E-Books and E-Book Readers

E-Books and E-Book Readers Prepared by the Monroe County Library System

E-Book Readers Key Points to Remember Not all e-book readers will read all e-book file formats. Some e-book readers are limited to specific e-book stores. Some e-book readers double as music players, and can run other applications. A Selection of Popular E-Book Readers Amazon Kindle 2 Price: $259.00 Storage: 2 GB Features: Paper-like 6 E Ink display, books can be downloaded anywhere reception is available using free 3G wireless, text-to-speech audio, does not require a PC, 400,000 e-books available from Amazon.com, access to Wikipedia, built in dictionary, basic web browser, MP3 player. Amazon Kindle DX Price: $489.00 Storage: 4 GB Features: Paper-like 9.7 E Ink display, books can be downloaded anywhere reception is available using free 3G wireless, text-to-speech audio, does not require a PC, 400,000 e-books available from Amazon.com, access to Wikipedia, built in dictionary, basic web browser, MP3 player. Barnes and Noble Nook Price: $259.00 Storage: 2 GB Features: Paper-like 6 E Ink display, books can be downloaded anywhere reception is available using free 3G wireless, Wi-Fi, 3.5 color touch screen control display, ability to lend some books to other Nook and Barnes and Noble ereader users, user replaceable battery, storage expansion via microsd card slot, MP3 player. Sony Reader Touch Edition Price: $265.99 Storage: 512 MB Features: Paper-like 6 E Ink display, storage expansion via SD Card slot. Sony Reader Pocket Edition Price: $169.99 Storage: 512 MB Features: Paper-like 5 E Ink display.

E-Book Readers Apple ipad (available in April) Price: $499.00 - $829.00 Storage: 16 GB, 32 GB, or 64 GB Features: 9.7 color LCD multi-touch touchscreen display, Wi-Fi, paid 3G available on some models, MP3 players, video player, 140,000 third-party applications, full web browser, email client, virtual keyboard. Interead COOL-ER Price: $249.00 Storage: 1 GB Features: Paper-like 6 E Ink display, storage expansion via SD Card slot.

E-Book File Formats Key Points to Remember Not all e-book readers will read all e-book file formats. Some file formats are proprietary, and can only be read by specific e-book readers. EPUB, PDF, and plain text file formats are the most widely supported formats by both publishers and e-book reader manufacturers. Key Vocabulary Terms to Remember Open Standard: A file format that can be used by any company without paying royalty or licensing fees. Proprietary: A file format that can only be used by the creating company, or, if the creating company permits, third parties that have purchased a usage license. Digital Rights Management: Also known as DRM, is technology that limits the use and duplication of copyrighted works. DRM may limit the number of times you may read, watch, or listen to a file, what type of device you can use the file on, the number of devices you can use the file on, or whether or not you can make a copy of the file. A Selection of the Most Popular Open Standard E-Book File Formats EPUB Short for electronic publication, EPUB is an open standard for e-books created by the International Digital Publishing Forum. It is widely supported by publishers, and e-book reader hardware manufactures. Additionally, free software is available to read EPUB format e-books on most computers. The EPUB format can support images, and text is reflowable, meaning the text size can be resized without compromising word wrap around images and at page margins. PDF PDF, or Portable Document Format, is file format created by Adobe Systems. It is a well established open standard that can be read by most computers, and is supported by most e-book readers. Like EPUB, it can display images. However, unlike EPUB, it does not support word wrap. Plain Text Plain Text is the lowest common denominator of open standard text files. It can be read by virtually all computers, and most e-book readers. It however does not support images, or digital rights management, making it a poor choice for publishers who wish to block users from making unauthorized copies of their works. A Selection of the Most Popular Proprietary E-Book File Formats Kindle The Kindle file format can only be read by Amazon Kindle, Kindle 2, and Kindle DX e-book readers. Software is available from Amazon to read the Kindle format on PCs, as well as iphones and ipod Touches. Mac and BlackBerry versions of the Kindle software is currently being developed. ereader ereader is a file format created by Palm Media. Note that ereader (the file format) and e-book readers (the physical device), sometimes referred to as just e-readers, are two different things. The ereader format is used in conjunction with the EPUB file format by Barnes and Noble s online e-book store. Software is available to view ereader formatted books on PCs, Macs, iphones, ipod Touches, and BlackBerry. BBeB Short for Broad Band ebook, BBeB was created by Sony and Canon for Sony e-book readers.

