This week PW announced the price for the long-awaited, long-anticipated Sony Reader. I confess, I tend to be more enthusiastic about this product than the average person. I've been lurking in a Sony Group, so as not to miss any of the gossip. I've spent hours online trying to learn about its Japanese counterpart. Why? It's my opinion that the entire market is about to change, like music did with MP3 players.
So I am dying to know what you guys think. I've heard predictions that the product is doomed to fail , while I'm certain it's going to revolutionize publishing.
Here are some of my thoughts:
1.) I love that you can take ten books or more on vacation. Do I need ten books or more on vacation? Absolutely.
2.) I have waited a year and three months to read Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian because it's not available in paperback until October 3rd (yes, I know the exact date.) I just spent over $50 on fiction in Barnes and Noble, and even though The Historian is at the top of my 'wish list,' I was not willing to pay $25.95 for the hardcover. If publishers are willing to convey the savings to me (as in they have no printing cost, no shipping, and whatever else is saved) I am willing to read on a device. And, if I love the book (Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell,) I'll most likely go out and buy the real version as well.
3.) As a writer, don't we all dread people passing around novels? While I might not hesitate to share a book, there's no way I'm going to lend out my $350 Sony Reader. This has potential to increase sales.
4.) Recently, a woman told me that she only buys e-books because she can't see print like she used to. She told me about an online group of senior citizens who read e-books and discuss them. Why only e-books? They make the font larger and see the words. I imagine there's a good-sized market here.
5.) Editors, agents, reviewers, and authors ought to love this--we can take Word documents and read them on the Reader. Reviewers won't have to wait for the galley that the publisher won't have to pay for. I'd be able to download all my campaigns into memory stick and read them quicker. Imagine how compact a slush pile could become.
I've spent some time this afternoon talking to a Sony customer rep. I've learned quite a bit about the Sony Reader and am expecting more information soon. While we wait for that…. What do you guys think?
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Thursday, September 28, 2006
The Rumblings of Revolution
No matter how wonderful this may seem, there is absolutely nothing that replaces the feel of a book in my hands. This just doesn't do it for me! Reading it off the screen computer is definately not the same.
ReplyDeleteI'd have to agree with that. Though I'm slow to embrace change sometimes, so maybe I'd come around. I do like the feel of a book that's for sure. Thanks Jess. This was interesting.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE ebooks because I can take so many of them in my PDA. I absolutely love how this reader allows people to read Word documents. How cool is that? I can see how an editor would like this--instead of a stack of manuscripts, she can download the attachments from her email and browse through a bunch of them on the train ride home.
ReplyDeleteCamy
I've got to agree with your comments about larger fonts.
ReplyDeleteI often browse my local bookstore but put most books back on the shelves because I can't read the text comfortably. I read only large print books from my local library but the number of titles available is very limited.
E-books are a wonderful solution to this problem and the new e-ink technology is what I have been waiting for.
I can see the good and bad of this product. I'm wondering how the screen will read in bright light. Like taking a laptop outside to the park, you have to find a darker, shady spot so you can see the screen.
ReplyDeleteI do know, however, that this is the future the publishing world has been talking about for many years. It was maybe about 10 years ago, I was listening to a publisher go on about the future of ebooks and how they would be creating wonderful readers that can fit in a pocket and so on.
They have finally made it.
But, I'm with Gina about the love of holding a book. I also know it's hard to read a small computer screen. I'm sure this will take some time, but if they want it to work, they'll figure all those little bugs out until like the ipods everyone is wanting one.
God Bless.
I have mixed feelings on this. I agree that such a reader would be GREAT for work purposes and I'd be willing to use one for that -- but for personal reading, I want the book in my hands. I spend too much time on a computer as it is to want to do my novel-reading on there too. I figure every bit I'm reading something that's not on a computer-type screen, I'm saving my eyes a bit of strain.
ReplyDeleteHey, I'm talking with Sony again (hopefully today) and I'll ask about the brightness of the screen. If anyone else has more questions... Please post them here. I thought of another GREAT reason as to why I support this Reader. Think of how many titles DO NOT make it on the shelves of bookstores because there isn't room. This eliminates that problem.
