Sony Reader Taking Hold? 357
An anonymous reader writes "Sony recently launched their latest attempt at an electronic book reader. The 'Sony Reader' is small and lightweight, about the size of a paperback book, and using E-Ink technology it only requires battery power when changing the page so light on power requirements. While it isn't their first attempt at an electronic book reader, critics are already predicting the Reader's success."
Success??? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Success??? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Success??? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Success??? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Success??? (Score:2, Insightful)
At least they supply the necessary software.
IOW, they haven't learned anything from the debacle that was their MiniDisc player, their ATRAC(?) portable music player, etc.
Forcing people to copy from standard popular well-supported formats to your flavor-du-jour is a losing proposition.
Unless... you create a program like iTunes that is easy to use.
My bet is that the software will suck.
Re:Success??? (Score:4, Insightful)
For example: Device shows up as a USB drive when plugged into a computer, drag and drop your documents onto it, let the device convert/display them on the fly for me. No special software necessary.
Now it's possible (and I stress the "possible") that they're doing the conversion upfront on the host machine to save processing power and to make the battery life longer on the reader unit. But they should at least give the user the choice... Either do the conversion up-front, or support the file types internally with the understanding that the unit will have less battery life and may take longer to display pages.
I'll reserve judgement until reviews of their conversion software come in, but if that software tries to sneak any sort of DRM onto MY files, or prevents files loaded onto the unit from being transferred back to a PC it's connected to, they can kiss a sale goodbye.
N.
Re:Success??? (Score:4, Informative)
I can convert txt, rtf, etc. in the rare cases I use them.
The older model (Librie) didn't do PDFs. The Reader does.
Re:Success??? (Score:5, Funny)
Ah, thanks for buying our product and it is good of you to ask that question. Since we could not find a satisfactory and adequate way of protecting our copyrights, we have now introduced DMCA 2.0(Damn, My Corneas! Arrrggh!!!)
First our qualified, expert ex-mafia representatives will drop by to gouge out your eyesballs. Rest assured that this will be a painless, troublefree process. They will knock you out with a big mallet first. The ebooks text will be all be encrypted in Navajo code(already patented by us). A special navajo talker will be provided to you to decrypt and narrate the text to you. We will ofcourse be charging you an arm and a leg(and two eyesballs) for this valuable service. You have already agreed to all this in the EULA(it was the microscopic fine print).
Have a nice day.
Thanking you, Marketing/Mgmt team
P.S. If you upgrade to our premium service we will also provide a trained free seeing eye dog(1 year supply of dog food also included)!
Re:Success??? (Score:3, Funny)
This will save my wrists! (Score:5, Insightful)
Unfortunately with most ebook sellers pricing themselves higher than equivalent paperbacks it's going to take more than this to really liven up the market. I favour SF&F so Baen ( http://www.baen.com/library/ [baen.com] ) are a welcome exception. They offer DRM-free downloads and subscriptions AND offer a load of books for free download.
Re:This will save my wrists! (Score:5, Informative)
For the majority of cases this isn't true. I buy from two stores, Ereader [slashdot.org] because I like their format and find their DRM non-intrusive nor limiting.
The other store which will appeal to slashdotters is Fictionwise. [fictionwise.com] Both stores sell books for a comparable price to Amazon. such as The Footprints of God [amazon.com] which is cheaper at Ereader. [ereader.com] Another example is Blindfold [fictionwise.com] for $8 from Fictionwise or second hand at Amazon. [amazon.com] I know which I'd prefer
Having said that, you won't save much money, if anything, buying e-books (I've found Australians will actually save some money though, because our prices are dearer, even once you take exchange rate into account). I still prefer the e-books because I'm running out of room in my house for dead tree books. I'm leaving the rest of the room to comic book collections and books not available electronically (although more and more books are being made available, such as Anne McCaffrey's books). [fictionwise.com]
Having said that, inertia does appear to sometimes cause e-books to be priced dearer for a while longer then the paperbacks. An example is Robert J Sawyer's Hybrids [ereader.com] which was kept at the hardcover price for a while after the paperback was released. But it has now finally come down in price. So if you're patient, you will get good prices for your e-books.
