Comments on: Book 2.0

By: iPhone already market leader for eBooks? | Sandlines

iPhone already market leader for eBooks? | Sandlines — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:49:45 +0000

[...] it certainly reinforces for me is that, as discussed earlier on Sandlines, the future of ebooks is with devices you already carry, not new stand alone [...]

By: MJW

MJW — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:49:18 +0000

Kate – I’ve risen to the challenge. You’ll now see a picture of my iPod Touch acting as an ereader, toward the end of the post.

By: MJW

MJW — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:42:38 +0000

Kay – thanks for the mental picure
Books on toilet paper has been done… but I’d be concerned about missing the drift if you are not the only user. And the alternative of ‘his’ and ‘hers’ toilet paper doesn’t bear thinking about.
But I agree totally: the venue matters not, the content does. Sometimes the content demands a more tactile level of involvement than a Palm (or alternatives) can offer.
The reason my ebook/real book ratio is 30/70 is largely due to availability of the titles I want to read.

By: Kay

Kay — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:32:47 +0000

I read every night before going to sleep. In the dark. With my Palm. I love the looks of the Kindle and Sony reader, but neither light up. Right? Can’t read in the dark. Which for me, in the middle of the night when hubby and cat are both blissfully snoring away on either side of me, is very important.

But the issue of how you read, I think, is less important than that you read. The number of people who’ve read even one book in the last year is very small. Anything that can get more people reading is a good thing.

Maybe books on toilet paper?

By: Kate

Kate — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:29:45 +0000

PS – just to prove context is king – to illustrate this article, you chose a picture of books – not a picture of an eReader, or (even trickier) and ebook.

By: Kate

Kate — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:25:22 +0000

Form v content – would you rather receive an ecard or a paper card? And again, extending that – would you mind receiving an ebirthday card from a colleague? Probably not. On the other hand, would you feel the same if it came from your wife? I know I’d be less than impressed to receive an anniversary card from my husband as an ecard, but not so fussed if I received an anniversary congratulations card from one of my friends in the US (or even a friend here – it’s not physical distance that’s the issue).

With books as with greeting cards – context is king.

By: MJW

MJW — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:21:09 +0000

I think that the central question you raise, Kate, comes down to this: is it the form of the book you like or the content? And that answer could vary from title to title, genre to genre.
Probably 30% of my reading is in ebook form. That breaks down to 60% fiction, 40% non-fiction. No picture books though… I believe possible, but unfulfilling…

By: Kate

Kate — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:16:21 +0000

I’m on a yes and no fence as well – I don’t think that the birth of the ebook heralds the death of the paper book – certainly not in a hurry – any more than email has signed the death warrant of the Royal Mail.

Using that analogy, email has certainly changed the way we use ‘paper’ mail (and has pretty much nailed faxes into their coffin), however, it hasn’t obviated the need for traditional mail.

Taking electronic stuff even further – although I have an iPod, and use it as my primary music player (even at home, as I have nifty devices that allow me to plug my iPod into my home stereo), I still tend to buy CDs. I like the feel, the album covers (though, showing my age, do miss the large size covers you got with LPs). I don’t often buy music online. I like to know if my computer blows up that I can still hear my tunes.

Ebooks, I think, will be similar. How do illustrated books work – like graphic novels? What about children’s books? Ebooks will always win on convenience, (well…mostly always. Paperbacks don’t need batteries), but there will, for many people (and, I suspect, not just the old luddites among us), the thrill of leafing through pages. The smell of the paper and binding. I’d lay odds that at least in the short term, many folk will use both – even for the same book.

The two are not mutually exclusive!