Ebook comes up short for travel guide

FF2 · 11-25-2010, 01:07 AM

While the Kindle was used for the Lonely Planet guidebook, I think the article hits on the generic weaknesses of the ebook, at least, currently, for tasks/reading that is not quite linear like a novel:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101124/...lld3BhcGVydw--

or a shortened link:

http://yhoo.it/ih4g8d

Kali Yuga · 11-25-2010, 10:46 AM

Meh

IMO it's more an issue of formatting and adding links than anything else. LP and other guidebooks use layouts that are optimized for paper, and probably didn't put huge efforts yet into their ebooks. Once they get the hang of it, and certain methods get more standardized, ebooks will be fine for travel.

It's also entirely plausible that a media-rich ebook will, in a few years, produce a vastly superior experience to paper. Imagine using a light-weight 7" tablet, full color, with zoomable maps and a GPS-based indicator of where you are in that map; an audio walking guide to a museum; perhaps even user-updatable information, indicating that the "backpacker's favorite cafe" is now closed, weighing a fraction of that massive Frommer's Guide to Europe.

FF2 · 11-25-2010, 05:38 PM

Well, I'm not sure that I would want to rely on an electronic "book" while hiking the Haute Route. The weather was not always perfect and pulling out the hiking book (Kev Reynolds) was a regular exercise in finding the route. But then again, even had to be careful with paper in inclement weather. Also, there were a few nights without power so charging could be a challenge.

I did purchase a hikikng guide to Glacier National Park just to experiment and while I probably should have returned it to Amazon, I decided to keep it. Maps are impossibly small and hard to read.

thrawn_aj · 11-25-2010, 05:47 PM

Agreed - it's the maps more than anything else for me. But, as Kali Yuga said, this seems more like a "the tech's not there yet but will be soon" kind of issue rather than a fundamental problem. Though with physically strenuous activities (and the risk of water damage), perhaps paper books are more robust

.

Eastlondonboy · 11-25-2010, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FF2

While the Kindle was used for the Lonely Planet guidebook, I think the article hits on the generic weaknesses of the ebook, at least, currently, for tasks/reading that is not quite linear like a novel:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101124/...lld3BhcGVydw--

or a shortened link:

http://yhoo.it/ih4g8d

I was wondering about this. Thanks for the link.

HamsterRage · 11-25-2010, 07:51 PM

Personally, I think trying to take an old technology which was slightly sub-optimal for the task and then trying to emulate that with a new technology is a losing proposition.

A travel "book" should probably be a tablet app that does a lot of interactive things. Maybe have video, allow you to book rooms and tickets online, and all kinds of cool stuff I can't even think of.

There were a few travel programs put out for the Sony PSP for some specific locations, like Paris and London. That was a neat idea, but I never tried them out.

ypocaramel · 11-25-2010, 10:07 PM

I agree. I used a PRS-700 while travelling in Central Vietnam, and it wasn't so bad, but it was mostly a supplement to get a 2nd opinion on a resturant, I had a physical Lonely Planet for maps.

Tablet apps do have a lot of potenial though. In addition to HamsterRage's ideas, there's use of GPS, use of the camera to identify landmarks and items (one reason why I think the iPad should have a camera, even the iPod Touch's would be fine), location aware social networking for travellers (you'd be surprised the random people you'd bump into while in the middle of what you thought was nowhere)... That said, more (good) apps would need to come out, international data access more available, and tablets cheaper and tougher before that can really come to fruitation. Oh, and some way to use them outdoors, I don't know how well anti-glare film works.

Something like the NOOKcolor is better becasuse of color support and LCD refresh rates, so it'd be more responsive and you can pinch to zoom maps. I think the NC could be a good springboard for travel guides, though battery life is a short for a traveller, and it hasn't got the full potenial of a tablet app with no GPS and camera.

FF2 · 11-26-2010, 01:41 AM

I guess the problem is that some of these books should not be provided in ebook format unless they improve them - I certainly will not waste any more money on the hiking books although Amazon does a have a slew of them available. Maybe the DX would better platform.

ypocaramel · 11-26-2010, 03:55 AM

The thing is, guide apps need to be able to perform the moment you them the most - when you're lost, or when you're hungry. If you can't read the map the moment you need it, you can't find the resturant guide when you're straving and everyone is looking at you, or the batteries dies and you forget which train you should be taking, then you'll wish you brought the physical book.

