[brutledge]

McFan, the issue of cost doesn't seem to me to enter into it as far as electronic editions, unless you're purchasing them in addition to the paper editions-the prices I've seen for general novels seem to be in line with what I recall for hardback editions or less, even as low as free for texts that have gone out of copyright. Try going to a bookstore and picking up something by H G Wells for free....



Also, I'm assuming from your dissatifaction with the cost that you're in the US. I'm in New Zealand, and the cost for a new hardback book has made purchases of paper editions pretty much out of reach except for special occaisions. Electronic editions are, in general, 1/4 the price of a hardback book here.

[Bruce_Star_Guy]

For me the price is an issue. It is that although a digital book with DRM is sold for about the same price as a hard back book, the rights granted are greatly reduced. For example with a physical book, I can sell it, I can trade it, I can donate, and I can loan it to a friend. All of these actions are within the rights granted to me as the purchaser of a physical book. If I was writing a paper, I could copy short selections to be used in research or quoted in the final publication. With a DRM'd digital book I can do none of those. So why should I pay the same as a physical book, when I don't receive the same rights?

Think about college text books. For many years now, students that purchase new books, can sell them back to the books store at the end of the year for about 50% of what they paid for them. Can you do that with a DRM'd digital book?

Well I'm off now to the used book store, where I will sell them some old books I've read, and purchase some new ones that I haven't. Because publishers, will only sell digital books at a greatly inflated price, the won't see any of the revenue from these transactions.

[brutledge]

Yes, of course price is an issue. Let me clarify my position a little bit: I just did monthly grocery shopping for my family. Assuming that was all the money I had to spend, I'd have to go without food for a day to buy an electronic edition of a new book (based on checking ereader website this morning). To go to my local bookstore and buy a new novel in hardback, I'd have to go without food for 6 days, and convince my wife and daughter to do so as well.



As far as the DRM, you can't really be trying to say that it prevents you from using the book for research. When you copy from a paper edition for research or to quote in the final edition, do you cut the page out? I know when I did papers, I'd have to retype it....I agree, reselling or donating an electronic edition can be problematic, but trading and loaning to a friend are easy enough to do, if you really want to. Heck, I've pushed an entire series at someone because I knew they'd like the stories, but they claimed they didn't have time to read anymore. The electronic editions not only got them reading again, but have put them back in bookstores shopping.

[whidbeyben]

When rumor of a mac tablet made the rounds last year, I thought an e-text would be the killer-app for it. In my vision, schools would licence texts for these tablets that could contain live links to multimedia content, support searches and even offer wireless instructional functionality (test submission, message your TA, etc.)
Students wouldn't have to lug heavy backpacks around and countless millions of trees would be saved with this new publishing paradigm. Texts could be updated realtime and landfills wouldn't be filled with worn and outdated books.
The market for such a device would be huge and Apple would skim some profit from each licence. Apple needs to beat Microsoft, Amazon and Google to making this happen because anyone else's implementation would almost certainly suck.

[CAMJ]

I agree with a previous commenter that the iPhone has too small a screen to be a decent reader. I have a Kindle and while I miss the feeling of the pages and putting in a physical bookmark, I've gotten used to it and actually quite like it. The case that comes with it "stinks," though. I found a nice replacement from the same company that makes my laptop sleeve: http://www.sfbags.com/index.htm
I'm sure Apple could do better than Amazon, but now that I've plunked down the money for the Kindle, I kind of hope they don't...

[LeoO]

Yeah, I'm surprised Andy didn't mention Sony's far more elegant device.

[wmpbauer]

Well, I still prefer the lighted display, regardless of how big it is. I bought the Sony, and loved the display until it got dark outside.......then suddenly I was done. Their suggestion was to carry an Itty Bitty book Light.......go figure.....carry two technology devices so I can do what I would do with a regular book.

This is a highly personal thing. While I've been reading on my Palm for about 7 years, my wife hates it. She loved the Sony until it got dark, but doesn't read in bed, so it wasn't a problem. I'm a night owl and prefer reading well into the night, so for me the backlight is very important. I have adapted to the small screen of the Palm and now my iPhone, and use the auto scroll feature all the time.

I suspect this will not be solved in the short term.

[OptionTrader]

Sony's "far more elegant device" is Windows only which likely why it was not mentioned. I tried one anyway and then sold it in favor of the iRex device. I like it much, much better.

I would also have to remark that I find reading a backlit device is not as comfortable over the longer term as the electronic paper displays on the Sony or the iRex. An added benefit is that battery life is crazy long because power is only required to change the display rather than maintain it. I find that the need for an auxiliary light is inconsequential as there are reading lights on board planes and in other locales where I may find myself reading for a period of time.

[dndbrown]

I have been using eReader for six or seven years now - Palm to HTC to Palm to MotoQ to iPhone. I have not purchased a regular book since. With the latest update, the iPhone version works fine for me. I also use Audible, first on my ipod, now on my iphone. More of the newest books seem to be available on Audible then from eReader. As stated in the article, there is a time when Audible helps to pass the time (especially on long car trips) and when eReader works better (on the plane, in line, waiting while my wife is shopping, etc.). With a little configuring, the eReader is easy to read on the iPhone screen. I use the iPhone for reading novels, listening to books, watching TV programs, watching movies, email, getting the news, as a calculator, getting the weather, texting people, as my calendar, for showing photos, playing solitaire, and as a phone. If someone would just come out with a spreadsheet, then I will have almost everything. If anyone is taking a poll, I vote for getting more books in eReader format.