Filed under: Ebooks, Letters of Opinion, Misc
When I was at RWA, I had the opportunity to see the Kindle and the new Sony Reader with booklight and the Asus EEE PC. These are all viable ebook readers that you can purchase today, along with my personal favorite, the iTouch/iPhone.
Neither the Kindle nor the Reader is a perfect device and frankly, I don’t know if there is a perfect device in the near future. The perfect device has the instantaneous purchase ability of the Kindle with the versality and look of the Reader. The keyboard of the Kindle is quite nice as is the ability to highlight and annotate. The Reader’s lightwedge style booklight accessory provided two levels of brightness for the light flooding the surface of the screen. It’s a perfect look and fit that the Kindle doesn’t have.
Last week, though, I said that if you were interested in eBook readers you should wait until October. The reason for this is that there are fairly credible rumors that Amazon is going to release an updated Kindle. I find the report a bit odd given that the Kindle was released in mid November of 2007. It would make more sense for the Kindle 2.0 to be released a full year later rather than eleven months later, but, having said that, let’s take a look at the rumor which surfaced at CrunchGear.
There are two “new” Amazon Kindles to appear for this holiday season, the first to appear in October. Given that the Kindle was released mid November 2007, I suspect it’s latter October rather than early October. The first is supposed to be the Kindle 2.0 with “same sized screen, a smaller form factor, and an improved interface”. The second is a larger Kindle, “shaped like an 8 1/2 x 11-inch piece of paper”, and due out in 2009. Both models are purported to come in more colors than the white and possibly aimed at the younger reader. E textbooks have increased 400% and thus Amazon’s marketing toward the student crowd may make perfect sense.
Generally speaking, the eink screen clarity is not going to vary from device to device because there is only one manufacturer doing eink screens at this point (due to patents). Therefore, it might make sense to the wallet to wait for an Astak ebook Reader . Astak is offering three different eink reading devices, a 5″, a 6″ and a 9.7” that features a screen size the same as an 8/5″ x 11″ sheet of paper. The 9.7″ inch has wi fi and a touch screen. Wi fi and touchscreen is optional on the 6″ and not available on the 5″ one. All three devices read the following formats: TXT, PDF, RTF, HTML/CHM; and have the ability to play MP3s. The drawback, and I think is increasingly a drawback, the device cannot read secure DRM files.
It is said that Astak is going to make its products available in Wal-mart and Costcos. Astak does have a distributor relationship with those retailers for other devices so it is a possibility. The first Astak, the 5″ one, was supposed to be on sale in August but the release date has been pushed back to October. The interesting thing about the Astek is that it runs on a Windows CE platform. Note according to the guys at MobileRead, only the larger devices will run Windows CE. The 5″ one runs on Linux. Mobipocket, Adobe, eReader, and MS Lit both had readers compatible with Windows CE. It is conceivable then, that the issue with the formats could be resolved if there was some way to install those programs on an Astak device.
There are currently several eink devices on the market:
- Kindle ($349 with cellular access * 6″ screen * MS Word, html, txt, prc and mobi (unsecured unless you know how to hack), mp3 and audible, pdf * SD card)
- Sony Reader ($299 * 6″ screen* Sony, Adobe/PDF (secure and unsecure), txt, rtf, MS word, mp3, aac * Sony Memory Stick and SD card)
- Rex Iliad ($599 or $699 with wi fi capabilities * 8.1″ Touchscreen * Mobipocket (both secure and unsecure), html, txt, pdf, mp3 * MMC or CF card)
- Cybook ($350 * 6″ screen * Mobipocket (both secure and unsecure),
PalmDoc, html, txt, pdf (unsecure), mp3 * SD card) - BeBook ($349 * 6″ screen * pdf, doc, txt, rtf, MS lit, html, djvu, chm, fb2 * SD card)
Until the Astak comes out, the Sony is the best buy for the money unless you want instantaneous access to an online bookstore (and truly that is a seductive feature) but it may make sense to wait for the Astak which is supposed to be sub $200 for the 5″ screen and comparable with the Sony Reader for the 6″ screen + wifi and touchscreen capabilities. Additionally, if the Kindle is really going to release an updated version, it makes sense to wait until October or November to see what it has up its sleeve. At the very least, if the Kindle does upgrade, you would be able to pick up a used Kindle off the secondary market for less than the current retail price. Additional Note: Angie James and I browsed through a book on both the Reader and the Kindle and the Kindle does have a slightly faster refresh rate.
What is in the future for eReading devices? e Ink appears to be the best technology for ereading so long as there is adequate lighting. Sony’s beautiful e ink reading light is a step in the right direction.
The perfect device is not immediately on the horizon is because Kindle’s instantaneous purchase ability (which is really seductive) is only possible through a) a free cellular service for each user and b) through access to online content.
