-05-21T13:35:29-05:00

Sorry I have not been posting much, I have been called away to attend to a family medical crisis and that means I'm living out of a suitcase and my laptop does not have the software on it to update this blog.

Now more than ever I am thankful I have switched to largely reading ebooks on my Palm TX. The portability of the Palm has been a great advantage while stuck waiting in hospital waiting rooms and for reading on the road.

I have set up a temporary web based blog which will act as a catchall for my thoughts while I'm gone. Everything Else Away Blog.

Palm TX vs. Nokia 770 as Web Browser eBook Reader.

2006-02-19T12:43:49-06:00

Well I did it. I retired my less than one year old Palm T5 and bought a Palm TX PDA to replace it. But the interesting thing is that what prompted me to buy the Palm TX was actually the Nokia 770 internet tablet I have been lusting after.

See I've always wanted a device that would let me read ebooks AND let me take a break from that and effortlessly connect to the internet and check news, and maybe email and some forums. The older Palm T5 had and external Wi-Fi card which works well but it is one extra thing to carry along with me and I was always afraid I would forget it in my pocket and wash it in the washing machine. The Palm TX has WiFi built in and connection to the internet is a breeze. Now I'm certain the Nokia is much better for browsing because it has much more power and a bigger screen. But several factors made me seriously consider the Palm TX instead of the Nokia 770.

1. The Palm runs my favorite ebook reader software: iSilo for unencrypted books and eReader for encyrpted. As far as I know there is no software for reading encrypted (DRM) ebooks on the Nokia 770.

2. DataViz Documents to Go, has a version that will read native PDF files for only a $30 upgrade. Beign able to read PDF files was one of the selling points of the Nokia, but in a pinch I can do it on the Palm.

3. Portability. This was a major consideration. I carry my PDA around with me everywhere. With a PDA I can take advantage of local wireless hot spots and check headlines or email. I also like having my ebook reading material with me on a PDA, and the more I use it the more I like it for ebook reading do to the portable form factor. The Nokia just is not something that I would carry around in addition to my PDA which has all my info on it. No point in carrying two gadgets when one will serve.

None of this means the Nokia 770 is a bad machine. In fact I may still buy one in the future but even if I do buy one it really cannot replace my PDA for carrying around with me, so I think I might stick with the Palm as a primary ebook device for some time to come.

Rumor: 3.5 inch Video iPod and eBooks

2006-02-09T13:29:16-06:00

Thinksecret reports a rumor that Apple will introduce a touch screen iPod with a 3.5 inch screen as soon as April. This leads me to wonder about this device for reading ebooks. You can already read ebooks on the current iPods, using their "Notes" feature (see this page at Manybooks.net and scroll down for a word on how), but a larger screen would certainly be welcome for ebook reading. Hopefully this rumor will turn out to be true. I would like a video iPod but I think I would really prefer to watch on something with a slightly larger screen, and if I could also read ebooks on it so much the better.

More Reasons for Back-lit Screens on eBook Readers

2006-02-05T08:35:17-06:00

You hear a lot about how great E-Ink display is going to be but devices that actually have the E-Ink display are so rare that it is hard to find anything written by somebody who has actually used one.

David Rothman of Teleread writes:

On my Librie, since sold, indoor reading was impossible for me unless it took place near a sunlit window or under a strong lamp.

See that one sentence tells me a lot. I often read right before bed to unwind after a log day - the last thing I want is a bright reading lamp shining in my eyes. In addition most the the lamps in my home have lower wattage bulbs in them to save energy and they are fine for watching TV with but not so great for reading - except with my back-lit Palm PDA or my eBookwise 1150 I don't need to have high wattage bulbs in my lamps.

$785 for an iLiad?

2006-02-03T06:10:18-06:00

Teleread reports the ILiad ebook reader might carry a price tag of about US$785! That is a high price for even a wifi equipped dedicated ebook reader considering that for $600 I could buy both a WiFi equipped Palm TX PDA ($299), that would work just great for ebooks, and a new iPod ($299) that will play music and video. Can you guess what I would spend my money on?

Come to think about it - I'm a Mac user, but I would be more likely to buy a Windows tablet computer for $800 - 850, if I could find one before I paid that for just an ebook reader.

More Patents for Apple on Tablet.

2006-02-03T05:55:29-06:00

TUAW is reporting about new touch inputs patent by Apple for a tablet-like device. One of the comments in that post speculates about a tablet that you could slot an iPod into.

Is this just a screen for watching iPod video, or a device with it's own computing power? Will it just be for games and movies or will it have PDA-like abilities or even full OS X computing power?

One way or another it looks like Apple is considering bringing out some sort of tablet device. Will this present opportunities for ebooks? I suspect it will.

Apple Tablet Computer and What does this Mean for eBooks?

2006-01-28T10:36:20-06:00

It looks like Apple is developing some sort of tablet device. Here is an article (with illustrations) describing a new patent by Apple for a tablet device for gaming and documents.

