And here comes The Kindle

Amazon has finally announced its Kindle ereader is available to customers outside the US including Australia. For US$279 you can order your Kindle and they'll ship it to you from 19 October. I imagine there won't be a lot of Australian content available for us, as local publishers have been relatively slow to get behind ebooks. Allen & Unwin and Pan Macmillan are two notable exceptions thanks to Elizabeth Weiss and Victoria Nash respectively. These two publishing leaders continue to promote the digital agenda and I don't know what the local industry would do without them!

Mind you, I had to laugh when I read that Don Grover, CEO of Dymocks, spoke about the take-up of devices being driven by content. They were the first retailer to get on the ebook bandwagon (we library suppliers having gotten on it some years back...). But now the ebook kiosk at Dymocks tells a sad, sorry tale. Dismantled and hidden away at the back of the store, it failed to attract a wider audience. Of course it would! If you want to buy an ebook you don't need to go into a bricks and mortar bookshop. That's the beauty of it! Hop online and a few clicks of the button later you have your content. Also, apparently Dymocks sold thousands of Iliads. Ahem. Thousands? A contact at the distributor advised the real figure was much less but don't let us stop you upselling the demand and promoting the uptake of ereaders! We all know it's the future so get your e-reader today folks. Of course you can't get much content but hey, here's a device that you'll enjoy carrying around with you!

And then, of course, there was this beauty from Don: ‘We're finding consumers like the wide screen of a laptop computer instead', he said. No kidding! Didn't we see that all along? Ereaders are great but at the end of the day readers will read on whatever device they use the most - their phone, their laptop, their ereader. Dymocks started the ball rolling but I really do hate to see them drop it.

And for those who have been following this blog: for the record, I'm still reading printed books! However I've got plenty of content (mainly US sourced) on the Sony e-reader. This is the first year I will be taking the device with me to the Frankfurt Book Fair and I must say I'm excited and nervous at the same time. Excited because there's around 46 books currently on the reader, including Audrey Niffenegger's new one Her Fearful Symmetry and nervous in case I have trouble charging the bugger and find I have nothing to read but German magazines I'll pick up while I'm there. My German's good, but not that good!

Oh, and before I sign off this post - perhaps in the months ahead people will stop asking me "oh is that a Kindle" every time I take out the e-reader. No it's bloody not a Kindle. It's a SONY!

Sony Sony Sony

Well, it's in cyberspace. Sony has two new e-readers ready to launch in the US market. The PRS 300 ebook reader will sell for $199. That undercuts Amazon by $100. The larger PRS 600 will have the touchscreen and will sell for $299. I still think it's hysterical that documents relating to the manufacturing of the e-readers were available on the internet prior to the announcement! It was a terrible secret really. Unfortunately the forthcoming e-readers still don't have wireless capability, so Amazon's Kindle still has that key selling point.

From what I can gather, the PRS 300"pocket" version has a five-inch (12.7cm) screen which is smaller than Kindle and other competitors. This smaller version won't play mp3 files, there is no slot for a memory card. I believe it's designed to hold 350 books.

The PRS-700 will be replaced by the PRS-600. The 600 will have the same six-inch screen as but not the built-in light. As you know from my previous review of the PRS-700, the light chews up battery. Steve Haber, president of Sony's Digital Reading Business Division, has confirmed that removing the light will also correct some screen clarity problems it has caused.

The second bit of news was the repricing of their ebook content to $9.99 to match Amazon. Personally, I didn't care about the $11.99 price point - or even dearer - because if I want the content I will pay for it. (The only thing I have to consider is the price conversion to Australian dollars!) I don't have a Kindle, I rarely use Amazon (afterall I have access to an extensive book database day in and day out with my job), and I'm interested in what is available in ebook format through the Sony ebook site. To me, the difference of $2.00 was irrelevant. And I definitely don't give a rat's arse about 4cents, which I believe is the difference between Amazon's Kindle books and Barnes & Nobles new ebooks. Everyone is trying to outdo everyone else!

On the local front I keep hearing mixed messages from Sony re releasing them here. A Marketing Director for a major trade publisher advised they were planning to launch them in September, albeit a soft launch due to the lack of content available in ebook format from local trade publishers at present. I'd assume they'd be looking at the new e-readers? Who knows...

My own enquiries to Sony have received somewhat automoted and impersonal responses. When I responded to the initial correspondence, I received "We have not been updated on any future release dates. This is why we cannot supply you with any particular information. To be honest, we are unsure as to whether the e-book reader will be released in Australia, simply because our head office has not informed us of this." Ah customer service vs customer demand.