Re:This will save my wrists! (Score:4, Informative)
Your ereader link is broken - try ereader.com [ereader.com] :).
EReader is a pretty decent option for ebooks - mainly because the DRM isn't painful, but also because they have a not-too-pathetic range and the prices aren't too unreasonable. But the extra trick you need to keep in mind is to subscribe to their emailed newsletter (every week or so). This always includes a "10% off all purchases" code - so effectively anyone using them gets at least 10% off the listed price on any purchase. This may even be a sneaky back way around publisher "list price" demands. If so, I strongly approve. :)
The downside, for me at least, is that (last I checked) the Windows version of their reader program doesn't work under Wine. Annoying, but I do most of my reading on my Palm, and it works fine on that.
However, now I've said all that, I've found that Fictionwise [fictionwise.com], as you mentioned, seems to offer a better range at a better price with more formats. I approve even more. Thanks for the tip.
Re:This will save my wrists! (Score:5, Interesting)
Will I be able to read the ebook or listen to the music in 10 years? Likely no - which btw is perfectly fine with the content providers, who don't think you own anything anyhow and thus are glad to "lend" as many crippled copies as you like/need.
Hence, it's real paper for me for books (or PDF/PS/DJvu) and AllOfMp3 for my music needs (can't find russian music elsewhere anyhow).
Re:This will save my wrists! (Score:2)
I was careful to state it as a personal opinion on the ereader DRM.
Will I be able to read the ebook or listen to the music in 10 years? Likely no
I think it likely I will be able to, as long as I keep a record of the credit card number when it does change (once I do change it, it is safe to keep it in a text file wherever I store the e-books, although it is highly recommended you DON'T do that for your current CC number). Even if I have to get an emulator for the reader, I think it likely there will be emulators out there, there are emulators for the Atari and NUMEROUS non-famous gaming systems after all
So yeah, I have to disagree on that point. One of us will be proven right in 10 years time.
Re:This will save my wrists! (Score:3, Insightful)
Besides, since when was having to worry about a credit card number and emulation not intrusive?!
Re:This will save my wrists! (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:This will save my wrists! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Whats dearer? (Score:2)
Re:Whats dearer? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Whats dearer? (Score:3)
God, I know that just from listening to 'When I'm 64' by the Beatles. Damn kids.
Hardbacks all the time? (Score:2, Informative)
I just want to remind everyone, before there was the RIAA, there were book publishers. And some of them make the RIAA look like Girl Scouts.
Re:Hardbacks all the time? (Score:2)
Some of them might, but that isn't having too much of an effect on E-book downloads (legal and otherwise). When was the last time someone was sued for downloading a book?
Obligatory (Score:2)
It comes with the rootkit pre-installed!
Re:Obligatory (Score:2)
Taking hold??? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Taking hold??? (Score:2)
(* Yes, Sony is evil, I know, we all know, you'll never buy Sony stuff again, good for you, I don't intend to either. Can we stop talking about that now please?)
sure, they will sell a few.... (Score:2, Interesting)
If someone has a laptop, they are going to look at this device and say 'well.. i guess its somewhat easier to handle/hold, but I can already read a vast majority more on my wifi enabled laptop, and i wont have to pay an extra 400$ just to do something i can already do.'
and on the other hand, which is almost as bad-- if someone doesn't own a laptop, they will look at this and say 'wow, 400$ just to read e-books? i could spend the same amount, and have infinite ebooks, infinite music, and infinite free wifi, and (insert everything else here)'.
in other words, this technology simply isn't cheap enough for the common all american materalistic faddist.
Re:sure, they will sell a few.... (Score:2, Redundant)
I know lots has already been said about the matter, so I'll just keep it simple.
Books are not the same as music or movies.
I'm sure you've all had the experience where you've gone into a test and you can't remember something, but you can picture the exact page & paragraph that piece of information is in.
When I read stuff on a monitor, it all tends to blur together.
Oh, and you can hold a book a lot closer to your face than a laptop.
Re:sure, they will sell a few.... (Score:2)
I can listen to XM radio on my laptop (with said broadband cellular) but I don't.
I can take pictures with my laptop (with my webcam) but I don't.
