Welcome to a new series we are starting here at Gear Diary called “State of the eBook”. Every two weeks or so (more if the news warrants it) I’ll be bringing you the latest news in ebooks, publishing, and the general digitization of our reading lives. Continue Reading

Welcome to another installment of “State of the eBook”. A few quick news-y items, and then onto the major heart of today’s discussion, where we’ll be tackling the greatest debate in the book world today. Interested? Read on…

First, in the “cut up your nose to spite your face” department, we have the news that both Sarah Palin’s book “Rogue” and Ted Kennedy’s book “True Compass” will not be released as eBooks until some time has passed after the hardcover release. Let’s consider that for a moment. At a time when people are looking for better deals, trying to find ways to save money, and publishers are trying to find ways to keep readers, they’re actively forcing people to wait longer to get a book in their preferred medium. (via MobileRead)

Losing track of the insane number of devices that do eBooks, eBooks plus web browsing, eBooks plus web browsing plus dog walking, etc? Businessweek is reporting that there are more devices on the horizon; suddenly being able to read an eBook on it has become almost as important a feature as GPS!

There are two (general) sides to the ebook debate: those who see the technology as an amazing leap forwards, who see words as words no matter the medium. Then there are those who believe the tactile sensation of holding a paper book, the turning of the pages, the smell of the glue and the paper and the binding, cannot be replicated with screens and that reading is for paper.

So let’s do a quick rundown of where both sides have their advantages…

eBooks:

• Can carry multiple (hundreds of multiple!) ebooks in one device without using a truck.
• Multi-device support means you can read a book anywhere; on your couch, in line at the grocery store, at work during a meeting…
• Fonts are adjustable! No more doing the “large print walk of shame” at your local bookstore!
• Downward price pressure (if you buy from Amazon or Sony)
• No waiting by the mailbox them to arrive, or driving to the bookstore and encountering underpaid employees.

Paper books:

• A unique tactile experience
• Cover art
• Shopping experience can be more spontaneous and social.
• Powells, The Strand, insert your favorite local bookstore.
• No digital rights management
• Less publisher-imposed geographic limitations, books work in any country.
• Very few books (outside of textbooks) cost as much as a dedicated ebook reader.
• Worst outcome when you spill coffee on a regular book is a stained book (as opposed to the sound of your wallet screaming in horror).

I see both sides of this debate; I love my Kindle, I love ebooks. But I also spent three years managing bookstores, and there are some experiences that cannot be replicated by point and click. Personally, I have a handful of books that I will always want to have in paper form, and it will take more than the convenience of a Kindle to keep me from spending way too much money in every bookstore I see.

Where do you fall in this debate? Do you straddle both sides, clinging to the paper and the digital? Or have you sworn off all things paper and only buying books you can measure in megabytes instead of pages? And finally, even if you are all digital, are there some books you simply can’t bear to have in anything other than dusty old paper?

Welcome to another “State of the eBook”. We’ve got some quick news to review, and then a discussion of something that keeps publishers up at night; piracy in ebook-land. Is it an epidemic of music proportions or is it the straw-man argument that publishers use to justify high prices, digital rights management, and slow ebook adoption?

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Welcome to another State of the eBook! This will be a short post this week, as it seems there will be some sort of exciting announcement this Tuesday.

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Welcome to another round of State of the eBook! There’s been an avalanche of eBook news and releases, so let’s dive right in!

Barnes and Noble releases the nook upon the world

B&N’s nook came out swinging, with a dual screen design and an android foundation. Check out Gear Diary’s coverage of the nook’s release here, and commentary on a B&N conference call that answered some questions and raised new ones here. In related B&N news, Plastic Logic has announced that their Que reader will be not only using the Barnes and Noble eBook store but will also be sold in Barnes and Noble locations.

Amazon isn’t taking this lying down

Not content with blowing away their earnings numbers AND announcing Kindle-related sales are their best selling products, Amazon also quickly dropped the price of their international Kindle to $259 to compete with the nook. And since AT&T’s network isn’t crowded enough, they also quietly dropped their Sprint Kindles, bringing all Kindle 2’s on the AT&T network going forwards. Finally, Kindle for Windows is coming shortly, with a mac version in a few months!

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Welcome to another State of the eBook! This week we’re bringing in an expert to share some thoughts on eBooks, music and movies, and where the future is taking digital media. Read on for Gear Diary’s interview with K.C. Blake of the Entertainment Technology Center at University of Southern California.

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