It’s possible that Apple, a device manufacturer, has the ability to create a competing content + device marriage akin to the Kindle. There are rumors that Apple is bringing a mini touchpad device to market, something larger than an iPhone, has wifi and cellular capabilities, a touch screen, and an Apple OS. If that happens, a reader could obviously buy eReader books. If Apple does try to enter the ebook market, I forsee it doing it one of two ways. Either it will introduce yet another DRM wrapper into the market or go DRM free. I believe that the former is more likely.
Apple’s only other choice is to partner with an existing content provider such as Fictionwise (ereader) or Adobe. It is unlikely to be able to partner with Mobipocket as that is owned by Amazon. Apple hasn’t had a past history of partnering with content providers, instead preferring to provide its own content with its own special DRM wrapper. Having said that, a larger iPhone/iTouch is intriguing and while I am tempted by both the Kindle and the Sony with its fancy booklight, I am waiting until January to see what Apple might have up its sleeve.
I have a Kindle and an Ebookwise (and used to have an old REB 1200 and still have a NEC 790) and I have an Asus, Palm TX, and Ipod. I really miss the touchscreen capability on the Kindle when reading ebooks. I’m finding, more and more, that I prefer the touchscreen interface. It can sometimes be awkward to use, but no more than a mouse can be awkward sometimes, too.
I got the Kindle as a gift from my DH (I’m an ebook author and he felt I need an excellent ebook device on which to see my books. Can’t argue with that logic). I was tempted by the Sony and probably would have bought one had I not been given the Kindle. The instant purchase power is awesome. I’ve tried out more authors because of it than I would ever do in a bookstore (just as I’ve tried out more music because of my Ipod than I would ever do in a music store).
I’ll be curious to see what comes down the pike in the next few years. With more textbooks, etc., going digital, I think the impetus is there to expand the technology. It promises to be interesting ….
I love my Sony and don’t really miss the ability to instantly purchase at all. In all honestly, the last thing I need is the ability to purchase things instantly-that on the go impulse would have me broke. Buying for my Sony, I’m sitting at my PC, I can check out the author websites, make sure I really want the book that caught my interest, etc.
Not to mention that the Kindle doesn’t work well in all places.
But I gotta admit, the Astak’s touch screen sounds very appealing. ;)
I’m waiting for that article where you say this is the perfect device for ebook readers: BUY NOW. Otherwise, I’m throwing my hat in with Apple, too. They have the ability to create a device that can blow the Kindle out of the water.
I read somewhere that Best Buy will be selling the iPhone. I can’t help but think that with the millions of new iPhone users out there, surely, there will be more ebook readers since there is Stanza app for MAC users only, eReader app and Bookshelf app for the iPhone.
If I did buy an ebook reader today, it would be Cybook.
Thanks for this update. I am on the fence, but I don’t think I can wait until January. I hope the rumors about a new Kindle are true, because although I cannot use the wireless feature where I live (the boonies), it will work with my Macbook, which Sony’s won’t.
And yes, Best Buy will start selling the Iphone in September, although AT&T service is not 3G speed where I live, and is actually spotty at best.
Thank you for this information. I’m a MacNut and I’ve been wondering if Apple had anything at all on the works as far as eReaders go — I’ll definitely be waiting until January to see if they come up with it! Yesssss.
Jane — If Apple comes out with a device, is it likely to use the e-ink technology?
I take that back about Cybook. There’s nothing out there I want right now.
This past weekend I finally got a chance to play with the iPhone. OHMIGOD. (Yeah, I know I’m late. What else is new?) I didn’t think I’d be able to read on that small screen, but it was fine. I will definitely be waiting to see what Apple comes up with. They rarely miss and always create things that are user-friendly. Crucial for me. Besides the hubster refuses to buy anything that ISN’T Apple, so there you go.
I would find it unlikely that Apple will introduce a dedicated ebook reader, since this is what Steve Jobs had to say about the Kindle “It doesn’t matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don’t read anymore. Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year. The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don’t read anymore.” (http://tinyurl.com/yoj5mc).
Though a new device like a tablet macbook that would work as an ebook reader is certainly a possibilty. Though you would be looking at an LCD screen and not e-ink in that case.
I have been upset this year that the Panasonic Words Gear just never made it over to this side of the ocean and then they stopped production.
I liked that it was multi-function AND supported Adobe PDF DRM.
BUT Sony made a smart move recently with their eReader also supporting the Adobe PDF DRM format which was also updated by Adobe to allow flowing text and several more viewing options.
This development actually left the Kindle behind since it still only supports it’s particular flavor of DRM.
So at this point I would either purchase the Sony eReader or continue to support the iPhone and the awesome potential it has despite it’s small screen.
With the iPhone you can use the Fictionwise Reader App and then buy your books through them or you can simply buy books directly from the iTunes store and install them individually through the application area on iTunes which has even more possibilities for eBook Publishers who might not want to be limited to Fictionwise formats and delivery.