There are always advantages for using a device designed for a specific task over a device designed for many tasks. It's a tradeoff between lots of devices that do each task really well and one device that does many tasks not-so-well.
People who read a LOT often do it in situations that are not convenient for laptops. Ever tried to use a laptop in coach? After 4 hours? Without power? In a chair? Without cooking your testicles?
Do you want to wait 2 minutes for your eBook to boot? To shutdown? Do you want your book to take up as much space as a laptop?
If you're carrying a laptop around anyway, then yes, you probably don't need an eBook. But if you are not, and you just want to read books, this is probably a good product for you.
Re:sure, they will sell a few.... (Score:2)
Yes, but the UI on the early Archos/Creatives was (Score:2)
The iPod was successful because it was small, easy to use, and actually competitively priced (e.g. I didn't see any similarly priced 4gb flash players in the market when the Nano came out.)
Doomed to failure (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Doomed to failure (Score:2, Insightful)
even then i wouldn't really prefer these eBook readers. nothing can beat the feeling of a book that you can hold in your hands, turn pages, etc.
plus how are you supposed to use them as a conversation starter..."excuse me, you seem to be using the same eBook reader as me" yea, good luck.
Re:Doomed to failure (Score:5, Insightful)
Not true. They do have to become more reasonably priced then $400 US, but you don't have to give them away to sell them. Many people have bought PDAs mainly to read e-books. They are convenient and easy to store (I can take 100 books in the amount of space needed for 1 book). Don't underestimate that factor alone. Besides which, there is a TON of content online (I don't like reading long stuff on the computer, but on the PDA, let alone this e-book reader, I don't mind at all) that is either free or not available in print.
Re:Doomed to failure (Score:4, Interesting)
I would not have paid anywhere near that if it could only read ebooks though. I also use it to play games and on occasion as an organizer.
This book reader would have to be much cheaper than a PDA to be viable, and even then I can't see why someone wouldn't spend the extra for a PDA.
Also, this Sony scam charges prices comparable to hardcover for the books. They should be about half to price of a paperback. Of course the DRM sony's including makes it a deal breaker for anyone who's not a total idiot.
Has no search function either! (Score:2)
Re:Doomed to failure (Score:2)
They'd have me if...... (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm a big time e-book reader and I'm migrating to an e-book only library (for new books anyway). If Sony has success, that's great. But I'm finding it doubtful that they will, because if someone like me isn't interested, what is their demographic?
Re:They'd have me if...... (Score:2)
Re:They'd have me if...... (Score:3, Insightful)
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of DRM in principle. DRM for many things violates fair-use rights. I SHOULD be able to record TV shows however I want. I SHOULD be able to rip my CDs and DVDs to listen to/view them however I want.
DRM is not even so bad as poorly conceived laws *cough* DMCA *cough*. At least DRM is a mechanical means to an end, I can always use my hammer to break a lock, I can use technical means to get arond DRM.
I didn't RTFA, but I'm assuming the "books" come in some sort of data module that gets inserted into the book. So long as I can use that data module in whatever reader I want, I'm not sure how DRM is really that bad in this case. And even if I can't use it in whatever reader I want, even if I'm locked in to Sony-authorized readers... well, I don't hear too much about how people are pissed off that they can't play PS2 games on their Xbox; same here.
old librie is hackable... (Score:2)
According to other reports it will support pdf (Score:5, Insightful)
I think a sanely priced bookstore would be a great idea, but till then I'm sticking with the library!
Re:According to other reports it will support pdf (Score:3, Insightful)
From the Fine Article (Score:3, Insightful)
Sera
Re:From the Fine Article (Score:5, Informative)
It's the screen itself. I've seen and played with the previous reader here in Japan, and the screen really is amazing. As in "you have to see it before dissing it" amazing. It really is like reading on paper. The brighter the environment is the better it looks.
On one hand, this reader is supposedly able to show any PDF or html and connect over USB like a mass-storage device, which is good (and the lack of which is what stopped me from buying the previous model). On the other hand, Philips is soon coming out with their version of a reader with a paper-like display, and I'd frankly rather buy from just about any company other than Sony nowadays. So I'll wait until I see what the Philips reader will be like, and unless they screw up with some DRM-only boneheaded move, that's what I'll get instead.
