Aaron Campagnone

Have you checked out Mobipocket? They offer reader software for a large range of platforms including some "regular" cell phones.

jmj713

Nothing will ever come close to actually holding a hardcover book in your hands, smelling that crisp book smell, feeling the pages.

Aaron Campagnone

Ill give you that, but the ability to carry a book (or multiple books) with you everywhere is great. Waiting in line at the grocery store, pop out your phone and read a book. Pumping gas at the gas station, pop out your phone and read.
In a large boring "required" meeting at work, pop out your phone and read, everyone else assumes you are reading/responding to an email, and you are good to go.

Aaron Campagnone

I guess I am still waiting to hear if there is anyone else out there who reads a good amount (over a book a week?) and does so almost exclusively via ebooks.

Dmacsg1

I don't read as much as I used to but for me there will be no replacing having the actual physical book in my hands!

Birrman54

where do you get your ebooks? I could read on my iPod, so I'd definately be willing to give it a try.

birrman54

DRG

See, I could never do that just because I have to sit down and immerse myself in a book. I can't just pick up a book and read a half a page, then read another page ten minutes later, etc. I've read ebooks on my computer though. It's pretty decent, although it's missing the comfort of lying comfortably in bed reading.

On a related note there's a homebrew e-book reader out for the PSP that I've been meaning to try. I tink it'd be a nice additional for trips, as I could carry a few books that otherwise I'd have to lug around in a backpack. But I'm not sure I could get used to reading on a smaller screen.

reverie

I also could not give up the "real" thing. Maybe it's just me, but even for my eyes, reading a book in more comfortable than staring at light (my monitor).

Josh H

Never for me.

I hate reading on a computer, PDA, etc.

Diabolita23

For me, there will never be a replacement for clear cutting and the toxic effects of paper mills...

tasha99

My stepdad reads them all the time and bought a flat computer that's a lot smaller than a regular laptop (looks like one of those pads on Startrek). His eyesight is going, so he likes to be able to have large letters and a lot of contrast. I wish more books would come out in digital form for him--he would really like to read some Tom Clancy books, but can't.

I wish they would put all books out in ebook form for those with limited sight.

Scarecrow

It would be nice. Certain authors, like Clancy, don't want their work in e-book format for various reasons, at least that used to be the case & I think still is. Therefore none of his stuff, along with a few other popular authors, have legal ebook versions out there.

FWIW if he wants to read the Clancy books they are all available in Large Print format, that might help.


Here's an article the Washington Post ran on ebooks early in the year...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp...&notFound=true


I've got a ton of them on my Palm, mainly public domain stuff, but I've never really gotten into reading on it. I stick with regular old books for the most part. One area where I really like ebooks if for reference. I like being able to search reference books for the info I need, saves lots of time.

Aaron Campagnone

Birrman54: I ge them from a lot of diffrent web sites....
mobipocket.com (good mix, all for mobipocket reader)
fictionwise.com (good mix, mobipocket, adobe, palm reader formats)
palmgear.com (good mix, palm reader format)
baen.com (Good SCI FI, with lots of free books, every new BAEN book released is in e book format)
amazon.com (mainly LIT format (for pc reading) but you can convert fairly easy.
If you are less discriminating, do a search for a particular title or author in your favorite file share utility (kaza, exeem, limewire etc)



Tasha99, email me about clancy books.

Aaron Campagnone

just read the article posted above. Interesting read. I hope that if nothing else, ebooks remain for those who want them. I disagree that its harder to find books today than a few years or months ago. I can only think of a single book that I wanted to read that was not available for purchase as an ebook in the last year..Harry Potter 6. I bought the real hardback at midnight. I got about 100 pages in on the following morning before I "found" a copy online.

tasha99

Aaron Campagnone--YGM

darkside

I've been an ebook convert for years. I probably read 99.9% of my books on a PDA. I buy a lot of books as well from places like Fictionwise and eReader.

Will eBooks ever replace paper books? I seriously doubt it will happen. However, I think eBooks have their place and hopefully will find a wider audience as time goes on.

The problem with eBooks is the problem hurting all digital media. Unfair DRM. Granted the DRM on eReader books is fairly mild and they support PC, MAC, Palm, PPC and Symbian Series 60. However, who is to say they may not go out of business one day and your whole book library will become useless on new hardware that doesn't have anyone to write software for it. Microsoft is a stronger company, but they refuse to support anything but their OS. You own a Palm, Mac or Symbian phone and you are out of luck.

We need a universal standard for digital books and music to happen at some point. Until that happens this stuff will remain a niche market. For most people it just doesn't make sense to buy restricted books and music when your paper book and CD will work anywhere you choose to use them.

HistoryProf

Never. I can't even imagine "reading" a cell phone...it's about the silliest thing i've ever heard.

GatorDeb

I would if they made affordable portable readers that took pdf also. The letters on my Palm are too small.

Scarecrow

Toshiba was supposed to be making a reader that looked interesting, don't know what ever became of it though.

ben12

e-books will DEFINITELY eventually replace regular, paper books. It's inevitable. The whole "nothing can replace the smell and feel of a paper book" only exists for people who grew up with paper books. The first generation to be raised with easy, accessible, small, handheld e-books will not care that they don't smell like paper.

Scarecrow

Maybe

We need those devices first. The current stuff out there doesn't cut it. If they are to be replaced it'll be decades in the future. There are no devices out there that are even close to good enough for a lot of folks. There are to many different formats & to many works unavailable (not talking about pirated stuff). Many publishers don't take the market seriously at all. IMO

Josh H

And of course most parents will still buy their kids books rather than eBooks afraid that they're kids will break an e-reader, thus kids will always have their first experience of reading books be with real, paper books. So the "nothing can replace the smell and fell of a book" experience will never be totally lost. Or at least not for a hell of a long time.

darkside

Paper books being replaced is something I don't see happening in my lifetime. Ebook readers will need to be very, very cheap and they will have to unify the format to get full support from publishers and authors.

That just isn't going to happen anytime soon.

There are also people that think digital music and movies will also take over completely and again I just don't see it happening in my lifetime. People in general want to own a physical copy of their movies, books, and music. I don't think you get that same feeling of ownership with pure digital sources. All three will slowing gain acceptance, but taking over completely I just don't see.

Geofferson

I'm not a fan of eBooks. I enjoy the tangible aspects of a good book and is a better experience when compared to reading on a computer screen.

BloodyDrake

For those that feel that there is no substitute for a book in your hands check out the links below..it will be the future of books i have no doubt.
being able to use wireless to download and store over 500 books in one portable device.. the device isn't backlit and only uses power when it changes pages so you have an extremely long battery life..
Definately worth checking out
http://www.research.philips.com/news...elpap_04_h.jpg

http://www.eink.com/