I’m thinking of purchasing the Sony eReader since it has a backlight now. I do a lot of reading at night and mostly during the day. I also have the iPhone so I think I’d be happy with them both :-)
Oh the confusion!!! I was almost ready to buy the Sony Reader. What excites me is the form factor, the new PDF reflow ability and ability to use Overdrive. I dont care about wifi cause I am not an impulse book buyer. Plus I read alot from the library and read lots of medical journals.
My other option was the iPhone. And the only reason to get the iPhone was for its ebook reading capability. I am pretty much a gadget phobe so have an ipod but only use it at home and have the cheapest cell phone and refused to get a Blackberry (because do I really NEED to be reachable all the time?). Anyway the iPhone seemed attractive cause I could read ebooks and also do other stuff. Doing Other Stuff seems important since I am not yet reconciled on blowing more than $100 on myself. But I still cant believe folk who say that reading on the iPhone is a comfortable as reading a paperback. My hope is to be able to fiddle about with it since my sister just got one for her birthday.
Anyone else want to comment- should I wait or should I go for it?
Janine - no I suspect any future Apple device would be LCD.
Trumystique - I really enjoy reading on my iPhone and when I had both the Sony Reader and the iPhone, I ended up sending my Sony to a friend (Jayne). She has read on both a small device and a larger one so she might be able to provide some perspective.
The real reason that I stopped reading on the Sony Reader was because I read most of the time in bed and could not do so with the Sony Reader without a booklight and I had a real problem finding a booklight that worked. Most booklights left a pinpoint glare on the screen that required me to maneuver the device one way or another.
The Kindle’s advantages, besides the instant on, is the ability to email one’s self and have the Kindle software (at the Amazon server) convert it and deliver it straight to the Kindle. I know, though, that this is dependent on the cellular service and when it is down or you are in an area that does not have Sprint service, the immediate access is not available to you.
It’s not that comfortable. I love reading on it, don’t get me wrong but to buy an iPhone just to read ebooks on it - er no. That’s just my opinion, others may feel differently.
I see Jane chimed in too.
I used to do most of my e-book reading on a desktop PC, with some on a pocket PC (iPAQ). This year, I bought a Cybook and love the e-ink. You’d have to pay me to read on a iPhone. I don’t care about backlighting - I don’t expect tree-books to be readable in the dark, and find gazing at a glowing thing with darkness all around to be hard on the eyes. I also like Mobipocket the best, and found that all my old (non-secure) PDF books transferred well into prc files, and they’re getting new life on my Cybook (yay).
I’m still reading ebooks on my Mac laptop, in PDF, and likely to keep doing so for now. I was lusting after an iPhone, but then the kids bought me a Blackberry for my birthday. I’m several generations behind on my iPod, but I just don’t use it that much. Not on the cutting edge of technology, me.
I firmly believe that ebooks are the future, but not until some things get settled by the marketplace. I don’t think the transition will be all that fast, either, and so I’m content to come behind the curve.
I think it is great that Jane does all this research and posts helpful updates and comparisons. It’s a fabulous service to those of us without the time, inclination or skills to figure all this out.
I don’t know if I’d be interested in it then. I really lust for something with e-ink.
Thanks Jane for this update. Great information! I just bought a Sony Reader a week or so ago and was worried that maybe I’d done it too quickly after I read your hint last week. I now feel pretty confident about my selection. I really like it despite the fact that I have a Mac (I run Windows parallel on my Mac and that’s how I transfer files).
I purchased a Mighty Bright flex light which I like a lot. I haven’t noticed a pinpoint beam and I was looking for it. Not a lot of glare and it’s about $17 bucks on Amazon. I don’t know if this is one you’ve tried yet but you might take a look at it.
It helps to be okay with my decision when my husband says, well, nobody says you can’t have more than one! (Yeah, I think I’ll keep him. Mostly I think that.)
After a lot of anguish over the options I bought a Sony in June, and I’m very happy with it. With using programs like ConvertLIT and Calibre I can buy pretty much any book I like and read it on my Sony (and they are really easy to use if you are scared, like I was). Also, with the new PDF fix I’m able to check out ebooks from the library - I have the whole Twilight series on my reader for free for three weeks. The format isn’t quite as nice as the ebooks I’ve paid for, but it’s still good, and for free I can’t complain.
As far as the light goes, I was working at a camp and reading it with my headlamp on works just fine, but the new light looks nice.
Also, until September 30th, if you buy a reader and register it at sonystyle.com, you get 100 free classics to get you started. You don’t have to buy from them either - I got mine for $200 new on, ironically, Amazon Marketplace, and was able to get the free classics as well. You can also get a lot of free books on Mobile Read too.
Not that I’m happy with my Sony or anything. ;)
I just ordered a Sony reader (finally available in the UK). It was spur of the moment, and I have a Mac, so I’m not sure it was the greatest idea, but… but I’m really excited!
