spacecadet design

The latest digital frontier is not video, streaming movies or social networks it is plain old text. Newspapers, magazines, blogs and now books are the newest and hottest digital trend for 2010.

This time it’s hardware that is leading the charge with the “Kindle”,  Amazon’s book reader, leading the way. This is an 8 x 5 inch, 10.3-ounce device that has immediate access to over 400,000 book titles and can store 200 titles at a time. Most books cost $9.99 unless otherwise posted and download times run less than a minute.  Battery life is 48 hours with the wireless connection on or turn it off and go a week without charging. Many titles will allow you to read the first few chapters before you buy.

Kindles use cellphone technology, so there is no searching for wireless hot spots and the great thing is… there is never a cellphone bill… as you’ve paid for access when you buy the device.

These devices use special screens that can be read in all lighting situations including that sunny day on the beach. I do wonder if they will be able to stand-up to a roll in the fine sand found at Grand Beach however?

The original kindle sells for $259 US while the newer and larger Kindle DX sells for $489 US.  Both are now available in Canada.

Not to be outdone Barnes and Noble has released their own device called the Nook, and several other manufacturers like Sony, Samsung, Endless Ideas, Elonex, Bookeen, Pocketbook, Entourage and Jinke are all releasing new book reading devices.

Computer makers are jumping on the bandwagon too and third party software developers have made apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch that transform these devices into a readers. Personally I think the iPhone screen is too small for me to enjoy the reading experience but others may find it handy on long flights or unplanned delays.

Apple is rumored to be releasing a new computer designed with a touch screen called a tablet or slate that will allow users to read books, presumably purchased from iTunes, watch video, TV and movies or play games. PC makers such as Dell, Lenovo, Motorola, and an HP-Microsoft co-production have all previously released a tablet but the real rubber will hit the road with Apple’s release.  Experts suggest the Apple device will include connectivity to 3G cellular networks and webcam with a 10 or 11-inch screen.

Will it include a physical keyboard, a virtual one or be designed to work with Apple’s wireless keyboard? We should know by the end of January as Apple usually has something big to unveil at each Mac convention.

Regardless, book readers are going to have a huge impact on traditional booksellers. Amazon reported digital book sales outstripped physical book sales in December of 2009. Locally this is not good news for the beleaguered McNally Robinson. If electronic books take over like digital music downloads, video streaming, and online movie rentals have traditional booksellers may find themselves going extinct much like record and video stores.

Newspapers need to take note too, as they will need to make publishing and subscription deals with online suppliers if they want to remain viable. Currently the New York Times has a deal with Amazon/Kindle so the writing is on the wall.