It seems like the publishing world is abuzz with news about E-readers, especially the newly released Kindle by Amazon. Magazines, newspapers, and blogs, including my own, have articles about the Kindle. But at $400, it's rather expensive. The news seems to be not so much the Kindle, which some reviewers have given only lukewarm ratings to, but what the Kindle could represent or bring about for the future of e-readers.
Certainly, the Kindle is a step above previous e-readers. But there are already other, newer, better, more advanced, technology in the works. Readers that will have color, not just black and white, higher resolution, less power consumption. Phillips Company is working on one that will have a rollable, wrappable display. They expect to release it next year.
The Kindle supposedly can hold 200 books plus hundreds more on a memory card. Books can be downloaded from Amazon's list of 90,000 e-books. And reports are that a book can be downloaded in under a minute. You can search within a book for a name or phrase. You can even change the font size. And it’s all wireless, like your cell phone.
What people are saying is that Kindle, although not perfect, is such an advance that it heralds more to come. I don't think anyone is saying that printed books will disappear anytime soon. But e-books are getting a boost from the new readers, especially when it comes to books with lots of pictures. I can certainly see how e-books would be popular for textbooks. And eventually all books. It’s also destined to be popular with travelers and with those who want to be able to increase the font size of a book.
If you’re still not convinced or you want more information on the Kindle, pick up a copy of the November 26 issue of Newsweek or go online to read that issue’s cover story: The Future of Reading.
5 months ago
But what do I do with all these book cases that line my walls? :-)
ReplyDeleteInteresting technology developments, eh? Cool to wathc!
Syl
It is cool to watch. I don't even own an e-reader, and yet I can feel the excitement. I'm one of the T-Rexs who want to hang onto paper books. And yet if there are dinosaur sheep, I'm one of those. I'll follow along and eventually embrace the new. I got rid of my typewriter when I could no longer get ribbons. I put aside my yellow pad and now write on a computer. I don't have an address book; I've used my PDA for years.
ReplyDeleteAnd, like you, I have shelves of books. My husband built floor to ceiling shelves in the closet in my office. I'm already running out of space. I give books for Christmas. Guess eventually I'll give certificates for downloads.
Stomping my dinosaur foot and trying to hang on to the past won't do much. The world will march on with or without me.