The E-Reader Experience
The printed book has many die-hard fans. Let’s face it, there’s nothing quite like turning the pages of a book, the smell, or thumbing through to the most interesting parts. Many people feel that these things cannot be sacrificed for mere convenience. It will more than likely be many years before print books fall out of vogue. Before they die out completely, they will become items for collectors and novelty conversation pieces.
In the interim, the world has welcomed the e-reader. An e-reader is an electronic device used to display the text of digital content, namely books. Some e-readers can also display images, content in different formats, and even video. E-readers that focus mainly on reading and books are equipped with a black and white screen. More sophisticated devices have full color screens capable of displaying almost any type of digital content.
The main selling point of e-readers would have to be convenience. Standard e-readers are about the size of a medium paperback and can hold an entire personal library of books. E-readers can download entire books in a matter of seconds via the Internet. In addition, books formatted for e-readers have significantly reduced prices since there’s no paper, ink, or other materials to pay for. This matter of convenience has brought many hardcore book fans to the side of the very device that may eventually replace hard copy books.
The e-reader experience is quite different from reading a book. If you like to thumb through your books, this will be difficult when you are forced to page through using the e-reader’s navigation and waiting through page refreshes. The upside, however; is that it is easier to get lost in the story without reference to how far you have read or how much you have left. E-books have aspects that print books could never fathom. E-books can include live web links. E-readers can define a word by simply placing your cursor in front of it. E-readers can save all of your bookmarks and notations in one easy location.
E-readers make finding books simple since most of them are linked to a proprietary bookseller. Many classics have been adapted for e-readers and are available as free downloads. You can’t buy a hard copy of the classics for free. E-readers are light and easy to hold. They have a long battery life and the battery is rechargeable. Many e-readers offer additional features to reading such as games, video, and web browsing. A well-equipped e-reader is likely to become your constant companion when at home, the doctor’s office, or doing some summer reading on vacation.
For the price of a large bookshelf, a user could own an e-reader with the capacity to hold twenty of the same bookshelves full of books, and have room to spare. It’s a cost effective solution to obtaining the personal library you have always wanted.