It will be interesting to see whether Sony makes any waves in Australia. There are quite a number of ebook readers available now. We hear about a new device every other day and of course everyone always mentions iTunes and the Stanza application as being the focus. Alternatively I hear publishers discuss smart laptops and the Apple iTablet. Who knows where this market will go? It's a moving target in many ways and that also makes it exciting.

The long-awaited Hanlin Review

The poor Hanlin e-reader hasn't been used much in recent times. Once the Sony PRS-700 arrived, it was dropped like a hot potato! I'm finding the Hanlin very difficult to pick up again after the touchscreen experience of the Sony - I keep hitting the screen only to remember I have to ENTER the number of the book I want! Having to enter a number to either bring up a book or even perform a function is a little out-dated I must say. In addition, the menu structure needed work. The ebooks menu, for example, would take you to another menu that appeared by format of the book. I don't recall whether a book is in mobipocket, EPUB or pdf format so I found this functionality useless. Once connected to the laptop, I reworked all the files so it came down to two basic structures - audio and ebook - and I filed everything in alphabetical order. That way when I wanted to read Bram Stoker's Dracula (yes I loaded the file on this device as well) I didn't have to remember what menu it was in. Drove me nuts one day trying to find an ebook I was reading because I didn't know what the original format was nor what menu it was hiding in! In addition, the User Manual on the device and the one that was in the box were poorly written. The translation to English really hasn't worked and you are often left to figure it out for yourself! Some of the other problems with the Hanlin include the blank pages between page changes - they are more obvious/longer than the Sony, the Go to Page function is very poor, as is searching across an ebook. God forbid you lose your page! If it doesn't open at the page you left it at, trying to find your position is a nightmare. You can't scan across like the Sony or do a text search. It doesn't have a keyboard to search on! On a positive note, one of the features I like is the ability to actually change the font. On other devices you can change the size, but the Hanlin lets you choose most times between an Arial or a Times face. The crispness of the text on the screen is better than the Sony. It's stronger. Both of the devices have a long battery life - except the Sony if you use the backlight. Don't use it folks! It drains really fast. The Hanlin doesn't have one, and that's probably a good thing. All in all, the Hanlin reads ok as a basic device, the functionality is no frills, very simple and outdated in many respects. I link it to the Mobipocket ebook portal and I think that works well when reading on the computer as well. It has a lot more functionality than the Sony portal. If only the content was better I'd be a little happier. To compare content go to mobipocket (and check out the Best of on the RHS) and then go to Sony - do you see what I mean???!!!!

Getting inspiration from an industry man I admire

I was happy to pick up this comment from Mike Shatzkin on the Idea Logical blog. He was referring to an article in the Wall Street Journal regarding Sourcebooks and delaying ebook releases:

"My quote, by the way, was to the effect that ebook readers and print book readers are increasingly separate markets, which I believe to be true but cannot prove. A C-level friend at a large house disagrees with me, as I’m sure many others do, and my evidence on this is highly anecdotal (including myself: I have read one printed book of the 50 or so I’ve read in the past 18 months.) But my friend would have no more evidence than I to support his contrary position, so publishers will have to make decisions without really knowing, for now, whether they can push a Kindle or Shortcovers or Ereader consumer back to paper by denying or delaying a book."

Mike is a man I admire. I've heard him speak several times and he makes unbelievable sense! The more I read and breathe ebooks, the more I believe they will be separate markets for publishers. Some readers will definitely migrate to a new way of reading and storing content, whether it be on the iPhone, the laptop, an e-reader - the format is for the consumer to decide. And by opening up technology, a new generation is likely to appear. Whether it's the print or the electronic, there are limitations with all formats. The reading experiences will vary. I believe many people true to the printed book will stay that way. And I think the e-reader invites a new reader onboard.

Personally I see the ebook reader as being a wonderful companion when travelling - airports, planes, hotel rooms. Lots of choice at my finger tips (and hopefully the ability to recharge the battery when I need to!) However I don't see it as a wonderful companion when I'm soaking in the tub after a long day travelling and the thought of having the battery run out along the way would be awful. It's my mobile phone and digital camera nightmares all over again!

For the rest of the world, I'm excited for students, for busy professionals, the publishing industry. In many ways e-readers present solutions. But for others, they may be just another gadget that gets used in the early days and put aside later. Who knows? Maybe it will come full circle...

