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E-Book Readers Open Up A Whole Range Of New Possibilities
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by: EricReadle
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Word Count: 597
2009 was the year that e-book readers became hot news. Amazon released both the Kindle 2.0 and the Kindle DX, which created quite a bit of publicity for e-book readers in general and the Kindle reader in particular. Companies like Sony and Barnes and Noble responded with their own readers - the Daily Edition and The Nook - whilst others, such as Apple and Microsoft worked hard to develop their own offerings for release in the near future.
It is very easy, and perfectly understandable, when dealing with what are essentially consumer electronics devices, to focus on the technical aspects of the hardware involved. The Amazon Kindle has wireless connectivity, the Nook has a color screen, Sony's Daily Edition lets you lend books to your friends - and so on.
However, without diminishing the technical achievements of the various companies involved in any way, it may be worth taking a moment to consider that e-book readers may very well be the biggest single change in both publishing and reading since the invention of the printing press by Gutenberg in 1440. The introduction of the printing press quite literally put books in the hands of the common man as it hugely reduced the publishing costs involved.
There have been very few changes in the way that we read books since then. Of course, there have been advances in printing technology, computers and word processing have made the already existing process more efficient. Nevertheless, the end result has been pretty consistent - we read books which consist of paper bound between retaining covers with text printed upon it.
Publishers have been operating within certain confines as a result of the constant nature of their end product for centuries. They have produced a physical product, with print run costs and delivery fees associated with it.
The key thing to note about e-book readers is that they do not simply represent a more efficient way of carrying out the same process - they change all the rules, for publishers and readers alike. No physical product means that fewer materials are consumed - delivery charges are also very much reduced.
This means that e-books are not only cheaper to publish and deliver, but that they are - even considering the materials used in the e-book readers themselves - more environmentally friendly.
It also opens up more possibilities for publishers to market both authors and books in different ways. A publisher who wishes to showcase a particular author could, for example, offer a selection of their work at either very low prices or even completely free. Another tactic, which is now becoming increasing common, is to offer the first book in a series free - obviously in the hope that the reader will then purchase other books in the series or possibly other books by the same author. This isn't impossible with traditional books of course - but it would be a much more costly undertaking with a higher risk element if a traditional print run was involved.
On the Amazon website there are a large number of free Kindle books on offer. Other Kindle books on the site generally have the first chapter available as a free download. Prospective readers can try before they buy. This may well encourage readers to experiment a little and try new authors that they might otherwise have overlooked.
As understandable as the present excitement with the technical capabilities of e-book readers is, it will be the additional opportunities for publishers and the increased choice coupled with instant access for readers that is going to change the way that we look at books in the future.
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Check out the Amazon Kindle reader and find out how you can save money by downloading free Kindle ebooks straight from Amazon's Kindle store.
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