= [Overview]
Amazon.com launched its own reading device, the Kindle, in
November 2007. In the mid-1990s, people read on their desktop
computers before reading on their laptops. The Palm Pilot was
launched in March 1996 as the first PDA, and people began
reading on PDAs. 23 million Palm Pilots were sold between 1996
and 2002. Its main competitors were the Pocket PC (launched by
Microsoft in April 2000) and the PDAs of Hewlett-Packard, Sony,
Handspring, Toshiba and Casio. People also began reading on the
first smartphones launched by Nokia or Sony Ericsson. Some
companies launched dedicated reading devices like the Rocket
eBook, the SoftBook Reader, the Gemstar eBook and the Cybook,
all models that didn't last long. Better reading devices
emerged then, like the Cybook (new version) in 2004, the Sony
Reader in 2006 and the Kindle in 2007. LCD screens were
replaced by screens using the E Ink technology. The next step
should be an ultra-thin flexible display called electronic
paper (epaper), launched in 2001 by E Ink, Plastic Logic and
others.
= First reading devices
How about a book-sized electronic reader that could store many
books at once? From 1998 onwards, some pioneer companies began
working on dedicated reading devices, and launched the Rocket
eBook (created by NuvoMedia), the EveryBook (created by
EveryBook), the SoftBook Reader (created by SoftBook Press),
and the Millennium eBook (created by Librius.com).
The Rocket eBook was launched by NuvoMedia, in Palo Alto,
California, as the first dedicated reading device. Founded in
1997, NuvoMedia wanted to become "the electronic book
distribution solution, by providing a networking infrastructure
for publishers, retailers and end users to publish, distribute,
purchase and read electronic content securely and efficiently
on the internet." Investors of NuvoMedia were Barnes & Noble
and Bertelsmann. The connection between the Rocket eBook and
the computer (PC or Macintosh) was made through the Rocket
eBook Cradle, which provided power through a wall transformer,
and connected to the computer with a serial cable.
EveryBook (EB) was "a living library in a single book". The
EveryBook's electronic storage could hold 100 textbooks or 500
novels. The EveryBook used a "hidden" modem to dial into the
EveryBook Store, for people to browse, purchase and receive
full text books, magazines and sheet music.
SoftBook Press created the SoftBook along with the SoftBook
Network, an internet-based content delivery service. With the
SoftBook, "people could easily, quickly and securely download a
wide selection of books and periodicals using its built-in
internet connection", with a machine that, "unlike a computer,
was ergonomically designed for the reading of long documents
and books." The investors of Softbook Press were Random House
and Simon & Schuster.
Librius was a "full-service ecommerce company" that launched a
small "low-cost" reading device called the Millennium eBook.
The website offered a World Bookstore that delivered digital
copies of thousands of books via the internet.
The Gemstar eBook was launched in October 2000 by Gemstar-TV
Guide International, a company providing digital products and
services for the media. Gemstar first bought Nuvomedia (Rocket
eBook) and SoftBook Press (SoftBook) in January 2000, as well
as the French 00h00.com, a producer of digital books, in
September 2000. Two Gemstar eBook were available for sale in
the U.S. in November 2000, with a later attempt in Germany to
test the European market. The REB 1100 had a black and white
screen, like the Rocket eBook. The REB 1200 had a color screen,
like the SoftBook Reader. Both were produced by RCA (Thomson
Multimedia). New and cheaper models were then launched as GEB
1150 and 2150, produced by Gemstar instead of RCA. But the
sales were still far below expectations. The company stopped
selling reading devices in June 2003, and digital books the
following month.
= What people thought of them
In 2000 and 2001, I was interviewing some book professionals
about these new reading devices they were so curious about,
while wondering how a reading device could ever replace a print
book. (As shown in the answers below, people often used the
word "ebook" for an ebook reading device.)