Re:From the Fine Article (Score:2)
I prefer my Palm though, but in the future I can see me trading it in for a non-Sony ebook reader.
Re:From the Fine Article (Score:3, Interesting)
Screen not big enough? Definately not when it comes to reading arbitrary HTML or PDF documents, but if you are reading a novel then you'd be surprised how easy it is to read when all you can see are just a few lines at a time - as soon as you get into the book a little bit you forget that you are reading on a small screen.
As everyone else is saying, the real problem here isn't the reader - it's content. Someone needs to do an iTMS for books. Better yet, as Amazon suggested, when you buy a book you should get the ebook included for free. Best of both worlds.
Re:From the Fine Article (Score:2)
Pricey... but Interesting (Score:2)
Anyway, the good bits are that it lasts 7,500 pages per charge and weighs half a pound. The bad news is that it costs $300.
The bottom line is that I love the idea of not burning a forest of trees... for College textbooks this is a great idea (lessens back pains and you could easily drop $300 in a single quarter!), not to mention point-and-click TOC and index, keyword search, etc. I'll have to see the screen first-hand, but I can't believe it would be better than print. Still, is there really a market for this for the airplane-book-club crowd?
Laptops work okay (Score:3, Interesting)
Hey SONY, your 2005 DRM fiasco has cost you more than you realize.
Re:Laptops work okay (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Laptops work okay (Score:2)
Nokia already sells an internet tablet that is small and light, and it has a range of capabilities that the Sony reader won't offer. Of course, it doesn't have the awesome display.
GP2X .. (Score:2, Informative)
Open or closed? (Score:4, Insightful)
The reasons ipods became so popular were that it had the best UI of the time, and it played mp3s you could convert yourself. If this device can't display open formats (or at least PDFs), then it's just another electronic white elephant.
How is this different than the Librie? (Score:2)
It's claimed to offer a display "almost as sharp as paper", and perhaps it does, but in all the photos I've seen the contrast ratio doesn't look nearly as good as paper (even comparing to cheap paperbacks or newsprint).
Maybe the photos are just bad. Sony's own photos [sony.com] look much better, though they're probably retouched.
Finally! (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Finally! (Score:2)
Re:Finally! (Score:2)
I often write notes in my books with a pencile, but it can be very cumbersome to erase those notes (especially on low quality paperbacks).
It would be nice if you could scribble something and the reader would save it to a separate file, so the reader would only have to overlay the notes over the pdf. One could even exchange notes etc. to produce annotated books.
great gadget galore (Score:2)
Does it allow mark up of text? Can you search through your books? Bookmark a page? Cross reference books? Are we going to actually get some intelligent addition to text than just a stupid conversion of paper->binary? These things are obvious. They aren't hard to implement. Why haven't they been done before? Do these big companies *really* lack so much imagination!?
Also, if it does do PDFs, which would be a major reason I'd care, how fast will they be rendered? If I have to wait 20 minutes per page, I'll take paper thank you.
Sony has realised ... (Score:2, Interesting)
Translation: Sony has realised that to appease the god named Shareholder, they will have to plug this device as the consumer interface to a long and lucrative supply chain, reaching back to publishers (but not to authors: there it's the same as music: either you're one of very few stars, or you do it for love, and only love).
In 2004 it launched a similar device [...] which failed to take off due to [price and] the restrictions it imposed on readers.
Ooh, the sweet smell of insight.
Target Audience (Score:2, Insightful)
-More expensive than books
-Less 'enviroment friendly' than books
-More restrictive than books (a 60 day ebook DRM deadline that self deletes, versus at my leisure, 1 day through forever)
Re:Target Audience (Score:3, Insightful)
Assuming that you don't intend to just read a few books on it then throw the device away, it should be much MORE environmentally friendly than paper books. It uses very little electricity (only when you turn a page), so it takes much less energy to download and read a book on this device than to manufacture paper, print a book, and truck it to your local bookstore or your house. The batteries are rechargeable, and should be good for many charges, so it doesn't result in much toxic waste going into a landfill. Amortized over perhaps as few as two dozen books, manufacturing this device should also result in less particulate and greenhouse gas emissions than paper manufacture and printing. Paper manufacture actually produces quite a bit of pollution, including dioxin.
