A brief history of eBooks and eReaders. This material was created as part of the 2010 Institute of Museum and Library Services 21st Century Librarian program grant to the Nebraska Library Commission.

1. eBooks & eReaders Michael SauersTechnology Innovation LibrarianNebraska Library Commission

2. A brief history of eBooks

4. Now contains over 30,000 free e-texts in multiple DRM-free formats3 1971: Project Gutenberg

6. Predicted the “end of publishing as we know it”4 1989: Cyberbooks

8. “Newton Books”

9. Suspended in 19985 1993: Apple Newton

11. Weighs only 22 ounces

12. Stores about 4,000 pages--the equivalent of 10 novels

13. Speech-quality audio for documents published with audio content

14. Long battery life--17 to 33 hours per charge6 1999: Franklin EB-500 Rocket eBook

16. ClearType technology

17. Annotations

18. Pan & Zoom

19. Highlighting

20. Dictionary

21. Battery life dependent on platform(desktop vs. laptop)7 2000: Microsoft Reader

23. Download content over the air (OTA)

24. Syncs with desktop

25. Annotation

26. Highlighting

27. Dictionary

28. Software compatible with devices other than the Treo8 2002: Palm Trēo

30. Promoted as a “reader” due to ability to easily convert screen to portrait mode9 2002: TabletPC

32. AAA batteries

33. Available only in Japan10 2004: Sony Libré

34. Content is not drawn, but “charged” 170 Pixels Per Inch (PPI) Newspaper quality Does not need power to hold a display, only to change it. What is "eInk"

35. Sony CEO Howard Stringer introduces the Reader at CES 2006 http://www.flickr.com/photos/zilpho/164291155/

37. SD/Memory Stick card slot

38. USB data transfer

39. Approximately 7,500 page turns per charge

40. Approx. 9ozeReader PRS-500

41. http://www.flickr.com/photos/shifted/1240167805

42. http://www.flickr.com/photos/shifted/2050405275/

47. 200-title storage

48. Download wirelessly via “whispernet” (EVDO)

49. QWERTY Keyboard

50. Ability to add notes to text

51. Basic Web access18 12/2007: Amazon Kindle

54. WiFi added

55. 1500-title storage

56. 16 levels of grayscape

57. 20% faster page refresh

58. Text-to-speech option

59. 9.1mm thick20 02/2009: Kindle 2

61. Automatic screen rotation

62. 8.5mm thick

63. 3500-title storage

64. Designed for text-book market21 06/2009: Kindle DX

65. 08/2009: Sony PRS-300/600/900 Pocket Edition Daily Edition Touch Edition

67. 12.1oz

68. Android 1.5

69. User replaceable battery

70. Can share a book once with another person for up to two weeks23 11/2009: Barnes & Noble Nook

72. Kindle app available

73. “text-to-voice” via VoiceOver

74. 1.5lbs

75. 9.7” backlit glossy screen

76. Automatic screen rotation

77. WiFi and/or 3G

78. 9+ hours of battery life depending on Internet connectivity used04/2010: Apple iPad

80. 7” screen

81. WiFi

82. 8GB internal storage

83. MicroSD slot

84. Android 2.2

85. Rootable25 11/2010: Barnes & Noble Nook Color

88. 7” screen

89. WiFi

90. 8GB internal storage

91. MicroSD slot

92. Android 2.3

93. Amazon Silk Browser27 11/2011: Kindle Fire

95. Most common standard

96. Supported by nearly every device except the Kindle

97. DRM can be added to it

99. Supported by many platforms

100. Main format for use on the Kindle

102. Amazon’s proprietary format