SF Signal: Is the Future of Reading Ebooks and Cell Phones?

Is the Future of Reading Ebooks and Cell Phones?

This is one one of those serendipitous posts. Earlier this week I had saved a link to a ComputerWorld aricle, Will cell phones save books? The point being: People aren't reading as much anymore (yes, this again) so why not deliver books via cell phones? After all, the kids in Japan love that, so why not here?

I'm not sure you're going to get people, let alone kids, to read books just by making them available on cell phones. The point about making them participatory might generate some interest, but my guess is that most people use their entertainment to be immediate and short, like a video or song, and not something like an ebook.

Which brings us to Epublisher's Weekly's article 30 Benefits of Ebooks. Being portable is one of them. Supposedly, ebooks are cheaper and more environmentally friendly. There are a lot of interesting points, but none of them address the real problem I have with ebooks (and why I don't think cell phones are a good medium for books), the screen.

I hate all of the current screen sizes, and I intensely dislike the current methods of reading ebooks. Even my iPaq, with a bright screen, sucks for reading. I'm holding out hope that e-paper might make this better. Until we get 'paper', like the USA Today shown in Minority Report, I don't see ebooks going anywhere fast.

I like the e-paper idea. Are any companies working on this? What would
be even better is a device that can go from e-paper to backlit. That way
you'd have the option to be able to read without an external light source
(i.e. in bed at night, on a long car trip at night, etc.) as well as being able
to read it outside on a sunny day.

Posted by Cheryl on Sunday February 10, 2008 at 7:25 AM

The current "e-paper" readers out there aren't backlit because that will decrease the life of the battery charge. The big selling point seems to be that you can read for months and months as the e-paper display (or e-ink) takes so little charge.

Of course, I think they ought to give you the option to use the backlit mode or not. If you are plugged in to a power source, why not? Or if you are able to recharge the reader relatively soon, why not?

I've been considering the Bookeen Cybook, being sold by NAEB. I've been reading eBooks since I had an Apple Newton, so I don't mind small screens. But my current PDA is starting to show signs of age (it's over eight years old), so it is time to shop around...

Posted by Fred Kiesche on Sunday February 10, 2008 at 8:43 AM

I'm afraid I'm still a partisan of the original eBook. I know it's backlighted, but it's comfortable to hold, has a good screen size, is very affordable (especially compared to the Kindle & Sony eReader) and has a half-decent eBook selection.

I've had mine for 2 years, and I especially like reading Asimov's, Analog, and F&SF on it. Plus, Interzone just started publishing in that format, and Baen's universe supports it (of course, they support *every* format), so I've picked those two up as well. As for battery life, I'm perfectly happy with ~20 hours of life per 2 hours of charging time. And I really like being able to read in the dark, so my husband can sleep without a light shining in his face.

Also, as a reviewer it's got highlighting, search, and note-taking capability, which is really important for me. Probably not so much for other people.

Posted by Karen Burnham on Sunday February 10, 2008 at 9:05 AM

The operating system for my book collection (binding) is 2,000 years old. It survived the fall of the Roman Empire, the Black Death, and world war. I expect it will be in use 2,000 years from now. Meanwhile, I've thrown out more useless Dead Media than I can remember.

Posted by Matte Lozenge on Sunday February 10, 2008 at 10:57 AM

Reading e-books on cell phones is a cool idea but what about battery life? Also you'd have to turn off text messaging, MP3 devices, bluetooth etc. to read an e-book. I'd rather have a cell phone with local AM radio but that won't happen because of the antenna issue. But e-books on a cell phone sounds like a good idea. Is anyone doing a market survey on this?

Posted by Jim Shannon on Sunday February 10, 2008 at 3:48 PM

"Meanwhile, I've thrown out more useless Dead Media than I can remember."

I don't expect the eBook, in whatever form, to replace the deadtree book, soon or even ever.

But...there are advantages to reading an eBook that a paper book does not have--easier to sneak a few pages at work, on line somewhere, better to "mark up" the eBook than a paper book.

Interesting you mention "dead media". I realized I still have the Project Gutenberg files I started downloading in the early 1990's. Not quite the format that has outlasted the Roman Empire, but it has outlasted several computers and PDA's, e-mail accounts, and even three changes of address.

It's kind of like the "humans vs. robots in space exploration" argument. Maybe it isn't eBooks OR paper books but eBooks AND paper books?

Posted by Fred Kiesche on Sunday February 10, 2008 at 9:13 PM

Doesn't the eBook use Mobipocket to read its eBooks? If so, you've got quite a decent selection of books. Manybooks offers books in that format, as does Memoware, Baen and a lot of other sites, including Fictionwise.

Posted by Fred Kiesche on Sunday February 10, 2008 at 9:17 PM

I have a Sony Reader that I lurves. It's not for everybody, but when I travel I don't have to pack a box of books. It's also far easier on the eyes than reading on an lcd screen. In short, I'd buy it again.

Posted by Scott on Monday February 11, 2008 at 1:11 PM

Cheryl - how about if the 'white' gently glowed for a couple hours from 'stored' daylight - kind of like those luminescent toys you can buy. That would cover both the full sun and reading before I fall asleep scenarios.

Jim - I've read on cell phones and the ones I have used 'auto-suspend' when calls come in, when I hang up the books resumes where I was. ( http://www.booksinmyphone.com ) I'd not noticed the battery as an issue - making a call seems to suck way more power than reading (with the backlight off).

JP - for me the big difference with the phone is that you don't have to think about 'brining a book' - it's just there with you anyway always. I don't mind the small screen - it seems a fair trade-off for the portability.

Posted by jw on Tuesday February 12, 2008 at 5:12 PM