Project Gutenberg (Score:2)
http://www.gutenberg.org/ [gutenberg.org]
I do like to read contemporary works as well, (Strange and Norrell recently and Dowd's Bushworld) but I heavily favor the classics. I would not turn my nose up at proprietary formats and limited ownership times for most contemporary works since I rarely want to keep them after reading them. Stephenson's Baroque Cycle is a recent exception to that general rule (have them in hard back, looking forward to reading them again soon.)
PDFs and the ability to load one's own ASCII files would be most useful and thus a tempting electronic morsel for consumption by my eager wallet.
Very nice battery life on this unit, regardless.
Re:Project Gutenberg (Score:2)
http://products.sel.sony.com/pa/PRS/reader_featur
Has much more info on the unit. Plays MP3s, does do other document formats including html, ASCII, shows pics, etc.
Oh dear, I'll probably have to turn apostate and get one of these. Or maybe wait until someone besides Sony makes something comparable.
Try Plucker (Score:3, Interesting)
Hackable? (Score:2)
And really I don't see what the problem is. With PSP their money comes from selling software. But with this reader most of the money will probably come from the hardware.
At last (Score:4, Insightful)
Reading is bed will never be the same again :o). I can't believe how long these devices have taken to be developed as I feel the potential market is huge. Perhaps the problem is simply that it is a huge shift in thinking. It's the first time that paper really will become some what redundant. I'm not saying we won't need paper but if these devices became ubiquitous and with a decent display (which I think would be needed for them to become ubiquitous) I could easily see paper useage dropping dramatically.
I, for one, look forward to the day when 1000 page books weigh as much as a paper back and I don't have to struggle with forcing open a book that has printing running to within 3mm of the spine.
In fact the only downside I can envisage is that it will put publishers out of business because it will become trivial to self publish. I realize that you could self publish in electronic format already but sticking a PDF on a website is different to producing a book.
Love paper but... (Score:2)
Why put a fake horse in front of the automobile? (Score:4, Insightful)
It's like trying to make automobiles palatable to horse'n'cart users by putting a fake horse in front of it.
I do all my reading on a Palm (T3, if you care) and have done for years. All it took to make it worthwhile was a paper-white screen with 320x320 or better resolution.
Why do I prefer ebooks?
The 800-page book I just read weighed no more than the short story I read before that. And I could have hundreds of 800-page books in my pocket at once.
I can touch a word on the page and instantly call up a definition from a 150,000 word dictionary.
I can read in the dark, I can read while waiting in a queue, I can read while floating in a canoe (with the PDA in a waterproof bag.)
I can bookmark interesting pages, I can jot notes in an electronic 'margin', I can copy a relevant passage into an email without re-typing it.
If my house burns down, I have an off-site backup of my library.
I can search for a character's name or a phrase I want to look up.
And I don't need something that _looks_ like a book to do it!
The hood ornament is the 'fake horse'. (Score:2, Funny)
Effectively that's what a hood ornament is.
Re:Why put a fake horse in front of the automobile (Score:2)
If e-paper is as good as others have said, I would jump at the opportunity to carry a Palm-powered e-paper PDA. (Perhaps they could call it "Palm Canvas".) The PDA would be lighter, be easier to read in most light (perhaps with a backlight for those situations where I need it) and last longer on its batteries.
Combining Palm's PDA apps with e-paper would really get my attention. Having it not manufactured by Sony or DRM-encumbered would be really nice, too.
Re:Why put a fake horse in front of the automobile (Score:2)
I still miss my IIIx, being able to swap batteries out was a very handy thing. I usually got about 2-3 weeks of life out of mine.
Nowadays, I've been using a Palm OS cellphone (Kyocera) that I bought back in 2001. Since it's a cellphone, the short battery life is a little more palatable. I can get 2-3 days between charges if I'm not using it to make calls. The screen is also smaller then the old IIIx. And it requires large pockets.
It still works after 5 years, I'm mostly happy with it. I'm at a loss of what I will replace it with (due to losing all of my PalmOS apps unless I can find another).
