The future of eBooks: A perfect storm product

Various eBooks on the market

Forty years ago, Michael Hart laid the groundwork for eBooks with Project Guttenberg¹. What began as a small non-profit endeavor to provide books to the masses has since blossomed into a multibillion dollar industry. While eBook technology has made great strides in its brief history, it should be noted that eBooks are still in their infancy compared to other technologies.

Where do eBooks stand today?

Current eBooks are still trying to find that perfect combination of looks, inner-workings and functionality. This search has lead to two very different sets of technology: eBooks based on electronic ink, seen in devices like Amazon’s Kindle; or LCD-based readers in the vein of Apple’s iPad.

There are more eBooks on the market using electronic ink than LCD technology. As previously mentioned, this technology differs from your laptop or desktop in a number of ways.

Flexible display in action

Flexible Displays

The first difference is noticed in its casing. eBooks use what is called a flexible display, which is similar to paper in a variety of ways. Flexible displays are thin, light-weight and extremely durable. The display also presents content differently in that it relies electronic ink to form words and images instead of pixels².

Electronic Ink

Electronic ink can be applied to the same materials that regular ink can be printed on. In the form of a digital book, the ink is within the millions of microcapsules of the flexible display³. Each microcapsule is wired to microelectronics that apply either a positive or negative charge to the microcapsule to create the desired text or image³.

Alternate technical illustration of electronic ink. First one can be found in "What makes eBooks so darn special?" blog.

Compared to LCD screens, electronic ink allows for roughly twice the resolution, better visibility in sunlight, and requires much less energy². However, there are some downsides to this technology.

LCD-based displays are known for their vivid use of color and ability to display motion graphics. Despite explorations in the world of color⁴, electronic ink is currently only able to show content in blue and white³. And due to the slow refresh rate of electronic ink, it’s unable to present quality motion graphics⁴.

The video above is an example of how motion graphics currently display using electronic ink.

Implications of eBooks in the book industry

As eBooks become more affordable and accessible, many publishers share a growing concern that the book industry may be in jeopardy. But there are some publishers that welcome the change.

While newspaper and magazine publishers may wait around for the technology to standardize, publishers like Penguin Books can shape the industry to their liking by participating in the development of eBooks⁵.

Penguin Books sees this new technology as an opportunity rather than a constraint. John Makinson, CEO of Penguin Books, has recently been quoted as saying, “The definition of the book itself is up for grabs⁵.” Aside from willingly publishing digital content, Penguin Books is also launching their own applications as supporting content for their products⁵.

eBooks of the future

An idea of what eBooks might look like 10-15 years from today.

While sales for eBooks have been steadily increasing, it was the iPad that has dominated the market – selling over two million devices in 60 days⁷. And while the iPad uses LCD-based technology rather than electronic ink, its popularity indicated that media convergence is a desired, if not necessary, trait in today’s world.

If you look at the marketplace, people are already reading eBooks on their iPhones and listening to music on their eBooks⁶. But current eBook technology limits the media it can distribute. In the future I envision an electronic ink/LCD hybrid that utilizes the best traits of both worlds. This single future device may even replace all other technologies, resulting in a perfect storm product.

The future is on the horizon, and we’re just seeing a glimpse of it.

Sources:

1. ^”eBooks.” Wikipedia, 19 Apr. 2010. Web.
2. ^Woodford, Chris. “Electronic Books.” Explain That Stuff!.” Apr. 09 2010. Web.
3. ^Bonsor, Kevin. “How Electronic Ink Works.” How Stuff Works. Discovery, 2010. Web.
4. ^Springmann, Alessondra. “Color E-ink: Electrowetting Brings Color and Video to E-book Reader Screens.” PC World. PC World Communications, Inc., Apr. 23 2010. Web.
5. ^Weir, David. “How the Future of eBooks is Up for Grabs.” BNET (15 Mar 2010). Web. 24 May 2010.
6. ^Enderle, Rob. “The Future of eBooks: Flexible Screens and Beyond.” Digital Trends (15 Dec 2009): 1-2. Web. 24 May 2010.
7. ^Kumar, Mathew. “iPad Sells Two Million in Sixty Days, Outpacing iPhone’s Launch.” 1UP. UGO Entertainment, 01 Jun 2010. Web. 2 Jun 2010.

Meet the Kobo, Borders first forray into the eBook market

The Kobo reader

While they may be months behind some competitors, and years behind Amazon, Borders has entered the eBook market with the Kobo and the launching of its eBook Store.

Weighing no more than eight ounces and measuring 4.7 inches by 7.2 inches, the Kobo is lighter and smaller than its Kindle rival¹, while matching its 6 inch e-ink display². The reader has 1GB of memory¹ with a bonus SD slot for additional storage². The Kobo supports Epub, PDF and Adobe’s DRM formats¹, and comes preloaded with 100 ‘classic’ books, which is more than any reader on the market³.

Currently available for pre-order, the Kobo retails for $149.99². This makes the Kobo the cheapest reader on the market, roughly $100 cheaper than the Kindle. The only other reader that comes close to this – at a rumored price of  $199.99 – is the Sony Pocket Reader, which has yet to hit stores³.

What makes the Kobo so inexpensive?

The Kobo is a pretty bare bones reader. Most significant to critics is its lack of 3G wireless and WiFi accessibility – meaning that instead of wirelessly purchasing your books, you have to hook the device up directly to your PC, or through Bluetooth, to download them or from the proposed “Area-e ™ boutiques” at Borders locations³.

The trend in mobile devices has been to offer users independence from computers, while this device makes the computer key to its operation¹. But according to the data supplied from Apple’s iBook Store, and interpreted by PaidContent, even the “most passionate early adopters and profligate media spenders […] don’t buy books very often”³. With this information in mind, it seems as though the addition of WiFi and 3G are merely an unnecessary price premium for other devices on the market³.

On a technical level, the Kobo is a good entry-level reader. If anything, the Kobo’s low price point will serve as a means of attracting people originally put off by the high price tag of the many other readers on the market. In a market were all the readers look generally the same, the price will be the most important factor consumers consider, which may result in a ripple effect caused by the Kobo.

While I highly doubt readers such as the Kindle will do away with their wireless capabilities, I do suspect that many eBook companies will lower their prices in an attempt to attract possible audiences. Hopefully these companies won’t lower their prices at the expense of new developments in their field.

Source(s):

1. ^Dickter , Adam. “Borders Enters Hot & Heavy E-Book Market with Kobo.” Wireless News. Top Tech News, 08 May 2010. Web. 11 May 2010.
2. ^Robbins, Kathryn. “Borders hopes the Kobo can cut the Kindle to pieces.” Tainted Green. N.p., 07 May 2010. Web. 11 May 2010.
3. ^Dannen, Chris. “Borders’ Newest E-Book Reader: How the Kobo Could Still Win the Race.” BNET, 10 May 2010. Web. 11 May 2010.