Peter Raggett is the head of the Central Library at the OECD
(Organization for Economic and Cooperation Development). He
wrote in July 2000: "It is interesting to see that the
electronic book mimics the traditional book as much as possible
except that the paper page is replaced by a screen. I can see
that the electronic book will replace some of the present paper
products but not all of them. I also hope that electronic books
will be waterproof so that I can continue reading in the bath."
Henk Slettenhaar is a professor in communication technologies
at Webster University in Geneva, Switzerland. He wrote in
August 2000: "I have a hard time believing people would want to
read from a screen. I much prefer myself to read and touch a
real book."
Randy Hobler is a consultant in internet marketing living in
Dobbs Ferry, New York. He wrote in September 2000: "eBooks
continue to grow as the display technology improves, and as the
hardware becomes more physically flexible and lighter. Plus,
among the early adapters will be colleges because of the many
advantages for students (ability to download all their reading
for the entire semester, inexpensiveness, linking into exams,
assignments, need for portability, eliminating need to lug
books all over)."
Eduard Hovy is the head of the Natural Language Group at
USC/ISI (University of Southern California / Information
Sciences Institute). He wrote in September 2000: "eBooks, to
me, are a non-starter. More even that seeing a concert live or
a film at a cinema, I like the physical experience holding a
book in my lap and enjoying its smell and feel and heft.
Concerts on TV, films on TV, and ebooks lose some of the
experience; and with books particularly it is a loss I do not
want to accept. After all, it is much easier and cheaper to get
a book in my own purview than a concert or cinema. So I wish
the ebook makers well, but I am happy with paper. And I don't
think I will end up in the minority anytime soon - I am much
less afraid of books vanishing than I once was of cinemas
vanishing."
Tim McKenna is an author who thinks and writes about the
complexity of truth in a world of flux. He wrote in October
2000: "I don't think that they have the right appeal for lovers
of books. The internet is great for information. Books are not
information. People who love books have a relationship with
their books. They re-read them, write in them, confer with
them. Just as cybersex will never replace the love of a woman,
ebooks will never be a vehicle for beautiful prose."
Steven Krauwer is the coordinator of ELSNET (European Network
of Excellence in Human Language Technologies). He wrote in June
2001 that "ebooks still had a long way to go before reading
from a screen feels as comfortable as reading a book."
Guy Antoine is the founder of Windows on Haiti, a reference
website about Haitian culture. He wrote in June 2001: "Sorry, I
haven't tried them yet. Perhaps because of this, it still
appears to me like a very odd concept, something that the
technology made possible, but for which there will not be any
wide usage, except perhaps for classic reference texts. High
school and college textbooks could be a useful application of
the technology, in that there would be much lighter backpacks
to carry. But for the sheer pleasure of reading, I can hardly
imagine getting cozy with a good ebook."
= PDAs
In the 1990s, Jacques Gauchey was a journalist and writer
covering information technology in Silicon Valley. He was also
a "facilitator" between the U.S. and Europe. Jacques was among
the first to buy a Palm Pilot in March 1996, and wrote about it
in his free online newsletter. As a side remark, he remembered
in July 1999: "In 1996 I published a few issues of a free
English newsletter on the internet. It had about ten readers
per issue until the day when the electronic version of Wired
Magazine created a link to it. In one week I got about 100
emails, some from French readers of my book "La vallée du
risque - Silicon Valley" [The Valley of Risk - Silicon Valley,
published by Plon, Paris, in 1990], who were happy to find me
again." He added: "All my clients now are internet companies.
All my working tools (my mobile phone, my PDA and my PC) are or
will soon be linked to the internet."
Palm stayed the leader, despite fierce competition, with 23
million Palm Pilots sold between 1996 and 2002. In 2002, 36.8%
of all PDAs available on the market were Palm Pilots. Its main
competitor was Microsoft's Pocket PC. The main platforms were
Palm OS (for 55% of PDAs) and Pocket PC (for 25,7%). In 2004,
prices began to drop. The leaders were the PDAs of Palm, Sony,
and Hewlett-Packard, followed by Handspring, Toshiba, and
Casio.
