I LOVE my e-book reader. I carry it with me pretty much everywhere, which means I've always got a library of books or manuscripts to choose to read from when queuing, waiting, travelling. I still also LOVE physical books - which I read for preference when home.
In the US, e-book sales are growing at a rapid rate - in some cases allegedly competing with the sales of the physical editions (this is partly becuase of Amazon's pricing structure for the Kindle).
I've never seen anyone under 20 using a special e-book reader, but now that there are good-looking apps for the i-phone and other PDAs I wonder whether that is about to change.
The cost of e-readers is prohibitive for adults, so I'm not surprised if they are not flying off the shelves for younger readers! If a young person can have one new device (eg. as a birthday or christmas present) there's no doubt they will choose something with multi-media capability. Perhaps a branded reader or promotion by a popular author could sway their choice?
I read that downloads of the stanza application (an ebook reader for iPhones) in the US far exceed the sale of physical ebook readers - perhaps a more popular choice for young and old alike?
I have anecdotal evidence that some kids (young teens) do have them, but they were bought as Xmas presents by parents wishing to avoid video games. I agree that for younger readers the various apps on the iphone are probably a better choice, and the interactive capabilities also give authors a more dynamic space to create for if they wished. I wonder how far off we are from seeing kids books especially written for the iphone?
I read earlier that Amazon may launch the Kindle in the UK for Xmas this year. I wonder if the wifi and instant purchase capabilities of that will induce younger readers (aided by their parents) to invest in one?
I have heard of schools using them, and I can see why that would be desirable, to lessen the load children have to carry. I am fond of my E-reader, which I use for work purposes to read manuscripts and so on. But is an unwieldy object, and I can't help feeling that almost anyone under the age of 25 would want to scream at it for being so slow! I have seen the latest Kindle: it is a much more covetable object and much more interactive. But basically, for it to fly off the shelves, I agree with Sara-B: something branded (Apple?), something interactive - basically, something which confers status and is viewed as cool. Even then, will it have the charm or cachet of the beloved paperback? My daughters recently read Helen Dunmore's INGO quartet, which flew round their classrooms from reader to reader before returning to us, considerably more battered. The books and their covers took on an almost mythical status. Can't see that happening with any electronic device...
I think the dedicated, single-function ebook reader is an evolutionary dead-end. The trend is for devices to converge - my phone has replaced my wristwatch, clock radio, calendar, address book, radio, music player, A to Z, camera, etc etc.
Stanza on the iPhone - and similar applications must be around the corner for other smartphones - seems like the way to go. That's the type of platform that is already ubiquitous.
Absolutely agree that the single function e-book reader is likely to be a dead-end eventually but until the other mobile devices have a) a much longer battery life and b) a larger screen (which may never be possible), I suspect that many people may not make the transition to the smaller devices. Yes, it is possible to watch movies on your ipod and your mobile phone, but would you want to? I wouldn't. My son probably would, but since I'm not planning to shuffle off this mortal coil for a good few years yet, it's worth my while as a publisher to continue to develop our lists for all available devices to suit all possible tastes and reading habits.
Actually, the delivery platform which interests me as a publisher at the moment is digital streaming (like spotify). Yet another way of getting audio books to consumers - but how does anyone make any money from it? Especially the author?
I do take your point about different reading habits. The Apple Tablet - which is widely rumoured but not yet officially announced - would seem to be the 'Kindle-killer'. It might well be that something with around twice the screen area of a smartphone would be a more natural convergence device...
(It's worth noting that although my smartphone needs charging daily the battery life isn't so much of a problem. Reading ebooks on your phone doesn't drain the battery particularly fast.)
There are some interesting results coming through from a trial in a US university, in which 50 students have been given free Kindles to trial. The students complain of difficulty of interacting with the text (eg. adding comments or highlighting) and also that the devices are very slow and clumsy to use:
http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2009/09/28/23918/
Whilst I might agree that the younger generation are more into the multi media functionality of other devices, such as phones etc the use of e-book readers for children and young adults that have a visual impairment not only for general reading but also for educational books at school is a neccessity. Whilst some might be classed as bulky and slow there are times when these elements do not detract from the main purpose of being able to increase the image on screen. Much more practical when one copy of Harry Potter that was produced in large print was 35 (YES 35) A4 volumes totalling some 6000+ pages! Working for the National blind Children's Society, England we provide large print books tailored to the individual requirements of each child and can possibly supply them upon application with these readers, although we are not permitted to supply the e-books themselves. What would be good for these children is if Authors and Publishers could allow access to specialist groups such as our selves, and we do have copyright licence, a copy of the digital file that we could edit in so much as we could adapt the font style, size etc for the 24000+ children who are visually impaired. Regards
I LOVE my e-book reader. I carry it with me pretty much everywhere, which means I've always got a library of books or manuscripts to choose to read from when queuing, waiting, travelling. I still also LOVE physical books - which I read for preference when home.