I think you can take the current travel guide format and improve it, make it a bit more interactive. But the book metaphor really isn't optimal, as recongized by others here, a searchable, dynamic layout would be more useful. Ideally you'd want a camera, GPS and digital compass too.

LDBoblo · 11-26-2010, 09:24 AM

Ebooks are now where they should have been 20 years ago. It's unfortunate that the evolution of the medium has been as sluggish as it has been, and there's still lots of room for improvement with ebooks, even with the ultra-basic text blocks of most generic fiction.

The time it will take to develop thoroughly competent travel guides on present-day reader devices and software may be equal or greater than the time it will take to thoroughly obsolete present-day reader devices and software.

RCR · 11-26-2010, 02:40 PM

I've noticed with the iPad maps app - when you are disconnected from the internet, it leaves on the iPad a zoomable map of the last place you looked at. But I have to agree, I'd want a paper copy for any real world travel.

elemenoP · 11-26-2010, 02:52 PM

It'll get there eventually. I went backpacking across Europe for 9 weeks when I was in my 20s. Since I was carrying everything I owned on my back, every ounce counted. I had a huge Rick Steves travel guide, I split the binding and tore out just the sections I thought I would need. I really had to think hard before my trip started about what I wanted to take and what I wanted to leave. (same for other reading material like novels, btw.) Eventually I did end up in places where I had no "reference" at all. How great it would have been to carry the whole guide, plus ten more travel guides, plus a bunch of novels, without adding any weight at all.

eP

11-25-2010, 01:07 AM	#1
FF2 Wizard Posts: 1,105 Karma: 1025784 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: WiFi Kindle3	Ebook comes up short for travel guide While the Kindle was used for the Lonely Planet guidebook, I think the article hits on the generic weaknesses of the ebook, at least, currently, for tasks/reading that is not quite linear like a novel: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101124/...lld3BhcGVydw-- or a shortened link: http://yhoo.it/ih4g8d

11-25-2010, 10:07 PM	#7
ypocaramel Connoisseur Posts: 64 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Hong Kong Device: Sony Reader PRS-700, Barnes and Noble NOOKcolor)	I agree. I used a PRS-700 while travelling in Central Vietnam, and it wasn't so bad, but it was mostly a supplement to get a 2nd opinion on a resturant, I had a physical Lonely Planet for maps. Tablet apps do have a lot of potenial though. In addition to HamsterRage's ideas, there's use of GPS, use of the camera to identify landmarks and items (one reason why I think the iPad should have a camera, even the iPod Touch's would be fine), location aware social networking for travellers (you'd be surprised the random people you'd bump into while in the middle of what you thought was nowhere)... That said, more (good) apps would need to come out, international data access more available, and tablets cheaper and tougher before that can really come to fruitation. Oh, and some way to use them outdoors, I don't know how well anti-glare film works. Something like the NOOKcolor is better becasuse of color support and LCD refresh rates, so it'd be more responsive and you can pinch to zoom maps. I think the NC could be a good springboard for travel guides, though battery life is a short for a traveller, and it hasn't got the full potenial of a tablet app with no GPS and camera. Last edited by ypocaramel; 11-26-2010 at 03:48 AM.

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11-25-2010, 10:46 AM	#2
Kali Yuga Professional Contrarian Posts: 2,045 Karma: 3289631 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Kindle 4 No Touchie	Meh IMO it's more an issue of formatting and adding links than anything else. LP and other guidebooks use layouts that are optimized for paper, and probably didn't put huge efforts yet into their ebooks. Once they get the hang of it, and certain methods get more standardized, ebooks will be fine for travel. It's also entirely plausible that a media-rich ebook will, in a few years, produce a vastly superior experience to paper. Imagine using a light-weight 7" tablet, full color, with zoomable maps and a GPS-based indicator of where you are in that map; an audio walking guide to a museum; perhaps even user-updatable information, indicating that the "backpacker's favorite cafe" is now closed, weighing a fraction of that massive Frommer's Guide to Europe.

