Re: Reading hardware

On 3/14/10, berylgorbman <[email protected]> wrote:
> How do people choose readers? Do most eBook users read on their computers?

The majority of ebook buyers/readers are using computers, not mobile
devices, for their ebooks.

>  Can a Kindle download and read books from sources other than amazon? Can an Apple iPad download books from Amazon? Where CAN it download from? where can the Sony reader download from?

Mobileread's ebook reader matrix at
http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_Reader_Matrix shows what
filetypes each reader can use.

In short: Kindle2 can read non-DRM'd MOBI/PRC ebooks, and PDFs
(although it can't annotate those), and TXT. The only DRM it can read
is Kindle's AZW and TPZ formats, the first of which is Mobi with a
different DRM system, and the other is Topaz, Amazon's proprietary
filetype.

Don't yet know what the iPad can read, but since the iPhone has a
Kindlebooks app, the iPad will almost certainly be able to register to
buy books from Amazon as well. No idea how the apps system deals with
"loose" ebooks not associated with a particular store.

Sony Readers can read LRF (deprecated filetype; Sony's no longer
making them), PDF, TXT, RTF and EPUB. It can read Adobe Digital
Editions DRM (PDF or ePub).

The Nook reads PDF, EPUB, eReader PDB, and PalmDOC PDB; it reads a
different kind of DRM'd EPub & DRM'd eReader.

Astak EZReader & PocketPro can read PDF, TXT, RTF, EPUB, LIT, PPT,
WOLF, DOC, CHM, FB2, and HTML. (And, it claims, RAR, which may or may
not include CBR comic books.) It can read ADE DRM'd books.

Free ebooks are available at Gutenberg.org, manybooks.net and
feedbooks.com. Non-DRM'd ebooks in multiple formats are purchasable at
fictionwise.com, smashwords.com, and webscription.net, and several
other ebook stores. No ebook reading device is limited to a single
website for books.

>  How will people make decisions about hardware and to what extent does that drive the way
> people read?

Some want to be able to buy from a particular store. Some want
wireless ability. Some want touchscreen; some don't. Some want
note-taking & search ability; some don't care about that.

Since I don't buy DRM, what's available at Amazon, B&N and Sony is
irrelevant to me. What I want is portability, battery life, & a wide
range of file support, although I'm comfortable with doc conversions.
I have a Sony PRS-505--I kinda flipped a coin to chose between it &
the EZReader, which had more filetypes but less shades of greyscale; I
went with the known name brand and the ability to get it engraved.
(Worked out for me; at one point, I broke the substrate in my screen,
and they replaced it under warrantee.)

When I can afford to replace it, I'll be getting an Astak PocketPro; I
want the smaller screen and more filetype support.

>  If Amazon has the biggest available library, and Kindle (and your PC) are the only way you can
> download from it, that will make Kindle predominant.

Amazon is the bookstore with the most mainstream-publishers' books. A
lot of ebook readers don't consider that an important point. The
readers of indie and creative-commons ebooks aren't in the majority,
but they are growing, and often better-informed about the options than
the people who own a Kindle and get ebooks only from Amazon. While a
much smaller group, they have a disproportionate effect on the market
because they're actively involved in shaping the technology & the
marketplace to their preferences.

>  And where should we, as writers, market our books? Shall we put them on all the source
> sites?

Everywhere. Amazon for mainstream outreach; Smashwords for reaching
the most possible types of readers; Fictionwise (if possible; they've
got rules about what they'll carry) to hit the search engines.

>  What kind of reader would you buy?

If someone ever comes up with a 4" screen ebook reader with 30+ hour
battery life, I am *so* there. If the iPod Touch had a decent battery
life, I'd get one just to read ebooks.

I loved my Clies until their batteries or screens died; the tiny
screen never bothered me, but running out of battery mid-book made me
look for something else when those weren't working anymore. I have my
Sony with me constantly; I read on the train, in line at lunch, and in
the elevator.

That said--everyone's got different preferences. A lot of people
aren't happy with 5" screens and don't really care for the 6" ones;
they'd rather something like the KindleDX that can show letter-sized
PDFs without too much shrinking. (I'll edit or convert PDFs to a size
I'm happy with.) I don't care about wireless ability; a lot of people
love it. I won't buy DRM, but many people don't care, and want a
device that attaches to their store of choice.

>  Beryl Gorbman
>  www.gorbman.com



-- 
"I follow Eris blindly in all things. That She is the Goddess of Chaos
simplifies this immensely."  -- Christian the Pagan


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