= Phones and reading devices
The first smartphone was Nokia 9210, launched as early as 2001.
It was followed by Nokia Series 60, Sony Ericsson P800, and the
smartphones of Motorola and Siemens. Smartphones took off
quickly. In February 2005, Sony stopped selling PDAs.
Smartphones represented 3,7% of all cellphones sold in 2004,
and 9% of all cellphones sold in 2006, with 90 million
smartphones sold for one billion cellphones.
Many people read ebooks on their PDAs, cellphones and
smartphones. The favorite readers (software) were Mobipocket
Reader (available in March 2000), Microsoft Reader (available
in April 2000), Palm Reader (available in March 2001), Acrobat
Reader (available in May 2001 for Palm Pilot, and in December
2001 for Pocket PC), and Adobe Reader (available in May 2003 to
replace Acrobat Reader).
For cellphones, smartphones and dedicated reading devices, LCD
screens have been replaced by screens using the technology
developed by E Ink. As explained on the company's website:
"Electronic ink is a proprietary material that is processed
into a film for integration into electronic displays. Although
revolutionary in concept, electronic ink is a straightforward
fusion of chemistry, physics and electronics to create this new
material. The principal components of electronic ink are
millions of tiny microcapsules, about the diameter of a human
hair. In one incarnation, each microcapsule contains positively
charged white particles and negatively charged black particles
suspended in a clear fluid. When a negative electric field is
applied, the white particles move to the top of the
microcapsule where they become visible to the user. This makes
the surface appear white at that spot. At the same time, an
opposite electric field pulls the black particles to the bottom
of the microcapsules where they are hidden. By reversing this
process, the black particles appear at the top of the capsule,
which now makes the surface appear dark at that spot. To form
an E Ink electronic display, the ink is printed onto a sheet of
plastic film that is laminated to a layer of circuitry. The
circuitry forms a pattern of pixels that can then be controlled
by a display driver. These microcapsules are suspended in a
liquid 'carrier medium' allowing them to be printed using
existing screen printing processes onto virtually any surface,
including glass, plastic, fabric and even paper. Ultimately
electronic ink will permit most any surface to become a
display, bringing information out of the confines of
traditional devices and into the world around us."
Sony launched its first reading device, Librié 1000-EP, in
Japan in April 2004, in partnership with Philips and E Ink.
Librié was the first reading device to use the E Ink
technology, with a 6-inch screen, a 10 M memory, and a 500-
ebook capacity. eBooks were downloaded from a computer through
a USB port. The Sony Reader was launched in October 2006 in the
U.S. for US $350, followed by cheaper and revamped models.
Amazon.com launched its own reading device, the Kindle, in
November 2007. Before launching the Kindle, Amazon.com bought
in April 2005 Mobipocket, a French company specializing in
ebooks for PDAs, cellphones and smartphones, with a catalog of
several thousands of books in several languages to be read on
the Mobipocket Reader.
The Kindle was launched with a catalog of 80,000 ebooks - and
new releases for US $9,99 each. The built-in memory and 2G SD
card gave plenty of book storage (1.4 G), with a screen using
the E Ink technology, and page-turning buttons. Books were
directly bought and downloaded via the device's 3G wireless
connection, with no need for a computer, unlike the Sony
Reader. 580.000 Kindles were sold in 2008. A thinner and
revamped Kindle 2 was launched in February 2009, with a storage
capacity of 1,500 ebooks, a new text-to-speech feature, and a
catalog of 230,000 ebooks on Amazon.com's website.