It's no secret that the biggest reason Apple switched to the Intel chip from IBM was better support, power and heat issues in portable devices. Now that that transition is on the way I think it is a matter of time before Apple moves beyond the notebook computer into other portable devices that are larger and more capable that an iPod.

The uses for a Apple tablet:

Games - this is well illustrated in the patent (above.)
Video - bigger screen than the iPod. Feature length movies?
Documents - (see below)

The iTunes store has proven that Apple is very good at content delivery. Why couldn't they do for periodicals, newspapers and ebooks what they are doing for music and TV shows now? If the tablet runs OS X then both PDF and eReader software both run on OS X just fine. Additionally, I can also see Apple perhaps, coming up with some sort of proprietary reader for things like newspapers.

This is an exciting development. I think it is just a matter of when Apple releases some sort of tablet not if.

Source: MacDailyNews

Robert Nagle on Ebook Pricing

2006-01-19T11:34:48-06:00

Robert Nagle has written an interesting essay on ebook pricing: Part I and Part II. Well worth a read.

The eBook Store Matters Too

2006-01-15T10:04:17-06:00

There has been a lot of talk about the Sony ebook reader but not as much talk about the ebook store Sony will have to set up to sell DRM encrypted ebooks through. If you buy the Sony device and want to buy current ebooks you are going to be locked into buying from Sony.

To me this means the store and the reader are joined at the hip, and it makes the store almost as important as the reader hardware itself is. This means I personally will be very cautious about buying any device that has this sort of arrangement. Of course it has already been done. The folks at Fictionwise, rolled out their dedicated reader and ebook store eBookwise last year and it has been very good for me as a reader. But one of the big considerations before I bought the eBookwise 1150 reader was Fictionwise's good track record within the industry. They have stayed in business through the tough years after the Internet Bubble burst and have continued to expand. They know the ebook business.

Which leads me to take a wait and see attitude to buying a new reader. I think I am going to see what Fictionwise comes up with as a successor to the EB 1150 reader. I think they are almost going to have to come up with some device. All other things being equal, I would buy something that works with Fictionwise (or eBookwise) ebook stores before I bought anything from Sony or any other newcomer to the ebookseller field. That seems really important to me.

The Manybooks RSS Feed - A Reader's Dream

2006-01-13T08:55:22-06:00

Do you want to know what newest ebooks have been added to the Manybooks.net free library? The Manybooks RSS feed will keep you updated with the newest ebooks added to the site so add it to your feed reader. Most of these are public domain classics that have just been digitized and all are free.

I love this RSS feed. Whenever I spot a book I want to remember, I just add it to my web based bookmarks. (I use MyJeeves, but Delicious or MyWeb2.0 would work too.) That way I can check them out later when I'm hunting for new reading material.

What are the Good Digital Self-Publishing Forums and Groups

2006-01-12T08:20:39-06:00

I just added the Self-Publishing Google Group to the directory. It is a pretty good one run by Steven Fraser. The group is pretty well established now and has been around for quite awhile, I just forgot to add it to the directory.

Which leads me too my question: What are the good forums and groups covering self publishing of either ebooks or POD books? I am particularly interested in those that give how to help and support. I am not interested in those that are tied too closely to one software program or are overly promotional. If you have one to recommend please post the URL in comments below. Those I like I will add to the directory. Thanks.

What Do Non-eBook Readers Think about the Sony Book Reader and eBooks

2006-01-10T06:23:08-06:00

It is always interesting to read what people outside of the ebook publishing industry and readership think about ebooks in general and the new Sony ebook reader in particular. Good discussion at Threadwatch.

On a format note in that thread: there is some interest in the multimedia potential for books should Adobe fuse PDF with Flash.

Photos of Sony Ebook Reader

2006-01-05T05:52:43-06:00

Photos of the new Sony ebook reader, via Ebook Community. Looks very nice. Also looks expensive.

Ebook Devices I Would Like to See in 2006 from Fictionwise | eBookwise

2006-01-03T10:19:08-06:00

I spoke earlier about ebook devices due to launch in 2006. The hardware all sounds fancy, but success lies in more than just the hardware - software and ease of buying ebooks, and price; as well as ease of converting my own content to be read on any device is key to my buying any device. It also needs to work well with a Mac.

What I would like to see in a ebook reader.

I currently own an eBookwise1150 and I am quite happy with the size and shape of it. Moreover, I have been pretty happy with the eBookwise store for buying my ebooks. Mac support, while not as good as that given Windows users, is adequate. As much as I like it, I would like a a higher res screen and the technology used in the 1150 is now very old.

eInk and ePaper are all fine and dandy, but I really like a backlit screen for reading ebooks. Both my 1150 and my Palm PDA have backlit screens and I cannot imagine reading without that.

I would love to see eBookwise come out with an under $300 high-res color backlit LCD ebook reader with roughly the same physical form as the 1150. I would especially love it if I could read PDF files on it without having to convert the file and reflow the text. If such a device also had Mac support equal to that of the 1150 I'd probably buy it.

This is pure speculation but I suspect eBookwise/Fictionwise is working on some sort of improved ebook reader. I hope it is close to what I describe in my wish list.

