Hi Vince.
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Originally Posted by vince_on_fire
What do you, as user of E-books and E-readers, see as the biggest issue when using these technologies? What problems do you run into and what would you like to see changed?
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Price (both of readers and books), DRM, and the format wars.
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What made you buy an E-reader, for what purpose and 'where do you use it for?
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I started reading e-books on my Palm Tungsten, in a small way, when I first bought it a few years ago. I got serious about reading e-books on my Treo, about a year and a half ago. I purchased an eInk reader (Cybook Gen3) because reading on the Treo bothered my eyes. Otherwise I was very happy reading ebooks on the Treo and in some ways I prefer it to the eInk reader (scrolling, searching, the ability to take notes).
I read fiction and nonfiction on my Cybook, both free public domain stuff and purchased books. I don't purchase a lot of books, but I admit that now I look for an ebook edition before buying a pbook, and sometimes decide not to buy a book if an ebook edition is not available.
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What's your opinion on content supplies? Do you find it easy to get content for your device? What are the biggest problems concerning content?
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I find it very easy to get content, because I like reading classics, and the bookmaking elves here at MobileRead give me lots of material! But there are a few favorite authors I'd like to see release ebooks of their backlist, partly so I can clean off my bookshelves.
I'd also like to see more widespread availability of ebooks from libraries. My local library branch, quite frankly, stinks when it comes to books. The new, hot books are always checked out and on long waits, and the stuff that's there is frequently old and nasty. (I don't mind old books, but I do mind nasty old books, and I live in a rather, um, damp area.) They're really good about ILL, but it would be pretty cool if I could "borrow" ebooks online without even having to visit the branch.
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Why do you think people will not try using E-books or E-reader and what would you change to make it more interesting for non-users?
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When I show people my reader, if they like to read (a big if), they often are interested until I tell them the price. Even then some are still interested, though they see it as a "treat" that they will get for a big gift or after a bonus, etc. rather than a must-have tool. I know some of these same people will spend close to the cost of an ebook reader in a year buying pbooks.
Also, some people (not all older folks, either--I'm almost 46 and some of these people are younger than I) who are intimidated by the fancy thinkin' box. I've steered some toward the Kindle. I think many others who are confused or intimidated could be shown how easy it is to transfer files onto the Cybook or similar and get the hang of it easily. But it's a matter of convincing them it's not "hard."
I've received a few comments along the line of "Don't you miss turning the pages?" Does anyone love turning pages so much? Once you get into whatever you are reading, you don't notice the medium of delivery. I'm a webmaster and I understand the concept of content delivery, but most people haven't thought about it a whole lot. The content is vital. The delivery method must only be usable and not thwart the content consumer.
New books are neat, but they eventually become old books and must be shelved and dusted in the meantime.
Also there are collectors, who must be surrounded by piles and piles of pbooks to be completely happy. I used to be that way, but I got over it.
Good luck on your dissertation!