Everything I’ve read on this thread is very reassuring, although largely unintelligible (the techno-speak, I mean).
Personally, I read ebooks on a Palm OS PDA. Dedicated readers are all very well, but I require color (not currently supported on eInk devices), and the ability to do other things *besides* read ebooks.
My question in which reader to buy would come down to what I wanted to read, and whether it was available in a format that reader supported.
The Kindle, for example, uses ebooks in the Mobipocket format (and amazon owns Mobipocket.) While Amazon offers superior prices on Kindle titles, you have to have a Kindle to buy them. And while the Kindle can also read Mobipocket format books from elsewhere, you can only do so with books not protected by DRM. Amazon uses a different DRM scheme than their own subsidiary, so you can’t read a DRM Mobipocket title purchased elsewhere on the Kindle (unless you want to hack and break the DRM.)
The Sony Reader handles Sony’s LRF format, and a recent firmware update adds ePub to the list, plus improvements in PDF display, but there isn’t very much currently available in ePub format, and PDFs are still problematic. Most are not created with the tagging that lets them reflow to fit a smaller device screen..
We need the dust to settle, and everyone to settle on and support a common ebook format, so we can read any title on whatever device we happen to have, and we need DRM which will let us do that.
I have about 3,500 ebooks on my device, in a variety of formats, and one strength of my solution is that I *can* read pretty much any format. The screen is smaller (320×480), and backlit LCD, but battery life is good enough to keep it going all day, it charges at night, and I’m comfortable reading on the screen.
I *don’t* buy DRM protected titles, but there is far more that I *want* to read available in unprotected form than I have time for, so I’m not really missing out on anything.
I’m staying put, thanks.
Last Thursday, I broke my ebookwise, so I’m in mourning. Currently I’m reading on my old Palm VX, but I have an Ipaq coming my way, which should do for now. I would buy the Sony, which is finally going to be available in the UK, but at £199, it’s a bit steep.
We really need that sub $100 ebook reader. I think the ebookwise still holds magic for me, but they don’t sell them in the UK, so I might opt to manage with my little Asus and my Ipaq until I get over to the US next year.
I love the screen size of the Sony but was doing just fine with the old IPAQ that Jane loaned me. However, even the IPAQ screen was larger than the iphone. I can’t imagine reading on something that small and would hate to have to flip the page or advance the text or whatever you have to do with it. Since I only used the IPAQ to read books, it wasn’t a hardship for me to go to the dedicated ereader Sony.
Midknyt, I’m like you in that I haven’t found it a hardship to find formats I can read on it. It does take longer to convert and load ebooks onto the Sony than onto the IPAQ but it doesn’t take that much extra time.
You can use the Sony with a MAC if you use non DRM’ed ebooks and an SD card. I.e., you can put an RTF or Adobe book on an SD card from your MAC and it will be recognized by the Reader.
Hi, I would love to get an ereader of some kind but, being in Australia, it seems my options are limited. Do you know what is available in Australia and, if so, what would you recommend? Is Amazon planning to release the kindle outside the US?
My bookshelves are too full and I like the idea of getting an ereader instead of new furniture!
Jane, is this bit about not being able to read DRM new?
There are whole threads over at mobileread.com about this reader. Astak’s owner has been fairly vocal over there. The last I heard, there would be two variations (of each of the 3 sizes). I can’t remember what they were naming them, but one would be able to read DRM’d eReader format, and one would be able to read DRM’d Mobipocket. They had to do it that way because Amazon will not allow DRM Mobipocket on any dedicated ebook device that shares another DRM format.
(It’s likely that Cybook will never offer the Adobe Digital Editions for that same reason).
I read ebooks on a Dell Axim 51V PDA. It does have advantages like being easy to use and working with many formats, as well as having other functions like playing music, doubling as a GPS, etc. Although I’m not really sure if that’s a plus or a minus since my significant other often borrows it to listen to music.
I’m not crazy about the size of the screen, either, so I really hear you, Jayne, when it comes to iphones and flipping pages. I find that most of the time I opt for reading paper books over ebooks because I have such a strong preference for the look and feel of paper, and I wonder whether or not e-ink would make the difference for me.
I hate to say this but I’m feeling the lure of the dark side (Kindle) since I think the ability to purchase the books when I want to read them would actually save me $$ in the long run. Right now I do most of my book shopping online and I often add books to my order to qualify for free shipping. I end up with more books than I can possibly read cluttering my home, but it gives me a very good feeling to know that I have so many books to choose from.
If I could have that same feeling of having a large selection of books right at my fignertips, as well as get books at online prices one at a time without paying for shipping or too much hassle, and then be able to read them on an e-ink device — well, it’s prettty tempting.
