Slightly off topic - Ebooks

[Mark J Dulcey]

On 2/7/2010 3:40 PM, Mark Komarinski wrote:
>>
>> e-Ink doesn't react fast enough for video display. This might change
>> through improvements to e-Ink, or it might change through the development
>> of some other display technology.

e-ink will probably never be suitable for video, but it might get fast 
enough to be effective for web browsing and so forth. Another 
alternative is the Pixel Qi display technology (lots of stories on the 
web, including 
http://gizmodo.com/5444232/notion-ink-adam-pixel-qi-tabletereader-hands-on-your-screen-is-obsolete), 
which is a dual-mode LCD - backlit transmissive color and unlit 
reflective monochrome, like the display used on the OLPC XO laptop but 
more refined. It claims to have ultra-low power consumption when used as 
a static monochrome display; not quite zero power like e-ink but low 
enough that the projected battery life of a Pixel Qi device used as an 
ebook will be about a week. At least one such device (the Adam from 
Notion Ink, based on the Android OS) is due in June.

> Sony is the epitome of lock-in

Not entirely fair to Sony this time. They started in the ebook business 
that way, following their usual lock-in business model, but have since 
abandoned their proprietary format and switched their devices over to 
the open EPUB format. They also include full PDF reading capability. I 
hope this is a sign of changing times at Sony rather than a one-time ray 
of sanity; time will tell.

> Uhh, the Kindle, (some) Sony, and Nook all have 3G and offer it free as
> part of the cost of the device and e-books.  The iPad will offer it as a
> separate fee.

The expectation is that the 3G connection on the iPad will be used for a 
lot more than just downloading ebooks, which is why you have to pay for 
it. And you ARE paying for the 3G in your Kindle; it's bundled into the 
price you're paying for your ebook or magazine subscription. Amazon is 
planning to charge application developers 15 cents per megabyte of 
delivered data; that's presumably more than they are paying AT&T and 
Sprint but at least give some clue of what you are paying.

> As for me, when I bought my Kindle I had all these things to consider
> along with the life of the books I have.  Given how Apple has moved to a
> DRM-free platform I hold the same hope for books, though it may take a
> few years.

I certainly hope that ebooks will move away from DRM as well; as I 
pointed out in an earlier message, I'm not buying any that include DRM. 
Apple has abandoned DRM for music but not (yet) for video; Amazon 
continues to use DRM for video as well.