With Mainstream eBook Readers, eBook Creation Takes Center Stage
If the past few years have been seen holiday shopping dominated by the like of iPods, iPhones, increasingly larger and thinner flat screen TVs and next generation video game consoles, all signs are beginning to point to 2009 being the year that eBook readers broke into the mainstream. And with eBook readers gaining widespread adoption, ebook creation is suddenly at the top of the priority list for many publishers.
There are a multitude of factors that have finally brought the industry to this point. While Sony has sold eBook readers for several years (including the popular PRS505) and Amazon is now on to the Kindle 2, ebook services in general had lagged the technology. The first generation Kindle didn’t have the best display in the world and Amazon did everything possible to lock Kindle buyers into its bookstore while keeping amazon.com titles in a proprietary format that other readers couldn’t access. Sony’s readers were expensive and their approach to ebook creation was also to go the route of proprietary format, resulting in an Ebook store that was short on titles. But this year, everything has clicked.
Amazon released Kindle 2, followed by the Kindle International. Sony went with the ePub format, which allowed users to borrow eBooks from public libraries, as well as
greatly increasing their own eBook store offerings through ebook creation deals with numerous publishers. Google Books is offering hundreds of thousands of books electronically. In addition, Sony brought an entry level eBook reader, the Reader Pocket to the table, breaking the psychological $200 barrier and forcing Amazon to lower Kindle prices in response. Finally, bookseller Barnes & Noble introduced its own eBook reader, the Nook, along with a series of compelling in store ebook services such as reading titles for free while in one of its retail locations.
With the effects of the recession fully in play, fewer people are willing to spend upwards of several thousand dollars on a new TV this holiday season. Demand for video game consoles has leveled off and many people are leery of investing in yet another expensive iPod or iPhone upgrade from Apple. But there is still a desire for technology and the idea of being able to pick up a new eBook reader for only two hundred bucks or so has considerable appeal. Users can carry a library around in their pocket and even better, buying books that have been digitized using an ebook creation process are cheaper than buying the same books printed on paper. In other words, a recession-weary public has a chance to scratch their gadget itch and save money.
About the Author
Aiden Hormel feels that ebook creation is the key to the future success of many writers, especially given developing publication and distribution models. Aiden predicts the current generation of eBook readers, combined with ebook services from companies like aptara will finally give writers the ability to control their own careers, from content creation to distribution.
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