Amazon is gearing up an eBook initiative, including a $500 eBook reader and a proprietary content format. As we prepare to be underwhelmed, PC World has the first take. The idea of an eBook has always intrigued me, but years and years have gone by, and it's generally gone nowhere. Sony already has one of these literary gadgets, and a quick look at it here tells me it's not designed by someone who really loves books. It's a cold, grey, fragile-looking tablet. My dream for an ebook reader: waterproof, durable, opens and lays out like a book, color screen, 30 hours of battery life, backlit for evening reading without a light, notes capability, wi-fi access & internet browsing, ability to add notes to word docs for editing, and availability of every book in print via some sort of online store. An eBook Apple might have come up with.
Update: more on the Amazon launch here. Looks like Penguin is one of their big content providers; Penguin of course has Penguin Classics, which would include lots of material out of copyright. Given the digital rights management issues around music, likely to be similar or worse with books, it wouldn't surprise me if Amazon continued previous ebook efforts to emphasize a lot of non-copyright content.
Update: more on the Amazon launch here. Looks like Penguin is one of their big content providers; Penguin of course has Penguin Classics, which would include lots of material out of copyright. Given the digital rights management issues around music, likely to be similar or worse with books, it wouldn't surprise me if Amazon continued previous ebook efforts to emphasize a lot of non-copyright content.
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