Slashdot Mirror
Sony Reader Taking Hold?
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."
But what is the DRM, and how will it rootkit me?
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/ ) are a welcome exception. They offer DRM-free downloads and subscriptions AND offer a load of books for free download.
The critics need to factor in that in early sightings of the book store, Sony only seems to be stocking hardback priced ebooks. I don't know too many folks whom will only purchase hardback editions at first released hardback prices for their collections.
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.
Shouldn't that be "taking root?"
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
but when it comes down to it, redundant gadgets are.... well... redundant. my (impulsive) friend spent around 400$ on this kickass mp3 player about a year ago, he ended up buying a laptop a month later and he was like 'uh, this junk mp3 player is just going to end up another of my unused gadgets', so he gave it to me.. i left it at a different friends house, and it was pawned :/.. anyway my beaten around the bush point is this..... people would rather have a laptop for this kind of thing, generally, because a laptop is multifunction.
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.
Paperback books are cheap. This ebook reader can't compete with real books so long as it will be priced $300 to $400. The only way eBook readers could become commonplace is if they give them away.
They'd have me if it was possible to install other readers onto it (I don't want Sony to write the programs, just make it so other people CAN write the programs and the user can install them on the reader). Alternately I'd be more tempted if their format wasn't DRM'd (yup, non-DRM e-books do exist. One store that sells quite a bit from numerous prominent authors (such as Kevin J Andserson) is Fictionwise).
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?
without DRM, but I'm assuming that their book store is going to impose less DRM than the one they launched in Japan. In that bookstore, you could only "buy" your book for 2 months, after that it became unreadable. That defeats the whole purpose of having an e-reader! If I'm laying down $400 for an e-reader, I want to be able to bust out "Breakfast of Champions" on a whim, not make sure that my license is up to date before doing so. One of the reasons I don't buy a lot of books right now is that I hate having to find storage places for them, plus I tend to move around a great bit and shipping books is expensive and a pain.
I think a sanely priced bookstore would be a great idea, but till then I'm sticking with the library!
Monstar L
Sera
Slashdot, where armchair scientists get shouted down and armchair theologians get modded up.
Hey SONY, your 2005 DRM fiasco has cost you more than you realize.
it's a blue bright blue Saturday hey hey
I'd say any success depends on it's DRM. I mean, if it can only display ebooks in a specific proprietary filetype (remember the success of ATRAC?) then I would suggest that the chance of it catching on are pretty much nil.
The reasons ipods became so popular were that it had the best UI of the time, and it played mp3s you could convert yourself. If this device can't display open formats (or at least PDFs), then it's just another electronic white elephant.
It's about time. I've played with one of these 2 years ago in Tokyo and fell in love with it. If it wasn't for the price (aroud 400 US$) and the fact that it was all in Japanese (so I couln't check if it read PDF files), I would have bought one. If these baby can read PDF and HTML, it's going to be one great tool to read technical documentation during my daily train commute. No more heavy books to carry around breaking my back.
"You superiour intellect is no match for our puny weapons" - The Simpsons
Sony has realised the importance of making sure there is good content for a gadget like this.
/hey, does this one come with a rootkit, too?
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.
yes, we have no bananas
I'm still wondering who the target audience for this device is.
-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)
Plucker has been growing on me and seen increased use as of late. Its very versatile, and the format is open so I shouldn't get stuck with more eBooks having only semi-obsolete (or missing) readers on my palmtop of choice.
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.
I used to have a better sig but it broke.
These dedicated e-readers are all trying to look like a dead-tree book and are missing a big part of the point. My PDA is small enough to fit in my shirt pocket. A book, even a paperback, isn't. Neither is a paperback-sized e-reader.
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 unit reads PDF files as well as Sony's proprietary (anyone surprised?) BBeB format (stands for Broadband Electronic Books). They will be releasing software for reading BBeB format on your computer so you can read books you've purchased on your PC as well as on the Reader, but apparently you can only "share" your copy of the book with up to six other devices. When pressed for details about how this "document DRM" actually works, the PR rep we spoke with had zero information -- we asked whether a Mac version of the BBeB-reading software would be released but no word on that either. - Engadget
Reduce, reuse, cycle
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.
-- "Can't sleep, clowns will eat me!"
The article says it supports BBeB/PDF/JPEG/MP3. I bought an MS Reader ebook a couple years ago (just to see how it all worked) for my ipaq, so I obviously can't use that - I have to buy my book again.
.txt format (for extra points, let me zip them up!) available for ebooks so as I change and upgrade my handheld reader, I don't have to keep buying the books.
I'd like to see
DRM sure is grand.
The GP2X can play music, watch video's, and also display books for reading, is cheap, and 100% open. I got a laptop too (powerbook) but lately when I've got something to tote, I load up the GP2X and off I go .. very easy, very fun...
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
Okay, your mileage may vary BUT I have the Sony Librie and I read nearly all my books with it.
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.
Dearer means more expensive, it's used in UK English, you know, the Queen's English. Strangely enough, the French use the term too, "cher" means "dear" as in "my dear and me" (mon cheri et moi) or "too dear" (trop cher). The fact that the French use the term is probably why the Americans don't.
#include <sig.h>
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.
Whence? Hence. Whither? Thither.
if you try and copy any of the text out with a pen and paper, it explodes the pen in your hand and makes you unable to read any word prefixed by a the string $sony$
Effectively that's what a hood ornament is.
Paid Q&A/Research
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.
Don't let the americans fool you. Dearer means 'harder to afford'.
God, I know that just from listening to 'When I'm 64' by the Beatles. Damn kids.
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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
"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one " -Albert Einstein
These dedicated e-readers are all trying to look like a dead-tree book and are missing a big part of the point. My PDA is small enough to fit in my shirt pocket. A book, even a paperback, isn't. Neither is a paperback-sized e-reader.
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.
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
"I can read in the dark, I can read while waiting in a queue, I can read while floating in a canoe "
I can read in Timbuktu.
I can read in the zoo.
I can read about Green Eggs and Ham.
I can read on Slashdot about Can-Spam.
I can read almost anything, anywhere, Hot Damn!