Re:Why put a fake horse in front of the automobile (Score:3, Insightful)
This may be true for you, but other people have different requests. For me, I'd much prefer this solution, were it not for the cost. I have a PDA (a Sony NR-70V with a large, 320x480 screen), and have played around with some e=books on it, but I have issues, many of which this device resolves.
Where I see the big application for this is with commuting (where you probably have a laptop bag or backpack anyway), which would give the ability to bring dozens of novels/ technical boks/newspapers/emails with you and vacationing (where you are definitely bringing bags with you anyway). By all means, load e-books onto your PDA; that's still great for spontaneous reading (waiting in line for 20 minutes, or whatnot) or for times when space and weight is at an ultimate premium (as in your stated example of canoe tripping). But I think this technology has promise for a lot of people. It's just too expensive at the moment
my books (Score:2)
sometimes more than 2.
Re:Why put a fake horse in front of the automobile (Score:4, Insightful)
Paperback size is about perfect for a form-factor. Why do you think books converged on that size? It's not as if making smaller books were impossible, but publishers rather vary the page count than the size. Yes, I know there is a lot of variation in book sizes - but up from paperback size rather than down. There are lots of thicker or larger books, but very few smaller. Most publishers rather publish a thin book than a small one.
You might be comfortable reading on a PDA screen. I for sure am not. I don't want to have the screen 10 cm in front of me, and neither do I want to ready tiny letters.
Pictures and More Details (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Pictures and More Details (Score:2)
I assume that means a DRM management program will be automatically installed on your PC (probably before you even agree to the EULA) as soon as you plug it in, maybe phoning home as part of the enforcement process. Will the program try to intercept downloads of of non-DRM'ed books? Given Sony's track record for such things, I would be very hesitant to plug this thing into my PC. I wouldn't put it beneath them to block even public-domain Project Gutenberg classics if Sony also happens to offer an e-book version.
(As an off-topic aside, why is it that p.d. works in paperback always seem carry a copyright of some recent year? Perhaps the custom-written preface is copyrighted, but the misleading suggestion is that the entire work is. Does such sleaziness really serve a purpose for the publisher, other than to give people like me a negative opinion of them?)
-- we asked whether a Mac version of the BBeB-reading software would be released but no word on that either.
Linux? Don't even bother to ask, I guess.
And they wonder why e-books don't sell.
It looks like a junkie gadget (Score:2)
No matter how good it is, its hard to see this thing taking off. Especially at that price!
The main thing I would do diffent is give it a nice leather binding like a fancy book. And make it *look* like a book. Finally, the border around the LCD makes it look junky and distracting.
But what if I leave it somewhere? (Score:2, Insightful)
I like the idea of e-books but they do lack some of the conveniencs of a paper back. The major one being cost. If I leave a £4.99 book on a train I am mostly just upset that I can't read it until I get another copy and then I will have to relocate my position. But if I leave £400 of e-book on a train I probably won't give a stuff about the books! Although if it carries 80 books will my insurance reimburse me for those too? Or will the ebook library let me have another download for free (this kind of thing also applies to DRM linked music too - you might the insurance to pay out for a new music player, but will your current license let you move it to your new, possibly incompatible player?)
In the UK there has been a movement to openly share good paperbacks by leaving them on trains and in other public places, perhaps with a few comments in on what you thought about the book. I think it may have been a BBC idea - sorry no weblink (bad slashdotter, dirty slashdotter, in your bed!). This is great idea and gets people exposed to books they wouldn't have normally read. Could we imagine a digital equivalent? Maybe a random download for every 5 you buy.
Re:"Project Bluebook" (Score:2)
I think Sony are trying to establish the e-book equivalent of the iPod (I think they even said that somewhere). Whilst the screen is nicely done (appropriate for the purpose having good text definition, low power requirements whilst foregoing unnecessarily high refresh rates) there is little else innovative about the product. Once you get good connectivity in place, using open standards such as bluetooth or wifi and simple communication ontop (via http and ftp) and the price down dramatically you will create a market where people will find innovative ways to share and exchange all manner of information. Provided the licenses let them.