E-Book File Formats Comparison Chart Format Extension DRM Support Image Support Word Wrap Support Open Standard Plain Text.txt No No Yes Yes HTML.html No Yes Yes Yes PostScript.ps No Yes No Yes Portable Document Format.pdf Yes Yes No Yes DjVu.djvu? Yes No Yes FictionBook.fb2 Yes Yes Yes Yes Mobipocket.prc,.mobi Yes Yes Yes Yes Kindle.azw Yes Yes Yes No ereader.pdb Yes Yes Yes No BroadBand ebook.lrf,.lrx Yes Yes Yes No EPUB.epub Yes Yes Yes Yes Tome Reader.tr2,.tr3 Yes Yes Yes No ArghosReader.aeh Yes Yes Yes No Microsoft Reader.lit Yes Yes Yes No Chart Information from Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/comparison_of_e-book_formats

E-Reader Plain Text PDF EPUB HTML Mobipocket Fiction E-Book Reader File Format Compatibility Chart Book DjVu Broadband ebook ereader Kindle WOLF Tome Reader Amazon Kindle 2, DX Yes Yes No No Yes No No No No Yes No No No Apple ipad Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No Yes* No No No Azbooka WISEreader Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No Barnes & Noble Nook No Yes Yes No No No No No Yes No No No No COOL-ER Classic Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No Hanlin e-reader V3 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Yes No No Hanvon WISEreader Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No irex iliad Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes No No No No No No Iriver Story Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No Nokia N900 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No Yes NUUTbook 2 Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No No No Onyx Boox 60 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No Pocketbook 301 Plus Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No Sony Reader Yes Yes Yes No No No No Yes No No No No No Viewsonic VEB612 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No No No No No No *ipad will not display Kindle format natively. It will display Kindle format if the Amazon Kindle app is downloaded to the ipad. Chart information from Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/comparison_of_e-book_formats Open ebook

Digital Rights Management Key Points to Remember Most e-books purchased through online stores come with some sort of Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology. In order for an e-book reader to display an e-book, both the e-book file format and DRM must be compatible with the e-book reader. DRM restrictions can be subject to change with little or no prior warning. Key Vocabulary Terms to Remember Digital Rights Management: Also known as DRM, is technology that limits the use and duplication of copyrighted works. DRM may limit the number of times you may read, watch, or listen to a file, what type of device you can use the file on, the number of devices you can use the file on, or whether or not you can make a copy of the file. A Selection Popular DRM Technologies ADEPT Created by Adobe, ADEPT, or Adobe Digital Editions Protection Technology, allows users to download an e-book on to six devices at one time. E-books that are available through the Monroe County Library System and Overdrive are protected by Adobe ADEPT DRM. Amazon DRM E-books sold through Amazon s online store are protected by their proprietary DRM. Most books can be downloaded to six devices at a time, although for some titles that limit is less. FairPlay E-books sold through Apple s ibookstore incorporate their FairPlay DRM. Barnes and Noble DRM E-books sold through Barnes and Noble s online bookstore incorporate their proprietary DRM. E-books protected by Barnes and Noble DRM can be downloaded to one device at a time. However, Barnes and Noble e-books can be lent to another person for up to 14 days. E-Book Reader Adobe ADEPT Apple FairPlay Amazon DRM Barnes and Noble DRM Barnes and Noble Nook Yes No No Yes Amazon Kindle No No Yes No Apple ipad No Yes Yes* Yes** Sony Reader Daily Edition Yes No No No Sony Reader Pocket Edition Yes No No No Sony Reader PRS-505 Yes No No No Sony Reader PRS-700 Yes No No No Sony Reader Touch Edition Yes No No No Windows PC Yes*** No Yes*** Yes*** Apple Macintosh Yes*** No Yes*** Yes*** *ipad is not compatible with Amazon DRM natively. It can display e-books protected by the Amazon DRM if the Amazon Kindle app is installed. **ipad is not compatible with Barnes and Noble DRM natively. It can display e-books protected by the Barnes and Noble DRM if the Barnes and Noble app is installed. ***Windows PCs and Macs are compatible with these various DRM technologies once the proper software is installed on the computer.