A ramble on the EPUB format

As you know from my recent post regarding Random House Australia and their free Wil Anderson ebook offer, I'm a fan of standards for ebooks. Having sat in Supply Chain meetings at Frankfurt and London Book Fairs for the past few years, I'm all for reducing confusion in the marketplace, working to industry standards, and keeping costs of conversions down for publishers. The EPUB format is the one preferred by industry representatives, as it's a natural progression from the PDF - already core to the publishing process. Adobe Digital Editions, the home of EPUB files, is also Sony friendly. Or so I thought....

On the Adobe Digital Editions site, they also offer a few free ebooks to download. Now a few of you may laugh after my recent Twilight ramblings, but I thought I'd return to the classics and Bram Stoker's Dracula was there for the taking. I had already picked it up on the free Mobipocket portal as it is one of the classics readily available through Project Gutenberg. Unfortunately Mobipocket isn't Sony friendly - I can read books stored there on the Hanlin, but not on my preferred Sony e-reader.

Getting Dracula into Adobe Digital Editions was easy peasy (click click) and once I'd hooked up the e-reader to the computer, getting it downloaded to the reader itself was a piece of cake (drop drag). So far so good, but then the read commenced and once again the format distorted on the e-reader. I understand that is one of the challenges of ebooks so I simply tried to change font size and view. In the end I went back to my standard view. The reading experience has been okay to date but every couple of page turns, the text disappears and I have to skip through a blank page. Alternatively half way down the page the text distorts. You get used to it. But it really isn't ideal. It makes you understand why the proprietary formats exist and that unfortunately one size does not fit all.

What's wrong with ebook readers

Where do I begin? Yes, I'm a newcomer to this area and this blog is all about sharing my opinion on ebooks and the like, but there's something wrong when you have to RESET an e-reader so you can continue the reading experience. There's also the slight problem of RECHARGING the e-reader and when you are busy, you don't really notice that battery button going down. I haven't received any WARNINGS that I've got 10 minutes left or something and don't start me on the POWER the Sony PRS-700 consumes if you use the backlight! The REFLECTION can be problematic and the FILE FORMATS distort. I had a business e-book on project management. Picked it up free somewhere on the net. The format was in PDF and was so incredibly small that when I enlarged the font size on the Sony, the entire thing became UNREADABLE. Then there's ebooks I've purchased in proprietary formats like mobipocket that are NOT TRANSFERABLE. The ebook portals are still in their infancy and NEED BETTER SEARCH FUNCTIONALITY. The content can be LIMITED or DELAYED so as a consumer I don't have the choice I would like to have. Very frustrating people!!!!

That's the ramble for today but keep in mind, I'm READING on an e-reader and on the computer. I'm discovering new works and old ones, and LOVING IT! I'll do what's right with ebook readers another day. :-)

The ipod moment is already here

Ebook articles often refer to the iPod moment. Is it just around the corner? There is much debate on the subject and the comparison is inevitable.

Ebook readers aren't mainstream here in Australia. They are still way too expensive and a luxury item (The Iliad sells for $1299 with the 'cheaper' version at $1099 and prices generally start from $500). Sourcing content can be problematic, particularly for new releases and don't even start me on the various ebook formats out there! It's bloody confusing.

As you know, I've been playing with ebooks for this blog - I have Mobipocket Reader and the Sony ebook portal loaded on the computer. Through Mobipocket you have access to Fictionwise and 13 odd ebook vendors. Sony just links to Sony but they did partner with Google to load 500,000 public domain books for free. You can access that content as well through Project Gutenberg. It's there for the taking.

Anyway, I have to laugh whenever I read about the iPod moment. I've only had an iPod for 15 months and promptly loaded iTunes onto the laptop, copying favourites songs from my extensive CD collection and spending a small fortune on new and old songs (especially those classics in my extensive tape collection!). The good thing about iTunes is you can listen to a song for 20 seconds or so and download it. Click, Click, Click it's all easy and accessible. The Genius application is a killer but at the same time it's introduced me to other music, which I've enjoyed. It's also cost a small fortune over time but as a music lover, it gets used frequently. As does the Mastercard.

Ebook portals offer pretty much the same process, but their preview functionality still needs work. US$11.99 for this book, specials, collections, free books. It's click, click and click and all that content is downloaded. Just like iTunes. Only dearer!

There's another problem. The average song time is 4 minutes. You can download 15 songs and have an hours entertainment. Books take time to read, particularly when you are a busy professional. So I have the dilemma, a few easy clicks, and I have the content (and an ever increasing Mastercard bill!). I already have more than a dozen printed books waiting to be read. I now have the same on the e-reader or in the ebook portals on the laptop (for those that won't transfer to the e-reader). I don't need more content. I need a time management system! NOW!

Oh, and if you can have a word in the ears of the nice people at Mastercard, I'd be most grateful....