Is That a Book in Your Pocket or Are You Just Happy to See Me?
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The answer is yes, that is a Book (an eBook) in my Pocket (PC), but there is happiness involved anyway if you take pleasure in the written word.
Every day the question comes up - actual wording varies <EG> - from fellow commuters or travelers, people on street or in waiting rooms, when they see me engrossed in my Pocket PC. Unexpectedly enough most don’t wonder about the gadget itself, or even try to guess if I am playing a video game. And the answer always surprises them: I am reading. A book. Yes, there is a whole book in there; actually there are many books behind that pretty screen.
Paper or Plastic? Print or Digital?
Are you a casual reader or an avid one? Did you know you can read very well on the same gadget that holds your appointments and contacts? You don’t even need a data plan. If you have never read a book on a handheld, the first time you may miss the feel of the printed page, but that lasts only until the narrative takes you away from the distraction. We’re talking seconds if the book is good enough. My love affair with PPC’s started because of reading, and although they now relate to every aspect of my life, reading is still my most habitual activity.
Some books will always be better in print: graphic novels for one, some magazines. But for the rest, nothing beats carrying your own backlight, the ability to bookmark and annotate, copy and paste, look up definitions and related information. You can adjust the font size, zoom into any graphics, follow any links (if Internet access is available). My old back is very grateful at how much lighter my backpack has become. While it’s true you must wait a few minutes while your plane takes off before using any gadgets, it is only a minor inconvenience. Battery power is required also, but I bet the electricity used to keep a device charged is less of an environmental burden than printing the book, let alone having a lamplight to read by. Of course when it comes to reading, bigger is better. eBooks and readers are not available for standard phones (I think the screen is way too small anyway), but most PPC’s start at 2.8″ and you can find plenty to choose from above 3″. I don’t recommend smaller than that for heavy reading. Personally, I went extreme with an HTC Advantage and its lovely 5″ of brilliant VGA. It’s a pleasure just to look at, but it is indeed big and heavy, more like a small ultra-mobile with the advantage (pun intended) of the Windows Mobile OS. On the plus side, it can give me almost 7 hours of battery power, depending on what else is running.
Open Material for Tight Budgets
Practically all the classics are public domain and as such available for free. You could spend years on those alone. Did you ever read Bram Stoker’s Dracula? The Arabian Nights (aka 1001 Arabian Nights? Everything by Jane Austen, Mark Twain, Jules Verne? There are hundreds of thousands of books available on every topic from philosophy to history, poetry to science, biographies, reference, travel, the list goes on. Free of charge.
In addition to books, there are also all kinds of articles and blogs, especially those not available as RSS (or preferred individually). Do you enjoy non-professional writers, fanfic? Thousands of pages I used to print and carry along now reside happily in my storage card. I can download those long stories in a batch to read later, offline, even edit and beta on the fly using Pocket Word.
Freebies? Where?
My favorite sources for free ebooks are Munsey’s and Project Gutenberg. 
Blackmask Online, a huge collection, can also be found in the Project Gutenberg site. And there is also Many Books, the Baen Free Library, and the University of Virginia Library. Together they offer millions of books and documents.
Oh, and don’t miss the “Free eBooks” links on every site that sells ebooks. One caveat: Beware of ebooks offered online sometimes for a couple of dollars, they may be public domain books available without charge elsewhere. Search on these sites before you pay just in case. Budgets are always tight, but consider sending a donation to sites like Project Gutenberg, their work is priceless.
But I Want New (Recent) Books!
No problem, go get your credit card. Almost every book released in the last few years is also available in various electronic formats, with more books added every day. For current fare we must live with the limitations of copyright protection. Depending on where you buy your books, licensing may be linked to specific hardware, the site purchased from, and/or the credit card used. Most importantly, books are purchased typically in only one format and so are read by specific software. Protected ebooks cannot be converted, printed, or given away.
OK, ok. My favorite source is Fictionwise, mostly because they offer books on several formats. They also offer decent prices, plus daily discounts and frequent big sales. On a convenient note, they keep every book you buy available for download, as many times as needed, directly on their site. There is no issue with you changing devices or credit cards, just log back in and download again. Their customer service is also responsive if you ever have a problem accessing a book. Other good sources are eBooks.com and Mobipocket (mobi format only).
Unfortunately, the big book retailers have either abandoned or modified their marketing of electronic books. Barnes & Noble doesn’t sell them at all anymore, and both Amazon and Borders sell only for their own hardware, the Kindle and Sony Reader respectively. I am all for competition, but let’s face it, those of us that already own PPC’s are probably not going to spend extra money on another gadget that only does books when we can do the same with what we already got.
So, have you discovered ebooks yet? Let’s compare notes. I’ll be back tomorrow with a quick look at my favorite readers.
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Yes, I almost exclusively read books on my phone and I love the feeling of carrying around 20 books at a time and being able to start reading anywhere. I don’t see the point of a separate reader, which is too big to stick in your pocket. Personally, I prefer eReader and Mobipocket - though the latter has the funny quirk of being able to bookmark, but not having a Go To for bookmarks. Also, I don’t particularly like Mobipocket’s system of protecting its books. With each new device (or after a hard reset) you have to download the book again with a new PID and usually after using three PIDs you can’t renew it or have a hassle with customer care. eReader is better, using a combination of your name and credit card number.
