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Monday, January 02, 2006
Could This Be the iPod for Books?
The future may have arrived sooner than even I expected. According to BusinessWeek, Sony is set to introduce a new portable e-reader device at this week’s Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas that they hope will be to reading what the iPod is to music. Supposedly, they are proposing a complete, end-to-end solution, including a hand-held device and a software application similar to iTunes that provides downloading and syncing.
Sony has lined up major publishers to participate in the launch, including Simon & Schuster, Random House, and HarperCollins. Jane Friedman, CEO of HarperCollins, says she plans to digitize her entire catalog and make it available through Sony’s online store. This will happen as soon as HarperCollins finishes negotiating royalty rates with authors.
The thing that caught my eye in the BusinessWeek article was the description of the display:
According to sources who have seen the device, it is similar in many ways to the Japanese Librie. Both devices use E Ink, a display technology developed by E Ink Corp. in Cambridge, Mass.
E Ink forms text by electronically arranging thousands of tiny black and white capsules, creating an experience remarkably similar to reading a printed page. Unlike the liquid-crystal display screens used in personal digital assistants, there is no backlight to strain readers’ eyes, and characters show up sharp and clear, even in full sunlight. And since the gadget requires power only to “turn” pages, users should be able to read more than 15 books between charges.
Even if this doesn’t become the device that I predicted in my first post on this topic, this is definitely a story to watch. I think we are seeing the convergence of multiple interests that will eventually result in the right device.
Again, traditional books will not disappear any time soon, but a shift is coming. Count on it—and get ready.
Technorati Tags: books, ebooks, future, publishing, reading, technology
January 2, 2006 at 09:20 AM in Books, Cool Gadgets, Web/Tech | Permalink
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» Working Smart: Could This Be the iPod for Books? from 1800askDonna
Link: Working Smart: Could This Be the iPod for Books?. I'm still skeptical about ereaders. While I can see the benefits of it...not having to pack several books while traveling, taking up less space on my book shelves...how will you [Read More]
Tracked on Jan 2, 2006 8:17:24 PM
» CEO of a top 10 book publisher writes about e-books from MobileRead
Michael Hyatt is "the President and Chief Executive Officer of Thomas Nelson Publishers, the largest Christian publishing company in the world and the ninth largest publishing company of any kind." That's the description from his blog, Working Smart.... [Read More]
Tracked on Jan 12, 2006 8:30:11 AM
» The Death of the Book? from Books Covered
Michael Hyatt, President and CEO of Thomas Nelson has some thought provoking posts about the future of the book as we know it: digital books. Sony seems to be in the process of launching the "iPod for books", a portable [Read More]
Tracked on Feb 5, 2006 10:02:30 PM
Comments
I do not doubt that the hardware will be beautiful. I also do not doubt that Sony will, as they always do, release horrible software for the product and likely DRM the thing to death making it completely unusable. Here's to hoping, though.
Posted by: John | Jan 2, 2006 11:22:49 AM
I've always believed that the best use for such a device is to replace the daily newspaper.
You could download the contents of an entire newspaper every day (or as often as necessary) and carry it wherever you go.
Much easier for readers than lugging a roll of newsprint around. Much easier for the publisher than printing and distributing thousands of newspapers that go into the garbage by the next day. Much easier on the environment (think of the trees saved).
If some newspaper publisher offered one of these free to any reader willing to pay a year's subscription up front the transition could be done very efficiently.
Posted by: David | Jan 2, 2006 5:03:46 PM
I am hoping that someone comes out with a high resolution, high contrast, e-book reader. I don't think Sony will be the one to do it and I agree with John that it will probably have some crazy DRM that makes it less attractive.
When I was a palm user I did purchase and read books using palm reader. I liked that I could carry many books in small space, especially when traveling. I also liked that it could be backlit, allowing me to read in bed with little disturbance to my wife. I didn't like that it was tedious to make notes and that graphics were not typically in-line. The screen resolution wasn't high enough to present most graphics.
The palm DRM wasn't too bad. Basically it required that my name and credit card number be used to open the book initially. While this isn't suitable for loaning your book to just anyone, it was okay when loaning your book to someone you trust.