In the US, e-book sales are growing at a rapid rate - in some cases allegedly competing with the sales of the physical editions (this is partly becuase of Amazon's pricing structure for the Kindle).
I've never seen anyone under 20 using a special e-book reader, but now that there are good-looking apps for the i-phone and other PDAs I wonder whether that is about to change.
The cost of e-readers is prohibitive for adults, so I'm not surprised if they are not flying off the shelves for younger readers! If a young person can have one new device (eg. as a birthday or christmas present) there's no doubt they will choose something with multi-media capability. Perhaps a branded reader or promotion by a popular author could sway their choice?
I read that downloads of the stanza application (an ebook reader for iPhones) in the US far exceed the sale of physical ebook readers - perhaps a more popular choice for young and old alike?
I have anecdotal evidence that some kids (young teens) do have them, but they were bought as Xmas presents by parents wishing to avoid video games. I agree that for younger readers the various apps on the iphone are probably a better choice, and the interactive capabilities also give authors a more dynamic space to create for if they wished. I wonder how far off we are from seeing kids books especially written for the iphone?
I read earlier that Amazon may launch the Kindle in the UK for Xmas this year. I wonder if the wifi and instant purchase capabilities of that will induce younger readers (aided by their parents) to invest in one?
I have heard of schools using them, and I can see why that would be desirable, to lessen the load children have to carry. I am fond of my E-reader, which I use for work purposes to read manuscripts and so on. But is an unwieldy object, and I can't help feeling that almost anyone under the age of 25 would want to scream at it for being so slow! I have seen the latest Kindle: it is a much more covetable object and much more interactive. But basically, for it to fly off the shelves, I agree with Sara-B: something branded (Apple?), something interactive - basically, something which confers status and is viewed as cool. Even then, will it have the charm or cachet of the beloved paperback? My daughters recently read Helen Dunmore's INGO quartet, which flew round their classrooms from reader to reader before returning to us, considerably more battered. The books and their covers took on an almost mythical status. Can't see that happening with any electronic device...
I think the dedicated, single-function ebook reader is an evolutionary dead-end. The trend is for devices to converge - my phone has replaced my wristwatch, clock radio, calendar, address book, radio, music player, A to Z, camera, etc etc. Stanza on the iPhone - and similar applications must be around the corner for other smartphones - seems like the way to go. That's the type of platform that is already ubiquitous.
Absolutely agree that the single function e-book reader is likely to be a dead-end eventually but until the other mobile devices have a) a much longer battery life and b) a larger screen (which may never be possible), I suspect that many people may not make the transition to the smaller devices. Yes, it is possible to watch movies on your ipod and your mobile phone, but would you want to? I wouldn't. My son probably would, but since I'm not planning to shuffle off this mortal coil for a good few years yet, it's worth my while as a publisher to continue to develop our lists for all available devices to suit all possible tastes and reading habits.
Actually, the delivery platform which interests me as a publisher at the moment is digital streaming (like spotify). Yet another way of getting audio books to consumers - but how does anyone make any money from it? Especially the author?
I do take your point about different reading habits. The Apple Tablet - which is widely rumoured but not yet officially announced - would seem to be the 'Kindle-killer'. It might well be that something with around twice the screen area of a smartphone would be a more natural convergence device... (It's worth noting that although my smartphone needs charging daily the battery life isn't so much of a problem. Reading ebooks on your phone doesn't drain the battery particularly fast.)
There are some interesting results coming through from a trial in a US university, in which 50 students have been given free Kindles to trial. The students complain of difficulty of interacting with the text (eg. adding comments or highlighting) and also that the devices are very slow and clumsy to use: http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2009/09/28/23918/
Whilst I might agree that the younger generation are more into the multi media functionality of other devices, such as phones etc the use of e-book readers for children and young adults that have a visual impairment not only for general reading but also for educational books at school is a neccessity. Whilst some might be classed as bulky and slow there are times when these elements do not detract from the main purpose of being able to increase the image on screen. Much more practical when one copy of Harry Potter that was produced in large print was 35 (YES 35) A4 volumes totalling some 6000+ pages! Working for the National blind Children's Society, England we provide large print books tailored to the individual requirements of each child and can possibly supply them upon application with these readers, although we are not permitted to supply the e-books themselves. What would be good for these children is if Authors and Publishers could allow access to specialist groups such as our selves, and we do have copyright licence, a copy of the digital file that we could edit in so much as we could adapt the font style, size etc for the 24000+ children who are visually impaired. Regards