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E-books, a new way to read
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MOST publishers love the idea of e-books: no more costly warehousing of books, no more devastating returns from stores, and no more expensive bleached-wood pulp. But when e-books were first introduced a couple of years ago, we creatures of habit found we preferred reading words printed on paper. Even those willing to read on-screen were less than enthusiastic, because of the limited number of titles in digital format. As a result, the first round of e-books silently went into chrysalis.
Stephen King's e-novel Riding the Bullet helped bring e-books into the spotlight again. Most of the title's half-million downloads were in a secure PDF (Portable Document Format) format readable using Glassbook, a free Microsoft Windows application. Now Glassbook is back, under new ownership. The latest version, Adobe Acrobat eBook Reader Version 2.0plus maintains the original's philosophy: that computers are getting more portable and that e-book software will add a new dimension.
A hardware product has been reincarnated by a new company. The new RCA REB1100 eBook takes some design elements from the first dedicated e-book -- Nuvomedia's Rocket eBook. About the size of a trade paperback and the weight of a light hardcover, the RCA e-book is a lot more portable than any device that would run the Adobe software. But how do these offerings rate in providing a reading experience?
A big complaint about reading on-screen is that the experience doesn't seem like reading a book. Adobe captures the look of print wonderfully, though: Pages are laid out with right justification, paragraph indents, and attractive fonts. We were less pleased with the Gemstar format used by the REB1100, which is similar to the Nuvomedia format. Pages look like e-mail: no right justification, no indents, and a blank line to separate paragraphs. Worse, the REB1100 uses a sans serif font, which can be hard on the eyes after long periods of reading.
Both readers are as easy to use as paper books. The UI of Acrobat eBook Reader is intuitive; it displays your library as a grid of covers. Double-clicking on a title for the first time fills the program window with the book's cover, usually in full colour. You can turn pages forward and back by either clicking on icons or hitting cursor keys, or even using the spacebar and the backspace key. When you shut down, the software remembers the last page you read and returns you there next time. The REB1100 also keeps your place in a title. You access its pop-up library window via a menu icon using the included stylus to click on the icon.
Acrobat titles and the accompanying software can be lent or given to others just as with printed books. When you do so, you cannot access the e-book until the period of time that you have specified elapses. Likewise, the recipient can only read the book for the set period. You may not get a paper book back, but you'll always get your e-books returned-unless you use the Give feature. The RCA format does not support these sharing functions.
To get new content for the Adobe software, you click on Bookstore whenever your PC is connected to the Internet. The application then becomes a simple browser that lets you shop securely. You don't need a computer to use the REB1100 -- the device comes with a built-in 33.6-Kbps modem. The REB1100 downloads e-catalogs of your choice, such as Mysteries or Science Fiction. You then click on books you want and place an order. The REB1100 dials, submits the order, securely transmits your credit card information, and lets you download your books. You can also use the included USB cable to attach the REB1100 to an Internet-connected computer and use the included Librarian software to shop.
Unfortunately, e-book title selection is limited for all formats, partly because publishers must convert content. As of now, the titles in Adobe and Gemstar formats are recent and representative of bestsellers and popular genres.
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