I have the same problem as Kaetrin…except I’m in Canada. The sony ereader was just released here in April, and that it definitely what I’m leaning to at the moment. But I find it frustrating that we still don’t have access to the Kindle. The ease and speed of the Kindle’s book buying system is extremely appealing. Hopefully (though I don’t hold out much hope due to licensing and publishing agreements) we in the great white north will see some sort of kindle soon.
I did have a question though, is there any downside to the Sony reader in terms of being in Canada? or are we Canucks still able to access all of the same content as in America?
Miki - I got the specs off the Astak website so I stand corrected on the DRM issue. I think that any device today has to be able to read a DRM’ed ebook because of the technical hoops that one has to jump through in order to read the non DRM.
For Australia, I know that there was a version of the Iliad released over there from Dymocks. Otherwise, you could get the Cybook which is actually a French manufacturer. I think that company ships worldwide.
Have no idea about the international accessibility of the Kindle.
Janine - I’ve thought all day that the Kindle might be the best for you because it wouldn’t require you to fiddle with any conversion software.
I’ve got an HP iPaq and have had one brand or another of PDAs for a few years now. One advantage of NOT having direct download like the Kindle is that I download ebooks to my desktop first before downloading to my PDA. So I always have a backup on my desktop (and on my desktop’s backup media) and it means I can just delete ebooks from my PDA when I am done (unlike my desktop, I prefer to keep my PDA clutter free). So, to me, direct download really won’t affect my purchasing decision.
However, my tired old eyes just can’t handle that little PDA screen anymore and I HATE reading off my desktop or laptop. In fact, my ebook reading is down to nothing lately. ::WHIMPER::
So it’s time for e-ink. But as it stands now, I’m holding out for an Astek with Windows CE– mainly because of the ability to read multiple formats.
MIKI and/or Jane: any word on whether Microsoft has finally given the go ahead to Astek to support .LIT files? I have hundreds (thousands?) of ebooks in .LIT. I REALLY don’t want to have to convert them to re-read them.
Barring that happy occurence (which may not matter anyhow if DRM reading capabilities aren’t supported), what software do you recommend for converting .LIT files to… uh… whatever. (GAK! I hate navigating anything but .LIT/MSReader so I don’t even know what format I’d want to convert to). I use ABC Amber to convert PDF to .LIT and it really screws it up (page breaks in the middle of the screen, hidden MSWord fields displayed). So I’m hoping to get some conversion software recs from users who are happy(ier) with their converted formats.
I am not sure why some people refer to the Kindle as “the dark side,” but I am there and loving it. I purchased my Kindle in May primarily for the e-ink technology and the ability to download books instantly, bypassing the computer completely. I am a low-level technology person and the ease of use appealed to me. I am unlike others who want a device that does all sorts of things. My biggest fear is that the Kindle will become a multifunctional, complicated device.
I love reading on my Kindle and find it awkward now when I do read a hard copy of a book. There is no eyestrain like you get on a computer. The battery lasts for days. I have been very happy with the book selection and the prices; most, but not all, of the the books I want are available in a Kindle edition. My fantasy is that any book published will be available for the Kindle. I wasn’t aware that the Sony worked with a Mac, but that is good to know. Right now, the Kindle meets my e-reading needs.
I don’t consider it a drawback to not support digital restrictions management. (And c’mon, let’s call DRM-infested files by what they really are, namely restricted, not “protected” or “secured”!)
In fact, everyone who buys DRM-restricted ebooks are collectively ruining it for everyone, and in the long run even for the whole ebook industry. If you absolutely feel that you have to buy some DRM-restricted ebooks then you should at least have the decency to crack it and upload it to some file sharing site, just to hasten the end of such anti-progress, anti-mankind shenanigans that DRM is.
Thanks Jane — I really appreciate the advice. I will definitely wait for late October to see what new Kindles Amazon has up its sleeve before I get something more.
Decency–I don’t think that word means what you think it means.
So-called “file sharing” sites deprive the authors of their royalties. In my book that’s quite far on the other side of the spectrum from “decent”
Mainly because if I understand correctly (please do correct me if I am wrong), books I purchase using the Kindle can’t be transferred to other devices. That means that if I buy a Kindle, my e-library will be dependent on Amazon and I will be married to Kindle devices as long as I want to be able to read those books I have purchased using the Kindle.
@Janine
“Mainly because if I understand correctly (please do correct me if I am wrong), books I purchase using the Kindle can’t be transferred to other devices.”
You’re correct, for titles protected by DRM. The DRM relies on a PID unique to your device. Amazon used a different DRM method than Mobipocket, so you can’t read DRM protected Mobipocket titles in the Kindle, and you can’t read titles purchased for the Kindle on anything else. They are locked to the Kindle.
This does not apply to Mobipocket format titles not protected by DRM: those can be read on anything supports the Mobipocket format, including the Bookeen Cybook reader, and PCs, Palm OS and Windows Mobile PDAs, Symbian smartphones, and Blackberries, all of which have a Mobipocket reader version available.