11-25-2010, 05:38 PM	#3
FF2 Wizard Posts: 1,105 Karma: 1025784 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: WiFi Kindle3	Well, I'm not sure that I would want to rely on an electronic "book" while hiking the Haute Route. The weather was not always perfect and pulling out the hiking book (Kev Reynolds) was a regular exercise in finding the route. But then again, even had to be careful with paper in inclement weather. Also, there were a few nights without power so charging could be a challenge. I did purchase a hikikng guide to Glacier National Park just to experiment and while I probably should have returned it to Amazon, I decided to keep it. Maps are impossibly small and hard to read.

11-25-2010, 05:47 PM	#4
thrawn_aj quantum mechanic Posts: 705 Karma: 483827 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: NorCal Device: Nook1, Samsung Transform, Nook2	Agreed - it's the maps more than anything else for me. But, as Kali Yuga said, this seems more like a "the tech's not there yet but will be soon" kind of issue rather than a fundamental problem. Though with physically strenuous activities (and the risk of water damage), perhaps paper books are more robust .

11-25-2010, 07:51 PM	#6
HamsterRage Evangelist Posts: 435 Karma: 24326 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Kobo	Personally, I think trying to take an old technology which was slightly sub-optimal for the task and then trying to emulate that with a new technology is a losing proposition. A travel "book" should probably be a tablet app that does a lot of interactive things. Maybe have video, allow you to book rooms and tickets online, and all kinds of cool stuff I can't even think of. There were a few travel programs put out for the Sony PSP for some specific locations, like Paris and London. That was a neat idea, but I never tried them out.

11-26-2010, 01:41 AM	#8
FF2 Wizard Posts: 1,105 Karma: 1025784 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: WiFi Kindle3	I guess the problem is that some of these books should not be provided in ebook format unless they improve them - I certainly will not waste any more money on the hiking books although Amazon does a have a slew of them available. Maybe the DX would better platform.

11-26-2010, 03:55 AM	#9
ypocaramel Connoisseur Posts: 64 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Hong Kong Device: Sony Reader PRS-700, Barnes and Noble NOOKcolor)	The thing is, guide apps need to be able to perform the moment you them the most - when you're lost, or when you're hungry. If you can't read the map the moment you need it, you can't find the resturant guide when you're straving and everyone is looking at you, or the batteries dies and you forget which train you should be taking, then you'll wish you brought the physical book. I think you can take the current travel guide format and improve it, make it a bit more interactive. But the book metaphor really isn't optimal, as recongized by others here, a searchable, dynamic layout would be more useful. Ideally you'd want a camera, GPS and digital compass too.

11-26-2010, 09:24 AM	#10
LDBoblo Wizard Posts: 1,385 Karma: 16056 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Asia Device: Kindle 3 WiFi, Sony PRS-505	Ebooks are now where they should have been 20 years ago. It's unfortunate that the evolution of the medium has been as sluggish as it has been, and there's still lots of room for improvement with ebooks, even with the ultra-basic text blocks of most generic fiction. The time it will take to develop thoroughly competent travel guides on present-day reader devices and software may be equal or greater than the time it will take to thoroughly obsolete present-day reader devices and software.

11-26-2010, 02:40 PM	#11
RCR Addict Posts: 334 Karma: 992487 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: 2 x Sony 505, iPad, Samsung 7 Tablet, ASUS Transformer, Nexus 7	I've noticed with the iPad maps app - when you are disconnected from the internet, it leaves on the iPad a zoomable map of the last place you looked at. But I have to agree, I'd want a paper copy for any real world travel.

11-26-2010, 02:52 PM	#12
elemenoP Wizard Posts: 1,717 Karma: 3790058 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: NYC Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Sony 650	It'll get there eventually. I went backpacking across Europe for 9 weeks when I was in my 20s. Since I was carrying everything I owned on my back, every ounce counted. I had a huge Rick Steves travel guide, I split the binding and tore out just the sections I thought I would need. I really had to think hard before my trip started about what I wanted to take and what I wanted to leave. (same for other reading material like novels, btw.) Eventually I did end up in places where I had no "reference" at all. How great it would have been to carry the whole guide, plus ten more travel guides, plus a bunch of novels, without adding any weight at all. eP

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