Over the past few months there has been much talk of e-book readers from the likes of Amazon (the Kindle) and Sony and a host of others. Apple are launching their new iPad around now, HP have the 'Slate' coming out soon, and the mini-tablet laptop that is portable enough to be used on the move means that people are suddenly, seriously, talking about e-book readers as the future.
They are wrong.
The tablet products from Apple and HP are going to be best used in the home. They will allow one to access multimedia at the dinner table, in bed or in the garden, without a spaghetti junction of cables or heated and flattened thighs to worry about from traditional laptops.
However, for people on the move, the iPad type products, and I will include the Kindle and other E-Book Readers here, are inappropriate. Purely and simply, do they fit neatly in a jacket pocket?
No - only if you are wearing a large suit jacket. Women may choose to carry them in their handbag, and many businessmen will use their briefcases for that too... but for universal acceptance of the medium, it will have to become far more portable.
Two weeks ago I finished reading my first Sherlock Holmes book (it was free, being out of copyright, and so a good way to test e-books)... but read it entirely on my mobile phone. I don't have an all-singing and all-dancing iPhone or Nexus1 either (nor any other type of touch-screen)...but a relatively small-screened Blackberry clone from Nokia, the E61.
Why did I go with Nokia? It's very simple.
I'm cheap and it was free.
My mobile company wanted me to renew my contract and begged me to take one of these Qwerty keyboard mini-computers at no extra cost. I said 'Thanks'. If they want to offer me a Nexus 1, I'll say 'Thank you'.
Anyway, I downloaded the ebook of Sherlock Holmes: "The Valley of Fear" from the Libris app on the Nokia Apps store... the app was free. I've since also tried 'Wattpad' from the same app store...but this is not about comparing apps.
This is about the ease of use, or usability if you will, of having your e-book in your mobile handset. It meant I always had reading material with me. I didn't have to check if I had space in my pocket for an oversized e-book reader. I didn't have to worry about switching a Kindle or Sony reader on, booting up etc. to start reading.
I didn't, very importantly, have to worry about holding the still-heavy e-book readers in one hand while standing on the tube, or waiting in line. Whilst my partner was in the changing rooms in a clothes shop, I was able to battle the potential boredom by instantly whipping out the mobile and continuing with my e-book. For those who like to read in the toilet (not that I would ever suggest such a thing) it is easy to use the mobile handset (as many already do for calls and texting)...less so with a bulky e-book reader.
My mobile - as with all smartphones - is also able to hold my music and podcasts. It's my portable camera. I can browse the web (albeit in an unsatisfying way with such a small screen), email and, of course, even use it for phonecalls (remember those?).
In short, Sony, Amazon, the Cool-er, Elonex, Barnes & Noble, Apple, HP and probably a number of other manufacturers hoping to tap into the e-book market should think carefully about who is going to use the machines. They absolutely do have a market - I'd love to be able to buy one reader with all my study-books pre-loaded (including the online extra information that some text book publishers provide).
But they will never reach the ubiquitousness of the mp3 player and iPhone if they can't become truly portable.
We need one machine to rule the world ... not a dozen of bulky single-use gadgets that will break, get stolen or be too impractical to use.
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