E-Book Reader Software Key Points to Remember Virtually all e-book file formats can be read on a computer once the proper software is downloaded. Many people may be unaware that they already own devices (computers, smart phones, PDAs) that can make use of e-books. There are many free e-book reader programs available for computers and smart phones. A Selection of E-Book Reader Software for Computers Adobe Digital Editions http://www.adobe.com/products/digitaleditions/ Formats: PDF, EPUB, XHTML PC and Mac Lexcycle Stanza http://www.lexcycle.com/download Formats: PDF, ereader, EPUB, Kindle, Mobipocket, HTML, Microsoft Reader, FictionBook, plain text, and more PC and Mac Barnes and Noble ereader http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ebooks/index.asp Formats: EPUB, ereader PC and Mac Amazon Kindle http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=kcp_pc_mkt_lnd?docid=1000426311 Formats: Kindle PC, Mac A Selection of E-Book Reader Software for Smart Phones Lexcycle Stanza http://www.lexcycle.com/ Formats: PDF, ereader, EPUB, Kindle, Mobipocket, HTML, Microsoft Reader, FictionBook, plain text, and more iphone Barnes and Noble ereader http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ebooks/index.asp Formats: EPUB, ereader iphone, BlackBerry Amazon Kindle http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=kcp_pc_mkt_lnd?docid=1000426311 Formats: Kindle iphone, BlackBerry Aldiko http://www.aldiko.com/ Formats: EPUB Android

Free E-Book Resources Key Points to Remember Virtually all works of popular classic literature are in the public domain, and can be downloaded free of charge and without any DRM restrictions. ManyBooks http://manybooks.net/ Formats: EPUB, Kindle, Microsoft Reader, Sony Reader, Mobipocket, Rocket, HTML, RTF, plain text Genres: fiction and non-fiction Project Gutenberg http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/main_page Formats: EPUB, Mobipocket, HTML, plain text Genres: Out-of-copyright general fiction and non-fiction Internet Archive http://www.archive.org/details/texts Formats: EPUB, PDF, Kindle, HTML, plain text Genres: Out-of-copyright general fiction and non-fiction Wikibooks http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/main_page Formats: PDF, Open Document Genres: Textbooks and how-to manuals Mobipocket http://www.mobipocket.com/freebooks/default.aspx Formats: Mobipocket Genres: general fiction and non-fiction Baen Free Library http://www.baen.com/library/defaulttitles.htm Formats: EPUB, Kindle, Microsoft Reader, Sony Reader, Mobipocket, Rocket, HTML, RTF Genres: fantasy and science-fiction Planet ebook http://www.planetebook.com/ Formats: PDF Genres: Out-of-copyright general fiction

E-Book Reader Specification Comparisons and Reviews Detailed comparisons of dozens of e-readers: http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/e-book_reader_matrix C-Net Reviews: E-Book Readers: http://reviews.cnet.com/4566-3508_7-0.html?tag=bc E-Book reader comparisons: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/list_of_e-book_readers Additional Reading Brief comparisons of a few popular e-readers: http://technologizer.com/2009/10/26/the-e-reader-explosion-a-cheat-sheet/ E-Book file format comparison: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/comparison_of_e-book_formats Articles New E-Readers at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show http://www.cnn.com/2010/tech/01/08/ces.ereader/index.html?iref=allsearch E-Book Buyer s Guide to Privacy http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/01/updated-and-corrected-e-book-buyers-guide-privacy