But yes, ebooks you buy from Amazon are locked to the Kindle, and that sort of vendor lock-in is the intent. If all you ever intend to use is a Kindle, and all of th3e content you want to read is available from Amazon, that may be acceptable to you. It’s not acceptable to me.
No, they don’t. At least not directly, and there’s plenty of evidence supporting that they don’t indirectly either. But that wasn’t my point. My point was that selling tons of DRM-infested ebooks to the public is anti-progress and anti-mankind (this isn’t the place to go into the various downsides to restricting documents, but you shouldn’t have any problem googling for it if you’re interested) and will only hurt the whole ebook industry. We really need to get the industry to stop DRM-infesting their goods if we want there to be books in the future as well. The downsides of file sharing networks (if there really would be any) are tiny compared to the downsides of DRM. So, even assuming file sharing would be bad it’d still be the lesser evil, and thus it’s the decent choice. (And here I’m not advocating file sharing non-DRM’ed books.)
@Marcus
“If you absolutely feel that you have to buy some DRM-restricted ebooks then you should at least have the decency to crack it and upload it to some file sharing site, just to hasten the end of such anti-progress, anti-mankind shenanigans that DRM is.”
That sort of action is precisely what those who impose DRM are trying to prevent, and why they impose it in the first place. By doing so, you are adding fuel to that particular fire, not helping to put it out.
Better to refuse to buy DRM protected titles, and to tell the publishers you are refusing to do so, and why. (I suggest an old-fashioned written letter, sent by snail-mail, to the CEO at the publisher. That carries a weight electronic communications don’t, even if you knew the right email address to send to.)
Exactly, and therefore we need to show them that DRM’ed ebooks get pirated MORE than non-DRM’ed ones. That convinces them more than thousands of snail-mailed letters.
That was my first suggestion. I only suggested cracking and file sharing it if you absolutely had to “buy” something DRM-restricted.
[...] a Catalyst for the Kindle? An Overview of Six E-book Readers August 18, 2008 In the latest post over at Dear Author, several e-book readers are featured in a detailed overview. They’ve done quite a nice job of [...]
@Marcus
“Exactly, and therefore we need to show them that DRM’ed ebooks get pirated MORE than non-DRM’ed ones. That convinces them more than thousands of snail-mailed letters.”
And just how do you plan to show them? Send them URLs of file sharing sites and say “See all the DRMed books of yours people have cracked and uploaded here?”
I fear all that will do is get the sites shut down and the publishers determined to come up with less crackable forms of DRM.
As I said, you don’t want to add fuel to that particular fire.
Simply refusing to buy DRMed titles doesn’t tell them anything. I doubt they have any basis on which to project what sales of an ebook title should be to wonder why sales aren’t as expected. They might fear it’s because titles have been pirated. They will not think a title that isn’t DRM protected will be less likely to be pirated. They’ll simply assume that losses to piracy are due to a desire to get something for nothing, and will bite on non-DRMed titles even more than DRM protected ones because it’s easier since DRM isn’t in the way.
Sellers learn nothing from refusal to buy their wares unless you tell them that you are refusing, and why.
They will find them on their own. It’s not exactly hard, and although the decision-makers are obviously extremely stupid there are certainly several not-so-stupid people working for them and thus it is talked about on meetings etc.
By refusing to sell non-DRM’ed ebooks they force potential customers to go to such sites and thus those potential customers will get used to getting their books for free and get familiar with easy ways to get books for free. That’s bad for the industry.
Oh, c’mon! Shut a site down and two will pop up. And “less crackable” really means nothing, since it’ll still always be easily crackable.
Sure, it helps if you tell them. I usually do it indirectly by asking them where/how I can buy some particular item without DRM-restrictions (that prevents me from reading it on my phone or making backups or whatever), and when they reply that it’s impossible I politely reply that in that case I’ll spen my money elsewhere. I’ll still read the book, though, and if it’s good I’ll even buy the paper version (just to support the author, I never actually read from paper anymore.) I’d rather send money directly to the author, but almost no authors accept such donations.
Not unless you’re willing to find the tools to hack it, anyway. I understand in certain countries, it isn’t illegal to use those tools to “format-shift”, but I guess it’s moot, since Kindle is only for sale in the U.S.
The thread - which was started by the guy at Astak, by the way - where the new readers have been introduced, discussed, updated, and described is very long, but if you’re interested, the link is here.
Sorry, Bev, but I don’t remember Microsoft LIT even being mentioned as being a choice for the Astak reader models. I remember a post where the Astak guy (Robertb) said they’ve been trying to get information from Adobe about it’s Digital Editions, but Adobe hadn’t been replying timely (or something like that).
