e-book
(Electronic-BOOK) The electronic counterpart of a printed book, which can be viewed on a desktop computer, laptop, smartphone or e-book reader. When traveling, a large number of e-books can be stored in portable units, dramatically eliminating weight and volume compared to paper. Electronic bookmarks make referencing easier, and e-book readers may allow the user to annotate pages.Although fiction and non-fiction books come in e-book formats, technical material is especially suited for e-book delivery because it can be searched. In addition, programming code examples can be quickly copied, which is why CD-ROMs that contain the entire text of the work are often packaged inside technical paper books.
E-Book Formats
The major problem with e-books is the many formats competing for prime time, including Adobe PDF, Microsoft Reader, eReader, Mobipocket Reader, EPUB, Kindle and iPad.
All e-book formats have a search capability, but most do not support a direct dictionary lookup, which means if a person looks up the term "network," all the definitions that contain the word "network" are retrieved rather than the single definition of that term. The results are akin to the mountain of results retrieved by a search engine.
Amazon's Kindle and Apple's iPad
In late 2007, Amazon.com revolutionized the e-book market with the introduction of its Kindle e-book reader and e-book inventory. The Kindle was the first e-book to offer free, wireless access to download e-books and search the Web (see Kindle).
In early 2010, Apple introduced the iPad tablet, featuring "iBooks" downloadable over a Wi-Fi or 3G connection (see iPad). See PDF, iPad, EPUB, Open eBook and Mobipocket.
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| An E-Bookshelf on the Android |
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| iPhones and Androids are widely used to read e-books. This Aldiko bookshelf app for Android smartphones lets users download thousands of free and paid e-books. Aldiko converts publishers' content into stand-alone e-book applications. For more information, visit www.aldiko.com. |
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| One of the First E-Book Devices |
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| Introduced by NuvoMedia in 1998, the Rocket eBook was one of the first handheld e-book readers. Although a larger, color model was also made, the Rocket was discontinued in 2000 by Gemstar, which had acquired NuvoMedia. (Image courtesy of Gemstar TV Guide International.) |
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