Posted by: Griff | Jan 2, 2006 6:49:20 PM
I am glad to see Sony and others making stabs at ebooks players, but a high-priced single function device won't fly. Consumers demand a device that delivers high perceived value so it will either need to serve multiple functions or be inexpensive (for those who do not feel the need for a device that serves multiple functions—and once you’ve gone multifunction you will never go back!).
Let’s face it—Apple will launch an iPod in the next year that plays text (ebooks, newspapers, magazines, blogs, and other written content) in addition to audio (music, audiobooks, and podcasts) and video (movies, TV shows, and video podcasts). It will allow users to switch between various versions of the same content (text, audio, and video) on the fly as desired, and it will blow the competition out of the water.
It will happen. Publishers need to get their content ready: 1) establish that they own the rights to all three digital formats (text, audio, and video); 2) convert their content to digital text, audio, and video; and 3) participate and lead the initiatives to create the standards that will be needed to provide seamless integration of text, audio, and video.
Dang—this is going to be fun!
Posted by: Pete Nikolai | Jan 3, 2006 10:21:25 AM
Phillips (via IRex Technologies) has announced a similar product (http://www.irextechnologies.com/) which I admit I'm slightly more jazzed about. Sony has been the only game in town for years now, and I have not been impressed by how they handled the Librie. Having an alternative to Sony in the pipeline makes me feel much more comfortable about the potential quality of the e-paper products we can expect.
Posted by: Rob Donoghue | Jan 3, 2006 11:31:01 AM
A slightly different take:
http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20051229.html
"How Pay-Per-Click Is Killing the Traditional Publishing Industry"
Posted by: Eric | Jan 3, 2006 10:41:14 PM
While I'm sure Sony's new device is better than the Librie, here are a couple of tidbits that divorce the new device from any iPod comparisons:
1. The device and Sony's Connect download service (used to pay for and download the content) are NOT Mac-compatible!
2. You can only use Internet Explorer on the Connect site! No Firefox, Mozilla, or Safari.
Try visiting sonyconnect.com with any non-IE broswer and you get this-
"We appreciate your interest in the Connect music store, but our store currently only works with Internet Explorer 5.5 and above. You don't seem to be using that particular browser at the moment, so, unfortunately, we'll have to part ways until we support the browser you're currently using or you upgrade to the latest version of Internet Explorer. Please click the Download link below if you'd like to upgrade now."
System Requirements:
# Microsoft® Windows® 98 SE, ME, 2000 or XP
# Minimum of 500 Mhz processor
# Minimum of 400 MB available hard disk space
# Minimum of 128 MB RAM
# Internet Explorer 5.5 or later
So maybe it's closer to the Creative Zen for books. :)
Posted by: Michael DiMarco | Jan 5, 2006 5:58:38 PM
Not for me. Part of the beauty of reading a good book is the texture and smell. It creates the mood and stimulates the mind for a great exchange, that between writer and reader. Books don't crash!
Posted by: Davey | Jan 7, 2006 8:14:26 AM
Sony is too arrogant to bring out the ultimate device, though they have the ability and people to do so.
One note on ebooks readers: I read a lot while waiting and need something pocketable. An ebook reader must be smaller than the Sony or iRex if they are to replace my Pocket-PC / Palm; in other words, I am looking for a foldable or rollable eInk screen, preferably connected to a small computer one can have in a pocket.
Posted by: Jorgen | Jan 14, 2006 12:23:05 AM
This one looks more like something that with the right marketing could become the iPod for ebooks: http://news.com.com/Photos+Philips+flexes+its+display+muscles/2300-1041_3-5851266.html
Posted by: Jorgen | Jan 18, 2006 12:21:31 AM
Looking at it from the one thing that a majority of us are involved in - the commute. Rolling up newsprint, packing that book, to while away the drudge of the journey to and from the 'Cheese'.
The current day and age needs an efficient 'e-reader', affordable, that allows the downloading (i guess, after a paid subscription to the relevant newspaper) and also if the mood dictates, a book.
The $300-$500 price tag is a tad prohibitive for the purpose it is intended - for that price, like other people have suggested, a pocket PC is available allowing multifunctions.
Good thing is that companies such a Sony and Phillips have actually got the ball rolling on this, which, hopefully will develop into an avalanche of choice.