Interesting. That’s basically the answer he gave me about Microsoft too. After Jane’s first mention of Astak a few months ago, I sent them an email begging them to consider .LIT support. In his reply, RobertB said that they had approached Microsoft a few times about working together but that Microsoft tends to consider these things slowly and had yet to give them a yes or no. He also said he was forwarding my email to TPTB at Microsoft.
The thing is, when I first started purchasing ebooks, I selected .LIT format and MSReader because I figured, since it was Microsoft, it would always be supported. But now it’s ironic that if Microsoft wants to keep their .LIT format relevent, they are going to have to start playing nice with the producers of e-ink readers or there is a good chance that .LIT will become a dinosaur.
@Marcus
“And just how do you plan to show them? Send them URLs of file sharing sites”?
They will find them on their own. It’s not exactly hard, and although the decision-makers are obviously extremely stupid there are certainly several not-so-stupid people working for them and thus it is talked about on meetings etc.
Maybe. I live in NYC. Most of the folks I hang out with are connected with publishing. I know a little about the industry and the thought processes.
Bear in mind that most major publishers are part of larger entertainment conglomerates, who have movies, TV, and music as well as books as part of the content they produce. The corporate parents will think in terms of what they perceive as the state of the music and film industry: savaged by piracy. They will not see removing DRM as a solution.
Consider the leading example of offering offering commercial titles without DRM protection: Baen Books, with their Webscriptions program. Baen’s paper books are manufactured and distributed by Simon and Schuster, but Baen is an independent. The late Jim Baen could decide DRM was an impediment and not impose it because he wasn’t answerable to a corporate parent.
Tor Books CEO Tom Doherty was an old friend and former boss of Jim’s. He saw what Baen was accomplishing with Webscriptions, and cut a deal with Baen to offer Tor content through the Webscriptions program. Unfortunately, Tor is not an independent. They are a unit of Holtzbrink, and the deal was canceled after it had been announced by Tor and Baen when someone in Holtzbrink discovered Webscriptions does not use DRM and pulled the plug.
Holtzbrink has subsequently gotten a new CEO who is reportedly opposed to DRM, and the deal might be on again, once the lawyers finish hashing out details. But even then, Holtzbrink is a “pure play” in publishing, and not part of a media conglomerate.
“By refusing to sell non-DRM’ed ebooks they force potential customers to go to such sites and thus those potential customers will get used to getting their books for free and get familiar with easy ways to get books for free. That’s bad for the industry.”
Nope. The vast majority of the market doesn’t do that. Many won’t know how, and even many of those who do will prefer not to. Too much of what is out there on the darknet requires more work to put into a form readable on whatever device you might use, even assuming you have the tools to do it.
“I fear all that will do is get the sites shut down and the publishers determined to come up with less crackable forms of DRM.”
Oh, c’mon! Shut a site down and two will pop up. And “less crackable” really means nothing, since it’ll still always be easily crackable.
And everybody will be able to find the two new heads of the hydra after you’ve cut off one? Consider all the folks buying Kindles and getting content from the Kindle store, or the folks buying Sony Readers and patronizing Sony Connect. Do you suppose all, or even most, of them are sophisticated enough to go find file sharing sites? I don’t.
Granted, DRM will always be crackable. But all the time spent trying to come up with new, less crackable forms is time the content isn’t offered without DRM in the first place.
“Sellers learn nothing from refusal to buy their wares unless you tell them that you are refusing, and why.
Sure, it helps if you tell them. I usually do it indirectly by asking them where/how I can buy some particular item without DRM-restrictions (that prevents me from reading it on my phone or making backups or whatever), and when they reply that it’s impossible I politely reply that in that case I’ll spen my money elsewhere. I’ll still read the book, though, and if it’s good I’ll even buy the paper version (just to support the author, I never actually read from paper anymore.) I’d rather send money directly to the author, but almost no authors accept such donations.”
The authors usually aren’t set up to accept donations, and might incur the ire of their publishers if they did, so no surprise.
I still buy and read a lot of paper volumes, and expect to continue to do so. For me, ebooks are an additional format for books, and not a replacement for paper volumes.
But bottom line, cracking DRM protected books and uploading them to file sharing sites won’t cause the demise of DRM. The folks who wish to see DRM imposed don’t think that way, and may not be capable of thinking that way.
Right now, the biggest problem with ebooks is simply getting more publishers to offer them at all. The last thing you want to do is perform actions that make them wonder if they really want to offer content so easily pirated, and whether they should just stick to paper editions.
LAM
I am in Canada and broke down and bought the sonyyreader a few weeks ago (love it). Had to order it as nowhere had any stock, and it is only being sold at sonystyle stores at the moment. As to content, I have had only one book come up as availible to US buyers only, and when I went back to check it the next day, suddenly I could buy it, so I did. Also, it seems you can only buy in US $.
Great, thanks for the info Helen.