What I don’t like is the chaos of a multitude of formats: pdb, prc, lit, pdf, Tomeraider, etc.
Fictionwise is OK, but I prefer eBooks.com (same company nowadays), which has the same books and a simple system of reduced prices, instead of the opaque system of credit points which Fictionwise uses.
Hey bartveld, good to meet a fellow reader. What kind of phone do you read on? Or is it a phone/PPC? What’s your screen size?
When I first started reading I tried Palm & Mobipocket among others (that was a while back, lots of new versions since), but they were not enough to take me away from the uBook/MS Reader basic set. And they’re not free either (at least Mobi if I’m not mistaken). The format jungle is most annoying & in my opinion what keeps readers away from ebooks the most.
Thank you for reminding me about TomeRaider, I forgot that! For those of you that don’t know about it, it goes beyond yet another reader. In a nutshell it specializes in database reference material. If you want to take Wikipedia or IMDB with you, then only TomeRaider can handle those huge files. They have thousands of books, the reader goes for about $30, & can be found here: http://www.tomeraider.com/
The system at Fictionwise gives you an in-house account that gets credited with every purchase (from 5% to 100% of the value) & you use it to buy more books. You can also put $ directly into it (some books can be purchased only with credit points) or send gifts & the like. Most discounts are handled this way indeed, a sure hook to keep you coming back for more, but the frequent over 30% off offers make it all worth it. They also have a annual-pay membership that gives you further discounts on every book. I don’t buy enough books a year to make it worthwhile (yet), but anyone that does may benefit.
I get the same funny looks, questions and indeed always the surprise when it turns out I’m reading a book
I just love it, in my breaks at work I read, it’s so easy to just take my PPC, turn it on and start reading. I use Mobipocket by the way, and the desktop version wich can make ebooks from every type of text file. Very handy.
Kassad, I’ve even had people worry about my eyes! Then I remind them I have a fully controlled backlight, zoom features, plus the nifty controls over font, color & background. Still, with all those advantages, my #1 reason for reading electronically is that even with my heavy PPC, less than half a pound contains right now propbably half a ton of books, with unlimited potential if you consider tiny flash cards & internet access. Paper is heavy!
good article, although I disagree with this comment:
“. I am all for competition, but let’s face it, those of us that already own PPC’s are probably not going to spend extra money on another gadget that only does books when we can do the same with what we already got.”
I have a Sony Reader PRS500 that I bought on a tiger direct $99 sale. It is leaps and bounds better for reading than ppcs, mainly due to the eink screen.
Nonetheless i always carry books on my ppc because I can fire that up anywhwere. the portability trumps that of any dedicated reader. mobileread.com is a good website dedicated to ebook reading.
No worries vw, it wasn’t a put down on stand-alone readers. I even looked at the Kindle & was so tempted! I liked the idea of getting the newspapers too, & the screen technology (”liquid paper” or something like that) is excellent for reading out on the sun (no glare to worry about), I think your Sony has the same feature, right? I’ve never seen it live.
The problem is convenience & budget. The PPC is with me for good because it carries my entire life, so I couldn’t justify the extra expense (plus bulk, plus chargers, etc) even with the nifty screen, when I could continue to do very well with my current gadget & the books can be shared with my desktop & laptop.
For those that rather have a small PPC or smartphone though, I completely recommend they pick a good separate reader, especially these days that they come with additional features. If the Kindle (with Amazon’s library backing it up) ever comes up with a color screen & full internet access (not just to buy more books), I’ll put it on my wish list too.
Forgot to thank you for the rec on mobileread, I didn’t know of it & it looks like an excellent resource. I’m off to read!
Good post. I bought an Advantage also. Most of my book reading is by websubscription at Baen due to drm free.
Hey, c1oudrs, isn’t the Advantage perfect for reading? I’m surprised HTC doesn’t market it (& its siblings) that way. It’s not perfect & I have pet peeves, but every time I open a book I forget about them.
Baen is excellent for us sci-fi fans. I haven’t used it for a while because these days I’m reading more horror & mystery novels, not to mention my current fever for adventure (mountain climbing, expeditions to the poles, etc), but I’ll be back, sci-fi is my thing.
“What kind of phone do you read on? Or is it a phone/PPC? What’s your screen size?”
Until a few days ago I used a TyTN II (2.8 inch screen) and now an i-mate Ultimate 8502 (2.6 inch screen). It’s small, but you can get used to it. And at one time I bought a smartphone, because I hated carrying a separate phone and PPC. Now I can see the advantages of a bigger reader with e-ink technology, but it doesn’t outweigh the benefit of having one small device which incorporates everything I want.
The TyTN is lovely, it was my second choice after the Advantage, I just fell for the bigger screen & since I don’t need the keyboard, at least with it I can detach it & leave it at home. This is also my first time with a 1-for-all device, but then my cell phone usage is minimal except for a bit of net surfing.
