Digital publishing - eBooks and mobile devices

eBooks
Introduction for information specialists (publishers, librarians, media professionals, etc.)
@kosieeloff

This is the time for eBooks
2010: Association of American Publishers reports eBook sales of members US$441 million (up 164% from 2009)

Rocket eBook Reader (1998)

This is the time of eBooks
Ebooks have existed for decades now
(previous slide: old eBook readers in late 90’s)
First challenge: hardware & displays 
Second challenge: software & formats 
Third challenge: content, distribution, marketing etc. 

What is an eBook?
Simply an electronic file – read on your device of choice
Various formats (more on main formats later) e.g. PDF
[Demonstration: various eBooks on my Kindle, iPad, laptop]

Why read eBooks?
Good reading experience now
Less expensive (overall...)
Environmentally friendly (except...)
Space savings (what about ‘digital space’?)
Portability
Reading aids (e.g. bookmarking, sharing..)
Searchability
Navigation (referencing, hyperlinking)

Why read eBooks?
You can write in eBooks
People with disabilities
Always accessible
Instant delivery (if your connection is reliable)
No shipping charges (except...)
Enhancement opportunities (e.g. multimedia)

How to read eBooks
eReaders
Computer / laptop
Media tablets (and, of course, mobile phones)

eReaders
Kindle (65% market share in US, 2011*)
Nook
Sony Reader
Kobo
iRiver Story, etc.
Not going into too much detail; in South Africa, you’re most likely to buy a Kindle or iRiver model (ease of delivery, service support etc.)

“A sheet of paper that can be electronically reconfigured instantaneously to display any page from any book, article or document”
E-ink is what makes eReaders different

Amazon’s Kindle Touch and Kindle Keyboard

eReader prices are dropping steeply

Media tablets (tablet computers)
iPad (Apple)
Playbook (Blackberry)
Android devices
E.g. Asus, Motorola (purchased by Google)...
Kindle Fire
Media tablets are unique in that 1) they operate on touch, and 2) they aren’t supposed to store your media

Apple iPad
http://www.apple.com/za/ipad/

http://za.blackberry.com/playbook-tablet/
Blackberry Playbook

Android-powered tablets (e.g. Asus EEE)

Zoomed in LCD (red, green, blue filters)

eReader or media tablet?
eReaders
Long battery life
Low cost
(R900-R2,000 + S&I)
E-ink display (typically)
Low functionality
Media tablets
Limited battery life
Expensive
(R3,000-R10,000 + S&I)
LCD display (typically)
High functionality

Reading eBooks
Kindle for Blackberry, Android, iPad, iPhone..
Kindle for PC, Mac
Here, you see that you can read your books on any device, as long as you have the right app installed.
It’s sometimes more accurate to say people buy into a platform, not a specific piece of hardware or software.

eBook formats
PDF
Most familiar, but fixed-layout (?)
Mobi / PRC
Original format for PDAs, etc. (now owned by Amazon)
AZW
Amazon’s DRMed format
EPUB
Most accessible format

eBook stores
International (to an extent...)
Amazon Kindle store
Barnes & Noble / Kobobooks
Apple iBooks
Independent
BooksOnBoard
Smashwords
Local
Kalahari
Exclusive Books
kindlebooks.co.za
Or at least, ones worth mentioning for the purposes of this introduction...

How to publish an eBook
Various ways, but it’s often safest to sell through a well-known vendor (e.g. Amazon), or to use an aggregator (e.g. Smashwords).
Locally, Kalahari.com and Exclusive Books also sell eBooks (details on request).

eBook aggregators

Digital rights management
Restricts what you can do with the material.
DRM is a necessary evil (or is it...)
Three major eBook DRM schemes:
Amazon DRM (.mobi)
Adobe DRM (.epub, .pdf)
Apple FairPlay DRM (.epub, .pdf)

Public domain books (Manybooks.net)
Manybooks isn't necessarily an eBook vendor; rather, a distributor of public domain titles.

Attaching eReader via USB cable

Directory with the eReader’s books

But what about getting books wirelessly?
http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/kindle/turing/photos/feat-kindle-store-300px._V251568840_.jpg

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_200127470_k3land_gettingstarted?nodeId=200580340
Local area network.
Very fast!
Coverage limited (need Wi-Fi hot spots)
Need to connect manually
Wi-Fi doesn’t guarantee internet access
Cellular network.
Can be very slow!
Wide coverage (e.g. at the beach, or on the train)
Connected automatically
3G often guarantees internet access

Selecting a Wi-Fi network

Managing already purchased books (via your browser)

Kindle for PC

Kindle for iPad

Kindle for PC/iPad opens your browser for browsing

Select device (up to six / account) to send to

That’s it!
http://bit.ly/keloff

For more updates, information etc.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/kosieeloff
Especially for publishers & librarians
Google+: https://plus.google.com/101094585504476928154
Especially for content developers
I love tinkering with eBooks; join the #eprdctnchannel on Twitter or contact me for a chat!
http://bit.ly/keloff

Digital publishing - eBooks and mobile devices

by Kosie Eloff

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