I’m sure somewhere in all that tech-talk it was mentioned, but which readers, if any, support Adobe DE? Cause that’s what my eLibrary is, primarily.
It’s great to see these devices getting more notice. I love my ebook reader, and wouldn’t be without it now. If anyone’s interested in seeing the BeBook from a technical perspective, I have a review on my blog which has a video showing it’s features.
http://pookey.co.uk/blog/archives/61-BeBook-review.html
Marcus, you have to explain that particular bit of wisdom (file sharing sites not depriving authors of their royalities). So hundreds of readers download a copy of a book from a file-sharing site, the author gets no royalities for these hundreds of copies, and you think it’s not affecting the author directly? Oh please.
Besides, the pirated books that you find on file-sharing sites aren’t only formerly DRM-protected books, but also non-DRM ones and even those which have never been published in a digital format.
Copying something does not affect the original (or anything related to it) directly pretty much by definition. In your example the author is obviously no worse off whether those hundreds of readers downloaded copies or not. That is, the action of downloading a copy does not directly affect the author. (In fact, the author might be better off (indirectly) if people did read his/her book without paying royalties than if they didn’t read the book at all.)
(Please, stop calling restricted books “protected”. They are restricted, not protected. Calling them “protected” is simply newspeak-like propaganda.)
Here I haven’t been advocating file-sharing non-DRM-restricted books. If you find a book that you like on some file-sharing network I urge you to first check whether it’s available in an unrestricted format from some legal source before resorting to downloading it from the file-sharing network.
When it comes to books that have never been published in a digital format I suggest you get the paper version, at least if you like reading from paper. (I don’t, though, so I either get the digital version or no version at all.)
That’s acceptable as long as they get through their thick skulls that DRM isn’t a solution either.
Right now it’s not very easy, but it gets easier all the time. And people learn. I’ve seen old, non-technical people download audiobooks from the pirate bay quite successfully. Just because the vast majority of the market doesn’t do it now doesn’t mean it’d stay that way if the publishers keep abusing their customers. When the demand goes above a certain threshold something like napster will surface and then the game is pretty much lost, or at least ruined for a long time. Once people get the taste for getting something for free it’s hard to get them used to paying for it again.
Yes. Once it’s popular the word of mouth (including the google “mouth”) will always spread much faster than the industry’s tries to cut off those ever increasing hydra heads.
The sooner we get people to realize that there is no uncrackable (or even hard-to-crack) form of DRM the sooner they will stop using DRM to try to restrict normal usage.
Well, I disagree. They will notice that their DRM isn’t working. They might try some other DRM, even ten different ones, but eventually they will realize that their DRM wet dream just won’t work in real life.
They really have no choice but to go digital and DRM-less. They could try to stop publishing digitally, but then people would continue to OCR like they do now. And keep in mind that not everyone has to know how to crack DRM or scan+OCR a book. It’s enough if one person does and then spreads the unrestricted copies to all who can’t.
I took a few deep breaths. That’s hundreds of copies for which I’m not receiving royalties. We ebook authors do not get a lump sum, in the form of an advance, we get paid per number of copies sold. It’s a percentage.
If the book is stolen and reproduced, we get nothing. It sounds as if you aren’t aware of that.
It will eventually come back and bite you in the bum. I know of at least three authors who have given up writing anything, because, despite their promotional efforts and other investments, they’ve been losing money and selling very few books. There are many more who are doing the same. And publishers watch sales numbers too, and will drop an author who is failing to perform. Since they don’t count thefts, that will affect an author, too.
Eventually, if piracy gets out of hand, that will increase and you’ll have fewer authors to choose from, whether you buy the book or steal it.
I dislike DRM, but I dealt with it by writing to the publishers, and saying why I wouldn’t be buying any more of their books. Because at the time I had an ebookwise, which works on a proprietory format, and so DRM books were useless to me.
Uploading it to a pirate site puts you on the wrong side of the law and forces the author to reconsider her career. It will continue to happen.
Marcus, any form of book piracy is stealing. It’s as plain as that. Don’t try to make it into anything else.
And not downloading those copies is also the same hundreds of copies for which you’re not receiving royalties.
Exactly, which is why the industry SHOULD NOT be pushing potential customers to download books illegally. But it does, as long as there are no legal ways to buy non-DRM’ed ebooks. Now when people just got their new kindles and sony readers and whatnot people haven’t yet been bitten by the moronic DRM-restrictions a lot, but once they do they certainly won’t accept it for long.
Sandra, how is your Cybook doing? A friend of mine bought one, loved it then ran into problems with it and couldn’t get any help from the support people so she had to end up ditching it. Luckily she had bought it with a credit card and got reimbursed from them for the purchase.
May we add the Ganaxa GeR2, one of the first Vizplex on the market, delivering since september 2007 10 editions a day of the financial French newspaper Les Echos, now adding wireless support with the SFR e-book platform?