Price is important here - I think the big market in readers is in the cheaper range. I don't think anyone but a few hardcore early adopters will pay $350 for a reader and then turn around and pay the same price or more for an ebook as opposed to a paperback.

eBookwise needs to hit both the $100 - 120 AND the $150 - 300 price points with a range of readers for this to take off, just like there is a wide range of iPods at many different prices.

New eBook Readers Expected in 2006

2006-01-02T05:53:24-06:00

The following dedicated ebook readers are expected in 2006.

Sony intends to release an ebook reader and bookstore for the US market and is expected to announce the same perhaps as soon as Jan. 4, 2006 as per this BusinessWeek article.

iRex Technologies has the Iliad coming available in April of 2006. It is not clear if the Iliad ebook device will be available in the US or only in Europe.

Jinke Co. will have it's V2 ebook reader available sometime in the first half of 2006.

All 3 of these readers use electronic paper type displays which will show black and white with grey scales at fairly high resolution. Unlike an LCD display epaper is not backlit, so it reading in low light conditions will be about like reading real paper books, but it should be easier to read epaper in sunlight.

While the devices themselves are exciting the devil is in the details of how and where and for what price we can buy books and other reading content for these devices. I am very wary of the Sony reader given their track record of trying to make everything proprietary and crippled by DRM. Also it looks like all of these are going to be over US$300 in price which I think is way too high. I think the big market is in the sub-US$150 price range.

The other question for me is about Apple Mac compatablitiy. We shall see on that.

It will be interesting to see if any established ebook retailers cobrand either the iRex or Jinke devices or develop their own.

If you have questions on these or ebook readers that are already available post them here.

ADDED: MobileRead has a good comparison.

LibraryThing

2005-12-30T13:22:48-06:00

LibraryThing is a social catalog for your book library. It is more oriented towards paper books and I wish it had more ebook specific support and it would be great if it would search Fictionwise. However, you can manually add books and tag them (like Delicious) as "ebooks" so it will work. Let's face it in books sharing the title is more important than the format. Still adding Fictionwise support would help add all those multi-format ebooks by smaller publishers.

Not Buying a Nokia 770, Here's Why.

2005-12-29T05:46:39-06:00

I was all set to buy in November...

When it was first talked about pre-release the Nokia 770 sounded like the perfect ebook reader for me: something that would let me connect to the internet and check news and email, on wi-fi when I took quick breaks while reading.

But after the Nokia 770 got released it got some mixed reviews: some people loved it and others found it had bugs, trouble connecting to the wireless internet access point, not enough memory and some other annoyances. Furthermore, at that time the one ebook reader software for that platform was not yet released. And some say you need sharp eyesight to read with it and, alas, my eyes are not as sharp as they once were.

For me, at the price of the 770, I want it to just work. No excuses. I have already been down the sorta-works-but-its-buggy with my Palm T5 and I'm not going there again for that kind of price.

I might consider it once they work the bugs out, and a OS upgrade is due out in 2006, but for now I think I will wait and see what the new eInk devices that are in the development pipeline, by other companies, look like and also see what eBookwise/Fictionwise comes up with for an improved reader.

Thanks to Teleread for the reminder.

Have questions about ebook reading devices? Ask them here.

Cartoon (Comics) Available in Ebook Format at Fictionwise

2005-12-28T16:22:39-06:00

I noticed Fictionwise is now selling comics ebooks. Here is an example The Second Eye by Piero Tonin. Given the small screen of most PDA's I would think a single panel comic would lend itself the best. Anyway that is a good idea, I could see myself buying comics in ebook form and even reading them on a PDA.

I notice that they are only available in secure Mobipocket format. Hopefully Mobipocket will add a reader for Mac, because their reader and my Palm PDA are not cooperating for some reason.

Have a question about ebook formats post it to the Q&A board.

Consolidation and Direction

2005-12-28T15:16:31-06:00

I am closing down ePublishing Blog and moving all ebook and digital related posting here. This will be sort of a catch-all place for my thoughts about ebook devices and software. I'm going to worry less about the DIY e-publishing angle and write more about devices and ebooks from a readers perspective, although I probably won't stay limited to that because my mind wanders. Heh, heh. :-)

The big thing is that there is so much more here:

1. A book Directory, where people can find self-published ebooks and POD books. (And where authors can list them.)
2. A Blog with subject categories
3. Room to expand and add features, such as guides and articles, as needed.

What, No Comments?

I have not activated comments on this blog. I may activate them in the future if it seems like there is demand. Comments can be hard to administer and keep track of new posts so I thought I would consolidate them into one Q & A Board and play it by ear. Feel free to leave comments there.

Update:

Comments Activated. I take back what I said above. I forgot that it is the conversation that matters and it is what a community is all about - so I activated them for comments specific to a post. I'd still prefer the Q&A board for general questions.

Rebuild of Site

2005-12-28T10:50:14-06:00

You can see some of the results of my rebuilding the site. Mostly it is going to be about the same features: a directory for authors to list their ebooks and POD books in and a blog for discussing ebooks and digital publishing.

Questions or Comments? Post here.