The Ultimate looks nice, but I’ve only seen it in pictures. The keyboard is too much for me, at least on the TyTN you can fold it away.
For my next device I’m certainly hoping there will be another VGA screen. The newer Advantage model (7510) has taken some steps backward, so unless they fix that I may not just upgrade. Maybe back to the iPaq’s or maybe Asus or something, but it must be at least 3.5″ screen or I’ll need a magnifying glass on top of my bifocals!
I used to be an avid PPC book reader, but Microsoft abandoning eReader soured my experience. Over the years I had purchased many books in the .LIT format. Everytime I had to reactivate a device, or change my phone it was a mess. At one point I found a MS rep helping out users in an Usenet group, to activate eReader on newer Windows Mobile devices, and that extended my use a bit longer. Ultimately I gave up on it though … you shouldn’t have to dig deep into Usenet to figure out how to read a book on a Windows Mobile device. All the titles I had are now lost to me.
Reading the article I was sparked to look into the new alternatives for eBooks … and again I am soured that an eBook costs the same as the physical paperback.
WHY??!? Just because they can charge whatever they want? If there is no printing cost, shipping, inventory storage, or paper recycling involved AND it needs to be in electronic format to be printed in the first place … how can it not be cheaper?
Additionally I am now using a Windows Mobile Smartphone (BlackJackII) and eReader isn’t even supported on WM Standard devices.
Proto, you are indeed preaching to the choir! Where’s my soapbox?
To this day the MS Reader activation is not smooth & needs to be redone frequently, even for old books. People moved to Mobi & others in droves for that single reason. Alas, the .lit format is still the most common, so I’ve stuck with it. It’s hard enough to find certain books without adding multiple formats. For us readers there’s always the hope that the digital media won’t die, it’s too convenient.
Regarding prices, yes, ebooks are just as expensive as hardcovers when they first come out. If you wait long enough the prices tend to fall a bit faster & most stores offer other discounts, but it’s still pretty much an equivalent price. As for why? In a word: **GREED** Publishers want every single penny they can possible get out their customers, & since their little brains don’t understand proper commerce, they kill the media with the burden of restrictions, spend a fortune on piracy protection, & alienate their customers with bad software & high prices. It’s all an illusion of course. There is no such thing as a code that cannot be broken, like music producers are starting to realize. They either embrace technology or lose even more $. Their paranoia actually *sends* people to the pirates, after all you can find anything in the black market if you know where to look.
Book publishers are still digging their heels to change, but maybe, just maybe, things will be more flexible in the future. Amazon is putting a lot of $ to backup the Kindle, a future iPhone may finally add a reader and then iTunes will set up a section for books. As usual, after Apple adds a new i-something, other companies will “discover” yet another huge market waiting for the right product.
OK, off the soapbox before I get too riled up.
For smartphones there’s no reader yet, but there’s a part 2 of this article coming up later today that will give you a link to a beta currently available. I hope it may be of use for your phone or that at least it opens the doors for similar software. If you participate on the test, please let us know of your experience.
Proto732, eReader is available for the Blackjack 2. You use the same installer as WM Pro (http://www.ereader.com/ereader/software/browse.htm).
Rosario, the HTC Advantage is an ebook reader’s dream. The screen just seems to be made for it. I have been using eReader since my Palm Lifedrive days (probably longer) and it was always great to be able to read a book in between phone calls when I was working help desk support. Not to mention the fact that it looked like I was doing something slightly more productive (my company banned reading while not on calls for a couple of months).
I currently use my AT&T Tilt for my eBook and eBible reading. The font customization is just great to make it easier on the eyes not to mention the fact that you change the colors so that you can read it at night (black background with dark green letters).
My mistake … I was talking about Microsoft Reader … not eReader.
Funny the site for Microsoft Reader was updated just days ago and they still don’t even use their own standard OS naming conventions (Pro, Standard, Classic).
http://www.microsoft.com/reader/downloads/ppc.mspx
No worries, Proto, I “read” MS Reader myself. Go figure! Neither their software, nor their pages have been updated in a while. They fixed a bug for WM5 & added a little note to the page, but everything remains the same since at least 2 years back.
Hey Brett. Thanks for the tip on eReader, maybe we can lure more readers back in.
The big Advantage is really sweet, isn’t it? Readers, on your next gadget, regardless of size, keep VGA as the prefered screen, once you see it you’ll never use anything else. The smoothing you get with ClearType is nice, but not remotely enough by comparison. And yes, size matters, at least when it comes to fine print (pun completely intended).
On part 2 of this article I go over my current 2 readers. One of the features of uBook is the selection of skins (you can create your own too) & some of the ones included have day/night versions, so you can switch back & forth with a couple of taps. The skin you’ll see in my pics though is called “Book”, & I find it good for practically any lighting conditions.
Thanks for the write up Rosie. Made some very interesting reading. Shame the new eBooks are as pricey as their paper counter-parts. Not as if they have any printing costs.
Martyn, I’ll just point you to my little rant in response to Proto732 above. I may scare people away if I start again. Argh!
this is a great site thanks