Books will be obsolete

[canuckbid]

E-books have been out for awhile but they are getting better all the time. I can see the day when people will stop buying books. Sure there will always be a few diehards but the new generation likes gadgets. Brother inlaw has the new sony model. I'm impressed with it. A thousand books in the palm of your hand. A bit expensive right now but they will come down in price just like computers.

Sony Unveils Daily Edition E-Book With 3G Wireless

Sony on Tuesday unveiled the newest version of its eBook Reader, the Daily Edition, which will have built-in free wireless capability via AT&T's 3G mobile broadband network.
The new Reader, introduced during an event at the main branch of the New York Public Library, will hit SonyStyle stores and sonystyle.com in December and will retail for $399.
The Daily Edition will feature a seven-inch touchscreen, and a high contrast ratio with 16 levels of grayscale; you can read in either portrait or landscape orientation. It will have enough onboard memory to hold over 1,000 standard ebooks and is also expandable via Memory Stick/Duo and SD card slots.
Sony also had a number of its newly available Pocket and Touch Readers available to try out. Those readers, priced at $199 and $299, respectively, are available now for purchase. Each of the Sony Readers employs the E Ink Vizplex electronic paper display.
Steven Haber, president of Sony's digital reader business division, emphasized the importance of access, content, and affordability for ebook readers. He mentioned that Sony is moving from a proprietary ebook format to e-pub format, which will streamline the publishing process immensely.
Sony also announced its Library Finder app, developed in partnership with Overdrive.com. Users of Sony's eBook Store will be able to easily locate their local libraries online and download free ebook content using their library cards. When the lending period is up, the content simply expires.
One of those libraries will be the New York Public Library, which currently offers about 40,000 downloadable titles, with the goal of goal of digitizing over one million titles. That effort has been facilitated through the library's partnership with Google's book-scanning initiative.
"We believe it must be delivered free," said Dr. Paul LeClerc, president and CEO of the NYPL.
Also new is a Web site for book lovers called Words Move Me, a social networking site of sorts where readers will be able to connect and post favorite passages from literary works. Eventual Facebook and Twitter integration is promised.

[ejean9]

nah..cant lie back on the pillow holding your laptop...ill stick to my books..lol

[PATRIOT73]

nah cant beet a good book.............but we did song n dance wen vcr's cam out

[canuckbid]

It's smaller and lighter than a book. You can read it really easy and has a placemark button and all kinds of features. It's just like reading a page in a book. I've personally held one and looked at it. Impressive.

[JanetB]

I wonder if any one of my customers uses one of those gadgets?

x

[canuckbid]

Why would you ask that? I don't think you can shop online with them yet but I'm sure that feature will be added soon. Lots of other small devices connect to the internet though. Maybe it's all that fine print that people do not read correctly and foul up on auctions or shopping. The e-book has features to enlarge the print as well.

[TiasTreasures]

Introducing the new Bio-Optic Organized Knowledge device, trade named BOOK

BOOK is a revolutionary breakthrough in technology: no wires, no electric circuits, no batteries, nothing to be connected or switched on. It's so easy to use, even a child can operate it. Compact and portable, it can be used anywhere -- even sitting in an armchair by the fire -- yet it is powerful enough to hold as much information as a CD-ROM disc. Here's how it works:

BOOK is constructed of sequentially numbered sheets of paper (recyclable), each capable of holding thousands of bits of information. The pages are locked together with a custom-fit device called a binder which keeps the sheets in their correct sequence. Opaque Paper Technology (OPT) allows manufacturers to use both sides of the sheet, doubling the information density and cutting costs. Experts are divided on the prospects for further increases in information density; for now, BOOKS with more information simply use more pages.

Each sheet is scanned optically, registering information directly into your brain. A flick of the finger takes you to the next sheet. BOOK may be taken up at any time and used merely by opening it.

BOOK never crashes or requires rebooting, though like other display devices it can become unusable if dropped overboard. The "browse" feature allows you to move instantly to any sheet, and move forward or backward as you wish. Many come with an "index" feature, which pin-points the exact location of any selected information for instant retrieval. An optional "BOOKmark" accessory allows you to open BOOK to the exact place you left it in a previous session -- even if the BOOK has been closed. BOOKmarks fit universal design standards; thus, a single BOOKmark can be used in BOOKs by various manufacturers. Conversely, numerous BOOK markers can be used in a single BOOK if the user wants to store numerous views at once. The number is limited only by the number of pages in the BOOK.

You can also make personal notes next to BOOK text entries with an optional programming tool, the Portable Erasable Nib Cryptic Intercommunication Language Stylus (PENCILS).

Portable, durable, and affordable, BOOK is being hailed as a precursor of a new entertainment wave. Also, BOOK's appeal seems so certain that thousands of content creators have committed to the platform and investors are reportedly flocking. Look for a flood of new titles soon.

[JanetB]

Why would you ask that? I don't think you can shop online with them yet but I'm sure that feature will be added soon. Lots of other small devices connect to the internet though. Maybe it's all that fine print that people do not read correctly and foul up on auctions or shopping. The e-book has features to enlarge the print as well.

Do you mean me?

x

[tjsprinting]

But this electronic gismo doesnt have the magical feel, smell and sound of a real book, turning the paper pages just have that something special, a facination, that will never be replaced, I have always encouraged my grand children to look through books as well as on the internet when doing their homework and projects, they always have books in their stockings at Christmas and it is the books that are still looked through and read long after the dvd or computer game has lost its appeal and gone out of fashion because the updated version is now available, the giggle from them, when they stay here and have gone to bed with a book , as I go upstairs and they are under the covers with a torch looking through all different categories of book still makes me smile, takes me back my childhood when lights were off by 8pm but my little torch meant I could travel in my mind with the help of all those pictures.
Our generations should feel a responsibility to continue and encourage the use of books as the new generations come along.

[pearlygirl555]

I write with a fountain pen and sew my own clothes, so naturally I will be coming out in favor of the book

The experience of reading a book involves the texture of the pages, how the endpapers look, how it smells. I can read a book comfortably but to read on the computer, I must wear glasses and my eyes still hurt. Can't imagine reading an ebook would be comfortable for me. I often eat while I read and sometimes spill; the book shows a spot or two, but the ebook is probably not as forgiving. For those who take notes in the margins while they read, I suppose they will have to keep an accompanying notebook? And what about presentation copies? I have some here that belonged to my grandparents, of no consequence for others but special to me. To the extent that ebooks encourage people to read I'm all for them, but I plan to stick with the real deal