Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

What Will It Take For eBook Adoption?

Posted by michael on from the chicken-and-egg-problem dept.

zmcnulty writes "Gizmodo has a new weekly feature that appears to be off to a great start: their first 'Feature Creep' writeup (by Sanford May) is an excellent overview of some of the obstacles standing in the way of adoption of eBooks, and more importantly, a handheld device that supports them. We've probably all heard of the Sony Librie's lukewarm reception, but if you're not familiar with the somewhat stunted eBook market, this is an excellent essay to get you on your way."

8 of 511 comments (clear)

  1. Easy answer by mirko · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Good books that people want to read and which will only be ported to this medium.

    --
    Trolling using another account since 2005.
    1. Re:Easy answer by PEdelman · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I would have probably bought an eBook reader by now if there was one reasonably priced which could display the content that I want. Most eBook readers allow you only to buy some pre-selected content in a propriety format, but what I'd really want is to read articles, essays and magazines I find or buy on the internet in a convenient matter and in bed or while travelling. If somebody made an eBook reader which could display my content instead of theirs (and which isn't particulary expensive), I'm all for it.

      --
      Like science? Comics? Wicked...
      Funny By Nature
  2. Re:Pretty straightforward by Em+Emalb · · Score: 5, Insightful

    there is something to be said for "the old way" of doing things.

    A book is an awesome medium for reading.

    And just like that useless article on the segway, you can build the tech, but if it sucks people won't use it.

    So that's the answer: build technology that doesn't suck.

    Speaking of which, this color scheme is giving me a headache. Seriously. Who's the butthead that thought this scheme up? Can we vote on this?

    --
    Sent from your iPad.
  3. Grr, this article made me angry by jandrese · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Check that: If publishers stop wanting DRM, it's the end of popular creative arts. Not as we know them, but period. If you want to run a capitalist economy - many societies are hell-bent on it - and you want quality in your art and entertainment, your artists must be paid.
    So without DRM the entire entertainment industry just up and quits right? I mean it's obviously reasonable to expect your books to delete themselves after 2 weeks (who here hasn't taken more than 2 weeks to read a book?). The author of this article is smoking a bit too much of what the industry is selling. Even the concept of Copyright is a recent invention, and there were certainly entertainers before Copyright came around. Here's a newsflash: people will still buy your stuff even if you don't have DRM on it. More people will pirate it, but most of those people will pirate it anyway if it is popular enough. This is kind of like saying that a few shoplifters are going to destroy civilization as we know it.

    This is a little tainted because the inital DRM efforts, in addition to being almost completely useless, were also extrememly draconian. It's no wonder people weren't buying the readers if the industry is treating them with that much hostility.

    One more thing I'd like to point out. I don't know how well it's doing in the grand scheme of things, but the Baen Webscription Service doesn't seem to have killed their paperback production, even though their books are completely without DRM.
    --

    I read the internet for the articles.
  4. What Will It Take For eBook Adoption? by Andy_R · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Rampant piracy.

    --
    A pizza of radius z and thickness a has a volume of pi z z a
  5. Re:It will need good electronic paper by mblase · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I will buy an ebook when I can read it as comfortably as a normal book. High contrast, high resolution, readable in daylight.

    Or at night. In addition, I'd like it to be lightweight, durable enough to stick in a backpack all day long, and be hinged with two screens on the inside so I can read it like it were a regular book.

    The universal convenience of the long-established book user interface cannot be underestimated. In some strange, indescribable way, it's more natural for me to read a paper book than it is to read text on a flat screen, clicking a "next" button repeatedly.

    Maybe it's just that a book is easier and more comfortable to hold in two hands than my Palm is to hold in one. But my point is: eBook readers aren't going to take off if they're confined to the tablet format. Give me a folding device with screens on both halves so I can hold it in my hand and "flip pages" instead of just scrolling text. Do this, make it cheap enough for consumers, and I'll be one of the first to buy it.

  6. Re:It will happen eventually by caswelmo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    My problem with eBooks is that it is blaringly obvious when you are using them. When I grab a book & start to read, I want to get lost in the story. When I grab my PDA & start to read, I tend to get lost in the tech. I find myself thinking about scrolling correctly, wishing there was more screen, screen brightness settings, etc. In short, I find myself thinking about everything except the story.

    A traditional book is the simplest technology available to get the job done. It's cheap & "platform" independent. There's nothing to think about. You just pick it up and read.

    The only way I see eBooks taking off, at least for myself, is if my life somehow makes it nice to always have a book available (or multiple books). Say I take a lot of short trips in taxis or I have lots of 5-minutes breaks before meetings. Then it would be great to have a book on my PDA to fill that time.

    Given that situation, I would see eBooks more as an addition than a replacement. For example, right now I'm reading two books. One at home & one at work. If I could add another "anywhere" book on my PDA that might not be a bad idea. But I still wouldn't want to replace the other two because a paper book just works so darn well.

  7. When will eBooks take over? by jht · · Score: 5, Insightful

    - When the display resolution is as good as paper.

    - When the contrast of a display in all lighted conditions is as good as paper (current displays are better in total darkness).

    - When battery life is not an issue at all - 24 or more hours on a charge, and less than 30 minutes to recharge.

    - When you don't have to worry about breaking an eBook by dropping it or sitting on it.

    - When replacement cost isn't an issue for your eBook reader.

    - When using an eBook is as easy as grabbing a dead tree book off the bookshelf.

    - When an eBook can be folded up or rolled up and stuffed in a pocket - like a paperback or magazine.

    - When the pricing of eBook content reflects the significantly lower production and distribution costs involved.

    And to sum it up with a simple, one-sentence rule:

    eBooks will dominate the market as soon as a typical user doesn't hesitate to swat a fly with the eBook instead of the paper version.

    That will indicate that eBook readers have finally met most of (if not all of) the criteria I set above.

    --
    -- Josh Turiel
    "2. Do not eat iPod Shuffle."