What are the advantages to the consumer? (Score:2)
From a referance point of view an electronic reader is a long time comming. With any luck it will mean the publishers can stop charging £30 for a 200 page book thats bought by maybe 200 people a year. For short run publications this could be the philosophers stone. But for novels and fun reading I'm not so sure.
There are simply too many conflicts. Although the cost of publishing will be massively reduced so will the returns. We know from DVDs and CDs that people have very little respect for DRM as it feels artificial and more than any other medium I share books. I share them at work, work shares them with me (we have a library... more on that) and I share them with friends and family. This happens on an almost daily basis, and with the exception of reference books, once read, I rarely have any use for the books except to share them with others.
And what about libraries?
Libraries are a great good for any society providing education for all ages, free at the point of service, but they are intrinsically linked to the fact that you have to give the book back. Thats what seperates them from shops. With a digital library you would never have to give the book back, and if you did it would only be because of incredibly strict DRM. So what happens?
In my view the only way it could ever work was if nations openned up their national libraries to their citizens. Each citizen is provided with 'library card' and that allows them unlimited access to all the books via a website. The nation then keeps track of books and a nominal fee is handed out to publishers and authors at set points in the year... I dunno a $1 a book. Libraries would still be funded by the government, and paid for by direct taxation, and publishers would still be encourage not to publish crap because if no one reads it then they don't get paid, but librarians and high street books stores would be out of a job and libraries up and down the country would close and be turned into pubs. There would be no file sharing because everyone could access the books for free.
I dunno, there's something a little too utopian about this for it to ever happen. What will actually happen is that public libraries will close and not be replaced, because publishers will see it as a loss in revenue. A draconian DRM will be announced that means that you can't even cut and paste between your book and Word, this will be cracked with minutes and file sharing will kill short run publishing and severely damage small publishers who can't take the hit of a succesful book getting copied around the interent, leaving us with nothing but middle of the road, religious pap that people don't copy because its so awful and then think that they'll go to hell if they do.
Or worse, authors, desperate to spread their books will release them for free on the internet, but you'll only be able to read them if you also watch flashing adverts. Nightmare.
Audiobooks? (Score:2)
The total price including the audioplayer is cheaper than Sony wants for a text file of the same book.
Formats: BBeB/PDF/JPEG/MP3 (Score:3, Interesting)
I'd like to see
DRM sure is grand.
Re:Formats: BBeB/PDF/JPEG/MP3 (Score:2)
The future? (Score:2, Interesting)
Apple will introduce an E-ink paper add on to the Ipod. A little clip-on device, that rolls/folds into a convenient to carry size. The device will need no storage of its own, and no logic, perhaps not even its own power source, just clip it on, and use the familiar iPod click wheel to navigate your documents. Of course, it will support PDF, and some other form of DRM content that works with your existing iTunes/Fairplay account with a similiar set of restrictions.
Just as Apple was certainly not the first to market with an mp3 player, they just made one that was really great to use... don't be surprised if they do the same for e-reading - should the market show there's sufficient demand for the device.
And while I'm doing some wild speculation, why don't I add....
There will then be an iPod with built-in WiFi, that will allow you to use this hi-res 1 bit display to browse the web with on-the-fly dithering of color graphics into pseudo-greyscale images. There will even be an option of sending a particular image to the color iPod display for viewing in color if it's critical... but let's face we can read
ok... my minds getting carried way, I really should get some sleep - it's almost 4:30am where I am.
Don't knock it 'till you've tried it. (Score:2, Informative)
With the exception of native PDF and HTML (I think) support, the difference between the new eBook and the Librie is small.
The Librie looke better as it is in white AND it has a keyboard. It also has a headphone socket. Neither of these are used by anyone, but the device is Linux as so there is a large hacker community and tools are coming out all the time. Initially the effort was to translate all the Japanese software into English and now people are talking about making the device to other things.
There is third party software out there to make your own books and you can use pretty much any source you want. Sony already has book creating software on the market, there is already an RSS to eBook application and there is also a reader on you PC (Windows only) for your books.
For the new eBook, Sony hasn't used the latest in eInk technology but let me tell you this, whenever I show the Librie to people, their jaw drops at the quality of the display. The viewing angle is tremendous (just the same as a book)
The display is not paper white - don't let Sony make you beleive that it is - but it can be used in low light and bright light conditions, just like a book.
