WOW...and after all this time. Suddenly the whole eBook thing is taking off. See this article from yesterday's ZDNet which talks about the release in November of a Windows version of Kindle from AMAZON. To me the biggest and best news is the Nook from Barnes & Noble. B&N, having purchased the eReader site, has gone headlong into the eReader format, which is the Palm format I have used for the past 8+ years or more. I can't remember. Now B&N has a large eBook section, and you can have your account at B&N become your bookshelf and account for your eReader books. At the eReader site, I have been informed they will maintain separate account info, as they have been doing all along. So options are many. Sony as well has a reader, not too impressive, that I took a look at at Staples. As libraries get into the eBook game, the issues start to pile up. How to circulate? Publisher complaints over book sharing, etc., etc. I hope it will soon be O.K. to share books with friends just as I would a paperback, but I think if publishers could stop us from sharing the paperbacks, they would do that instead of loosening up on the eBook front! Right now, I read books on the Mac, the PC, and the Zire, and don't think any device that is only a book reader should cost more than $99.99. As the field gets competitive perhaps that will happen! I spent the $99 on my second Zire, with the color screen and it does way more than just read my books! So it will take a good price point and real glitz to make me buy a book reading device. So far, I am not impressed. I have seen and handled several Kindles and don't think they are the best the industry can do. I would rather read eReader format on a Netbook if it comes to that - that would be a great device! Small, portable and multi-talented! So far, the state of eBook readers is interesting, but more interesting is the proliferation of versions of eReader for more and more mobile devices.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
eBooks are the new BLACK!
WOW...and after all this time. Suddenly the whole eBook thing is taking off. See this article from yesterday's ZDNet which talks about the release in November of a Windows version of Kindle from AMAZON. To me the biggest and best news is the Nook from Barnes & Noble. B&N, having purchased the eReader site, has gone headlong into the eReader format, which is the Palm format I have used for the past 8+ years or more. I can't remember. Now B&N has a large eBook section, and you can have your account at B&N become your bookshelf and account for your eReader books. At the eReader site, I have been informed they will maintain separate account info, as they have been doing all along. So options are many. Sony as well has a reader, not too impressive, that I took a look at at Staples. As libraries get into the eBook game, the issues start to pile up. How to circulate? Publisher complaints over book sharing, etc., etc. I hope it will soon be O.K. to share books with friends just as I would a paperback, but I think if publishers could stop us from sharing the paperbacks, they would do that instead of loosening up on the eBook front! Right now, I read books on the Mac, the PC, and the Zire, and don't think any device that is only a book reader should cost more than $99.99. As the field gets competitive perhaps that will happen! I spent the $99 on my second Zire, with the color screen and it does way more than just read my books! So it will take a good price point and real glitz to make me buy a book reading device. So far, I am not impressed. I have seen and handled several Kindles and don't think they are the best the industry can do. I would rather read eReader format on a Netbook if it comes to that - that would be a great device! Small, portable and multi-talented! So far, the state of eBook readers is interesting, but more interesting is the proliferation of versions of eReader for more and more mobile devices.
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