OUGD601 // Dissertation // Podcast notes

Future of E-books - wired.co.uk - 24th November - Nate Lanxon

Sell unlimited copies for nothing, consumer demand for the e-books, concept was interesting when first released but was a disappointment.

could be used outside because of e-ink, readable outdoors, lots of books could be accessed and read because of this.

battery life would mean they could last for weeks. Never short of books to read. Always ones there to suit a mood / genre

single use device - much like mp3 player. tablet more favoured because it was trend - materialistic.

£100 for e-reader compared to £500 tablet - e-reader perfect for those who just want to read, nothing else.

E- ink - tiny balls of pixels - screen built up of different greys and blacks - only uses to power to change these pixels to the new screen and new images.

have to buy a device to read a ebook, why not just go buy the printed book.

compare to renting a library book

to use the e-readers need internet which means having it set up like a phone contract

kindle is number seller of e-readers

ebooks - 8.5% book sales

buy used books instead of new, so why do you need a kindle. You cant sell books on e-reader - no resell value.

e-books cost the same as hardback, but why when they are just a digital copy which costs nothing to reproduce. This is because they are still a product and still have to make money from it in some way. This leads to publishers loosing sales.

commercial side to be viable - contracts? - platform support make all e-books be used across different platforms.

Demand for e-books is greater now. There is still a long way to go before they take over print. Prefer reading from a book rather than a device. E-reader have no environmental issues compared to print and can be used in all environments. The portability of a e-reader is a advantage, along with being able to hold more than one book at one time, this is why consumer demand is so high.
Digital copies of a book out run a hardback copy, but paperback still exceeds digital, having the upper hand on all sales. Devices need more development to make them overtake the tangible nature of the printed book.