The Librie (and I assume this holds true for the new reader) is lighter than a book - excellent for travelling - and is powered by 4 AAA batteries. This means that no matter where you are, you can always get power.
The only addition to my Librie that I have added is a wrist strap from a mobile phone so that when I am on a train or subway, I donlt keep thinking someone is about to grap the Librie and run.
The size of display is grat for books, probably fine for HTML but is isn't good for comics. It is simply not big enough. The new reader apparently has a zoom and pan function, but that isn't exactly ideal.
The eBook is great for anyone who travels a lot, anyone in a tech related business where you need to have technical documentation that you refer to. If you are up to creating your own books, then it is a fantastic way to read all your books. Never have the trouble of finishing a book and then being at a loss until you can get home or to the book store to get your next installment.
Check out the yahoo Librie group for more information.
Go the technical accuracy (Score:2)
If I can't create my own content, it's pointless (Score:2, Insightful)
I would TOTALLY use one of these things (especially because I have seen the type of display they use, and it's really very nice). I would use it to work on my novel, read bits of text that I'm translating while on the train, take a report from work to look at on the plane -- as long as it can read plain text and HTML files it's fine. Excel, and powerpoint would be good too but I can see how there could be issues there. But text and HTML are fine.
Oh, wait.
I can use it to read particular selected books that Sony has done a deal with Random House on. And PDF files. That are on a Sony(r) brand memory stick. In other words, no attempt is made to make it useful as a general purpose display device -- the focus is a game console like business model where they make the money on licensing someone else's content to me.
Well done, Sony. Another great idea from the planet's most bloated, directionless and internally divided consumer goods megacorp. Here is a lollipop for you. Now sit in a corner and wait till a Chinese or Korean company buys you.
Re:If I can't create my own content, it's pointles (Score:2)
And don't forget the books will cost nearly as much as print editions and will be DRM'ed up to the eyeballs so you can't use your book on any other device or sell it on when you're done. What is the point of that I wonder? I would expect an ebook to cost half as much as a print edition simply because all materials, printing and shipping are eliminated. On top of that I would expect it to be discounted further if I, the reader am not able to pass the book to someone else or sell it on and recoup my losses.
No matter how cool the device might be, you can rely on Sony to shoot themselves in the head. In a space of five years they have gone from being hip and cool to being evil. They must be losing more through lost sales than they'll ever recoup through DRM. I wonder how long it will be and how many failed products before that clue sinks in.
Better pictures (Score:2)
I think i need this line for the lameness filter
features of this product include (Score:2, Funny)
I want one (Score:2)
Those critics and experts again (Score:4, Interesting)
Yeah yeah.
These are the people that have been predicting e-books would take off now for how long? The same people who told us that push technology is the next great thing. Oh, and the iPod-killer, mustn't forget how many iPod-killers they have predicted. Fact: "Critics" and "expert" and (even worse) "analysts" tend to be terrible in predicting what people will buy. If they did know jack, they would be wearing black turtlenecks, earning a dollar a year, and making people in San Francisco swoon with the really successful things.
I'll say it again and again, until I can drop my e-book in the bathtub without ill effects, the batteries will never go out on me, I can scrawl notes on the margins of "Cryptonomicon" where Stephenson got the German wrong, and dog-ear it where I like to reread, the things will remain a toy. Paper has too many advantages and too few disadvantages to be in danger.
You know it's Slashdot... (Score:2)
$300-$400 -- No Thanks (Score:2)
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/12/
Taking Hold? (Score:2)
Nothing will replace books ease of use (Score:2)
Re:xbox 360 or books? (Score:2)
Which is why you're not the target demographic. Someone more along the lines of me (although unlike me, someone who already hasn't been introduced to e-books) with my library consisting of over 100 books, and me having a list of books in the hundreds that I do want to buy, but am limited by the time I have to read all the books.
Having said that, I find their DRM and price unappealing (however competitors will come along and prices will drop). But if I had not already been introduced to e-books, I might have been suckered into buying this.
Re:Non-sony Alternative (Score:2)
Or if there was some sort of price on it.
Re:I've already seen it on a german news site... (Score:2)