Thread: Wireless Reading Devices

A few people have mentioned the frustrating issue of DRM and proprietary file formats (which are often one and the same issue).

For example, it's interesting to note that the iBookstore sells epub, and that the iPad (naturally) is compatible with epub (which is the industry open standard for ebooks). But the crazy publishing world we live in means that customers will be faced with incredibly frustrating consequences if they think they can buy epub books from any vendor and try to read them on their iPad. Here's the reality:

- open epub files (i.e. without DRM) can indeed be read on any epub-compatible device, from your Sony Readers to your Apple iPad.
- but most publishers refuse to sell unprotected files, so instead most epub files are wrapped in that pesky layer of DRM.
- here's the killer: Apple's DRM for epub is completely proprietary. And Adobe's flavour of DRM for epub is also proprietary. And of course, they are not interchangeable.
- So this means you cannot read an iBookstore ebook on any other device. And although you can read Adobe epub books on most devices, you cannot read them on an iPad.

So if you happily go to B&N or Borders websites to buy yourselves an epub book, you will NOT be able to read them on the iPad. Or if you cheerily buy an epub book on iBookstore, you will NOT be able to read or transfer it across to your PC, laptop, Android tablet or eInk reader.

But they are essentially the same format. Confusing, eh?

The likes of Amazon Kindle and Google Editions (when it launches in 2012) attempt to remove the barrier that is DRM by other more ingenious methods.

Amazon Kindle
You can download a Kindle app for any iOS device, for any Android device, or for any PC/Mac device. Through Amazon's Whispersync service, every single one of your devices to which you've downloaded the Kindle app will now automatically synch with your Kindle, such that any book you buy will automatically download to every one of your devices, and indeed if you read a few pages on one device and then swap to another, the second device knows exactly which page/point in the books to take up from, so you don't have to go searching for the page you last read. E.g. You read your Kindle in bed, put it down to go to sleep. The next morning when you're on the train without your Kindle, you take your iPhone out and open up the Kindle app and 'boom' it goes to the exact paragraph you last read in bed last night. No button pressing required.
In this way, you can access your ebook on pretty much every device you own, and the inability to copy your protected file is now moot.

Google Editions
Google will implement the same functionality differently. They will use The Cloud as a delivery method. I.e. as long as you have an internet-connected device, you can access your ebook on anything, anywhere, anytime. Even on your friends' devices, or from an internet cafe, etc. Google is removing the whole headache of device compatibility and access from the customer, and free them up to just get on with reading the book anytime they wish. You never download a file, it's all in the Cloud. Forever. And when new devices come onto the market, you won't have to worry about format-shifting or compatibility, since Google takes care of that, in theory in perpetuity.

One day we will no longer need to download ebooks (and dare I suggest music or film). It will all be available in the Cloud. Internet connectivity will be ubiquitous, wherever you are. And you will then access your music/books/film through services which stream them to you directly. You won't need to worry about which film is available in which format in which country on which device... it will just... work.

So I received my Kindle yesterday. So far I like it. Very easy to read and page turns are very fast. Faster than i can turn a page in a book.

I think I am going to invest in a cover for it though. The new ones with the light built in look nice, but expensive.

BTW. If you have epub books and a kindle, download Calibre. It will automatically convert to .mobi and transfter to your kindle for you.

It is also a nice book management library.

How to Pick a Kindle Case | Gadget Lab | Wired.com

I might use this "case" until more aftermarket ones are released.

Been browsing for a Kindle case as well. These look nice, IMO. Cost a little more than Amazon's but they look to be of high quality.

After having an Android phone and using the kindle app on that I am just kind of waiting for a decent Android tablet. Currently I am one who still likes the feel of flipping pages but I also read so much my wife has started to complain about my library and I really should start doing digital copies to save on physical space. Though I also stare at a computer for 10 hours a day at work so another reason I prefer the actual books to e-readers currently.

I have always had trouble reading on backlit screens. I dont know why, but it just bothers me.

In the past when I needed to read a long document like a white paper, I would usually print it out and read it.

Originally Posted by Troggie

After having an Android phone and using the kindle app on that I am just kind of waiting for a decent Android tablet. Currently I am one who still likes the feel of flipping pages but I also read so much my wife has started to complain about my library and I really should start doing digital copies to save on physical space. Though I also stare at a computer for 10 hours a day at work so another reason I prefer the actual books to e-readers currently.

I just got the B&N Nook for my birthday. I really like it. Additionally, I can loan books from local libraries (14 day loans only).

Pretty neat.

I'm tempted by this new format called "book". Apparently it is made of something called "paper", which is lightweight but somewhat prone to wear and tear if not treated correctly.

"Books" can be purchased at numerous places called "bookstores", or you can even borrow them for a fixed period of time from places known as "libraries". You can also buy them online and have them shipped to your address.

I store my "books" in what are known as "bookcases". Books in bookcases can be sorted on numerous criteria to enable easy access, such as alphabetically by author or title, grouped into topic areas, or even size.

The reading mechanism allows for single, or even multiple, books to be open simultaneously using something called a "desk". They have even created an innovative product to keep track of your place in the book known as a "bookmark".

There are numerous pieces of software available to find and retrieve, in an instant, a "book" from a "library" with just a single command. The one I use the most is known as a "PhD student". If using this software, care must be taken to ensure its resources do not get grabbed by another process, such as "talking to other PhD student on the way to library".



James.

Originally Posted by Jimbo

I'm tempted by this new format called "book". Apparently it is made of something called "paper", which is lightweight but somewhat prone to wear and tear if not treated correctly.

"Books" can be purchased at numerous places called "bookstores", or you can even borrow them for a fixed period of time from places known as "libraries". You can also buy them online and have them shipped to your address.

I store my "books" in what are known as "bookcases". Books in bookcases can be sorted on numerous criteria to enable easy access, such as alphabetically by author or title, grouped into topic areas, or even size.

The reading mechanism allows for single, or even multiple, books to be open simultaneously using something called a "desk". They have even created an innovative product to keep track of your place in the book known as a "bookmark".

There are numerous pieces of software available to find and retrieve, in an instant, a "book" from a "library" with just a single command. The one I use the most is known as a "PhD student". If using this software, care must be taken to ensure its resources do not get grabbed by another process, such as "talking to other PhD student on the way to library".



James.

I have a Kindle and my wife has a Barnes and Noble Nook. Really not much difference, but we both think we like the Kinle better.I just love the thing.

I also red a lot on the iPad, but the Kindle has a better and more convenient size, and it's easier to read outdoors In daylight.