Are you a book freak?
So, how do you like being able to carry an entire library on your sling bag?
Actually, with the advent of advanced technology, you don’t only carry that library on your back—you can hold it with one hand.
History. For more than 2,000 years, books have been crucial to the dissemination and transfer of knowledge among peoples and across generations. Technology has always invented something new, but it never seems to get books permanently shelved. Instead, technology finds ways to help books keep up with the changing needs of the modern world.
An e-book, as defined by the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, is “a book that is published in electronic form and not printed on paper.”
The transformation from standard printed books to e-books started in 1971 when Michael Hart, founder of the Project Gutenberg, digitized the United States Declaration of Independence, which became the first book to be available in electronic format. The project is aimed at encouraging the creation of e-books and making them available to the public at no charge.
Today, there are thousands of e-books available in different formats, not to mention the increasing number of e-book readers coming out in the market to cater for these varied formats. But for e-book publishers to achieve widespread success, they had to standardize the formats used; hence, the release of the Open eBook (OEB) and the Electronic Publication (EPUB) standards in 1999 and 2007, respectively.
Portable e-book readers have been a major hit in the electronic gadgets market since the introduction of Sony Reader in 2006, and the subsequent launching of the Amazon Kindle in the United States in 2007. Avid readers don’t have to worry about eyestrain-causing glares, because the handheld devices display digital content using e-ink technology that mimics the look of ordinary ink on paper. Some of the readers also come with other functions such as dictionary lookup, note-taking, MP3 player, and text-to-speech system. In addition, the devices are now capable of wirelessly connecting to online bookstores where users can purchase and download e-books conveniently and fast.
Flashback. In August 2009, Sony announced three new e-book reader models, namely, Reader Pocket Edition (PRS-300), which has a 5-inch display; Reader Touch Edition (PRS-600), which has a 6-inch display and touch-screen panel; and Reader Daily Edition (PRS-900), which has a 7-inch display, touch-screen panel, and 3G wireless access to the Sony eBook store in the United States.
This year, an international version of the Kindle DX was announced and has started shipping in January 2010. It comes in 9.7-inch display and only over one-third of an inch thickness; can hold about 3,500 books, periodicals, and other documents; can rotate pages—landscape and portrait orientations; has a text-to-speech feature; has a battery life of up to two weeks offline; and is 3G capable, which allows it to wirelessly connect to the Internet in over 100 countries and access over 400,000 books selection.
In the recent months, the Apple iPad has been the talk of the town. It has a 9.7-inch display and multi-touch capability; is very light at only 0.5 inch thin and 1.5 pounds; has up to 10 hours battery life; has access to emails, maps, and live broadcasts when online via Wi-Fi or 3G; works in any orientation whether landscape or portrait; and can connect to iTunes, iBookstore, and the App Store. And unlike other ebook reader s, iPad is a ver y capable entertainment and work device that offfers the basic functionalities of a laptop and a multimedia player.
Reading books nowadays has indeed become very fashionable, not to mention high-tech. With a seemingly endless array of e-book readers to choose from, and of course, unlimited access to e-books that can be purchased online, life seems to have never been as easy and stylish before as it is today for book enthusiasts. Hence, being a book freak, so to speak, is not bad after all.
Hooray for the e-book revolution! Hooray for the book freaks!
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