ReplyDeleteI saw an older, balding man at the store the other day. He wore a T-shirt that stretched over his potbelly. On it was a picture of a big old record and the words, "Vinal Rules." That'll be me as far as books are concerned. I love having books- stacks of them. By the time I'm old I expect to have no visible wall space left for all the books stacked floor to ceiling. But I'd USE the reader- on trips, at the beach, etc. Just wouldn't want it to REPLACE books. Imagine busting your butt trying to get published for years and then the final product isn't even something you can hold in you hand and flip the pages of? You need something with a front page you can sign at book signings, right?
ReplyDeleteI'm with Janet--I might use such a product occassionally, but never to replace my books. I love libraries, where I'm surrounded by books. I love perusing a used bookstore. I love to stop after a really good passage or scene, hold my finger in the place between the pages, and stare into space enjoying the experience I've just had with words on the page.
ReplyDeleteLet's face it. I'm a bibliophile. And while the thought of taking more books on vacation makes me giddy, I'm not sure it would be the same without the books themselves!
Well I admit up-front that I'm biased against Sony, burned by them a few times in the past.
ReplyDeleteNote that you can't actually read word documents as a word document on the reader (from their help page):
"Word file (.doc file extension)
Word file is opened by launching Microsoft Word from CONNECT Reader, but cannot be read directly on CONNECT Reader. Word files can be opened only if Microsoft Word is installed on your computer.
Note:Word files will be automatically converted into RTF files during transfer to Sony Reader or a memory card. Word files are converted into RTF files during transfer only if Microsoft Word is installed on your computer."
But backing up a bit and trying to be objective... This does seem intriguing. I don't know if I"m ready to pay $350 for just a reader as of yet. And will have to see how prices for actuall books work out (from a quick scan looks to be anywhere from $3 to $20 for a single book, with a lot of book sets in the $12 range...looking in the sci-fi&fantasy section of course). Which is the part I like best.
I don't expect the extra memory cards to be very affordable either. Which would be my main question. Will they be going with SD cards for expandable memory or with they be proprietary memory cards (I'm expecting the latter).
Also ask what happens if you suffer data loss, will you need to buy the books again? (I know, if you lose a hard-copy of a book you have to buy it again, but people tend to view electronic files differently.)
Ok i'll stop ranting now. :)
Everyone who keeps grumbling about how terrible it is to read on a computer screen will be pleased to know that the Sony Reader actually does NOT USE LCD (computer screen) technology.
ReplyDeleteSony Reader uses something called "E-Ink." What does this mean? It means that the ink is meant to duplicate the same image the way light hits a *real* book page.
And what does that mean? It means no eyestrain (well, the same eyestrain you'd get from a regular paperback book). Eyestrain when reading on computers has to do with the letters being lit up by a backlight. This doesn't happen with this unit because it doesn't have a backlight. Side by side to a "real book," the image looks remarkably similar.
Another benefit to senior readers is the ability to get large-print fonts at the touch of a button. Try that with your latest Grisham paperback.
Before you knock it, get all the facts. You might even like it. :)
Wayne, I'm with you! My sloooow dial-up is taking me to the Sony site right now--oh, there it is! Got to go see what this thing look likes!
ReplyDeleteLong live paper books! :)
I don't particularly like reading on a screen. It isn't the same somehow. Although I'll admit to liking audio books, but I'm way too tied to my laptop as it is. If I added a reader screen to the mix, I'd be crosseyed I think.
ReplyDeleteDoes that mean I'm getting too old? :o)
Besides, ebooks don't have a scent and I love the smell of books. I'm wierd, but the first thing I do with a book is fan its pages and smell it.
Come on - I'm not alone. I KNOW there are more of you out there - I've seen you in B&N. You know who you are ...
I can relate, Ane. I don't smell the page, but I do like to have a quick taste before I decide to buy a novel. I can't tell you how many paper-cuts my tongue has suffered.
ReplyDeleteI've said too much again, haven't I?
I love technology, but I would still prefer an actual book with pages. God help me if this Sony thing takes off and bookstores become scarce - that's my therapy. Relaxing in a bookstore. I think maybe most book lovers are a little old fashioned/romantic/sentimental when it comes to books. Books are a form of art - we woulnd't want to carry our paintings around on a little computer to view.
ReplyDeleteThis is really cool. Though I love "real" books I can see all kinds of good in the electronic variety. BTW, my devotional books are available FREE in pdf format. Just email me.
ReplyDelete:)Marci