The important aspect of the popularity of such a product has to be the price points and the model. Will Mr Joe Bloggs prefer to pay a higher purchase price which then should include all 'e-publications' as Free of Charge downloads or pay a smaller price for the hardware (the e-reader) and based on the users' preferences, buy downloads of the software (the downloadable versions of books and publications).
I, for one, will be watching this space.
Posted by: Rakesh | Jan 22, 2006 2:16:04 PM
I've really been following with interest your posts on the ebook industry. As a missionary in a little-bitty place, I read a lot of ebooks. The WSJ published a piece on 21 January where they say:
Three major publishers, HarperCollins, Random House and Simon & Schuster have agreed to sell their books through Sony, and HarperCollins and Simon & Schureciate your blogster plan to make their entire backlists available for downloading as soon as they negotiate royalty rights with the authors.
My question is what is keeping Thomas Nelson from signing up? I'm sure there are boxes of documents involved in a thing like that, but I'd sure be interested to hear how this works from the publishers side.
Posted by: Jeff Singfiel | Jan 25, 2006 1:01:31 PM
As the owner of an RCA/Gemstar Rocket Ebook device, I can point out several things Gemstar did wrong.
1. Use a closed, proprietary DRM system that requires registration for all content, including public domain. This was a major problem in the later units. My reader (an 1100 model ) is not locked up this way, and I have made my own library of ebook editions for e-texts of public domain works.
2. Charge the same price for an ebook edition as for the hardcopy edition. The selling points of the ebook reader are: 1) You can carry a whole library on a memory chip, and 2) Since the cost of maintaining a server is negligible when compared to the cost of printing, binding, storing and transporting hardcopy books. Some savings should be passed down to the consumer, but Gemstar failed to do this. Why would anyone pay $20 to download an electronic edition, when you can get a paperback copy at a discount bookstore for $5.
3 Promise new titles RSN (Real Soon Now) but don't deliver. The bulk of available titles from Gemstar were alread in the public domain. Gemstar referred to these as 'Classics' and charged around $10 for the ebook edition of texts that were available for free from Project Gutenburg. The few works under copyright were far from recent.
The profit in ebook editions should come from volume and value. The actual reader was about $300 new and is an excellent piece of hardware. It features a slot for a Smart media card, a 56k modem, backlit and daylight readable touch screen, usb port, and a very intuitive interface in a package about the size of a paperback book. The modem could be used to connect to the Gemstar site for accessing the user account, downloading catalogs, periodicals, and ebook editions, or for purchasing subscriptions or ebook editions. Software was available for Macintosh, Windows, and Linux to store and organize the the ebook titles on you computer, and also allowed the purchase of ebook editions without using the modem.
Dedicated Ebook devices have been popular in Europe and Asia for a long time. Sony has experience with mini cd based ebook devices that they have sold in Japan for many years. They may have a chance if they don't shoot themselves in the foot like Gemstar did.
Posted by: Gary | Feb 23, 2006 3:14:08 PM
You've probably already seen this, but I saw this today on Engadget: http://www.engadget.com/2006/03/19/irex-reveals-deets-on-its-iliad-ebook-reader/
It looks like several e-readers will start duking it out soon.
Posted by: Brad | Mar 20, 2006 5:51:26 PM
Ebook on the go was the best thing that happen to me last year. 2005 was the year that I'd read the most book per year in my lifetime, just because I can carry them around and read them anywhere.
But if we're seriously talking about a carry-around device (as opposed to a bedside device), I don't think it'll hit it off. We are simply carrying too many things in our pocket as it is. Phone, iPod and possibly another PDA/phone.
Anything new that don't integrate with a phone or music player (meaning no convergence) will have to go. Basically, it's about fighting for real estate in the pocket.
So how come ebook caught on for me? Simple. I use a Nokia 6600, install an ebook software called ReadM. The books themselves are converted to plain text (yes, vanilla plain) and put into the phone. That's all. Anything fancier than that is unlikely to impress me.
The real business should be to make the software and book acquiring process so simple that everybody can do it. Hardware solution is just unnecessary headache.
Posted by: GRex | Jun 3, 2006 2:45:26 AM
