David Rothman, founder of TeleRead.org, says this in Publishing Trends:
Sony plans to release a new model that will let people effortlessly download e-books without messing with a connection with a desktop or laptop. And Sony’s wireless will work with a bunch of bookstores, not just the house one.
He doesn’t include any sources, so, frankly, I’ll believe it when I see it. But if this is true, it would be a huge step forward for ereaders escaping the Kindle hegemony. He also notes, later:
You can fire up a Sony Reader to enjoy books from many public libraries, which undoubtedly will be growing their e-book collections in ’09.
Why is this always an afterthought? I think it’s the best ereader feature out there.
[via TeleRead and Publishing Trends]
Thanks for the mention, Nico. In the PT piece, yes, I referred to Sony’s plans to let nonSony stores use wireless at some date in the future. No rumors here. See Paul Biba’s post from a Sony news conference:
http://www.teleread.org/2008/10/03/new-sony-reader-and-a-renewed-commitment/
[Missing images to be restored, as we continue a site migration to new servers]
Notice? Paul cites Steve Haber, president of the Digital Reading Business Division. Moreover, the information jibes with what Steve told me separately.
As for libraries, they’re far more than an afterthought to me, too. I’m just dismayed that the e-book collections of most public libraries are so tiny. Since the 1990s, TeleRead has been calling for well-stocked national digital library systems in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Thanks,
David Rothman, for TeleRead.org
703-370-6540
Thanks for checking out our site, David. And thanks for this link.
It’s a very interesting post, and exciting news about a new Reader. I’m a big fan of the current Reader’s hardware, and an open wireless content system will be a huge step forward for the entire epublishing industry. And the impact of an aggressive sales campaign, as Paul mentions, is also good news, as I feel the landscape of ebooks will change drastically (for the better) once there’s relative ereader saturation.
Content-wise, I’ve gotten the sense that Sony’s phoning it in right now with their eBook Store, which is fine because you don’t need their software to use the Reader.
And as for mentioning digital libraries, I didn’t mean to throw you under the bus by calling it an afterthought. Actually, you’re one of the very few I’ve seen that mention digital libraries at all when discussing the Reader (and digital libraries and ereaders are symbiotic to a certain extent for me while ebook stores catch up).
I’m more frustrated with Sony for not making it a significant part of both their marketing efforts and the identity of the Reader. Once people know more about the possibilities of digital libraries, I think that will drive libraries’ content acquisition.
I’ve been able to find most books I want to read at the library, but almost all have only one digital copy available. It seems like a pilot program right now, but if demand increases, I think they’ll expand and keep up.
Well, it’s always good to find like-minded souls about E and libraries, Nico. Let’s hope that both libraries and vendors will listen to us! Thanks. David