Can reading devices like Sony Reader and Kindle really compete
with cellphones and smartphones? Will people prefer reading on
mobile handsets like the iPhone 3G (with its Stanza Reader) or
the T-Mobile G1 (with Google's platform Android and its
reader), or will they prefer using reading devices to get a
larger screen? Or is there a market for both smartphones and
reading devices? These are some fascinating questions for the
next years. I personally dream about a big flat screen on one
of my walls, where I could display my friends' interactive PDFs
and hypermedia stories, when I won't be on a budget anymore. In
the meantime, I enjoy my netbook, including to read ebooks.
The next generation of reading devices - expected for 2010-11 -
should display color and multimedia/hypermedia content with a
revamped E Ink technology.
The company Plastic Logic has become a key player for new
products. As explained on its website: "Technology for plastic
electronics on thin and flexible plastic substrates was
developed at Cambridge University’s renowned Cavendish
Laboratory in the 1990s. In 2000, Plastic Logic was spun out of
Cavendish Laboratory to develop a broad range of products using
the plastic electronics technology. (...) Plastic Logic has
raised over $200M in financing from top-tier venture funding
sources in Asia, Europe and the U.S. We are using the funds to
complete product development in England and the USA, build a
specialized, scalable production facility in Germany, and build
our go-to-market teams." Plastic Logic intends to launch in
2010 a very thin and flexible 10.7' plastic screen, using
proprietary plastic electronics and the E Ink technology.
Reading devices can count on some fierce competition with
smartphones. In February 2009, the 1.5 million public-domain
books available in Google Books - and 500,000 more outside the
U.S. because of variations of copyright law - were accessible
via mobile handsets such as the T-Mobile G1, released in
October 2008 with Google's platform Android and its reader.
Because of the small screens of mobile handsets, the ebooks are
in text format, and not in image format. Android is an open
source mobile device platform (built on Linux), that was
announced in November 2007 along with the creation of the Open
Handset Alliance (OHA). Other leading companies - Motorola,
Lenovo, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, etc. - are working on
smartphones that will run Android in the near future.
= The @folio project
The @folio project is a reading device conceived in October
1996 by Pierre Schweitzer, an architect-designer living in
Strasbourg, France. It is meant to download and read any text
and/or illustrations from the web or hard disk, in any format,
with no proprietary format and no DRM. Unfortunately, to this
day (in August 2009), @folio has stayed a prototype, because of
lack of funding and because of the language barrier - one
article in English for dozens of articles in French.
The technology of @folio is novel and simple, and very
different from other reading devices, past or present. It is
inspired from fax and tab file folders. The flash memory is
"printed" like Gutenberg printed his books. The facsimile mode
is readable as is for any content, from sheet music to
mathematical or chemical formulas, with no conversion
necessary, whether it is handwritten text, calligraphy, free
hand drawing or non-alphabetical writing. All this is difficult
if not impossible on a computer or any existing reading device.
The lightweight prototype is built with high-quality materials.
The screen takes 80% of the total surface and has low power
consumption. It is surrounded by a translucent and flexible
frame that folds to protect the screen when not in use. @folio
could be sold for US $100 for the basic standard version, with
various combinations of screen sizes and flash memory to fit
the specific needs of architects, illustrators, musicians,
specialists in old languages, etc.
Intuitive navigation allows to "turn" pages as easily as in a
print book, to classify and search documents as easily as with
a tab file folder, and to choose preferences for margins,
paragraphs, font selection and character size. No buttons, only
a round trackball adorned with the world map in black and
white. The trackball can be replaced with a long and narrow
tactile pad on either side of the frame.
The flash memory allows the downloading of thousands of
hypertext pages, either previously linked before download or
linked during the downloading process. @folio provides an
instant automatic reformatting of documents, for them to fit
the size of the screen. For "text" files, no software is
necessary. For "image" files, the reformatting software is
called Mot@Mot - Word@Word in French - and could be used with
any other device. This software received much attention from
the French National Library (BnF: Bibliothèque nationale de
France) for a potential use in Gallica, its digital library of
90,000 books, especially for old books (published before 1812)
and illustrated manuscripts.
Since its inception, the @folio project has received a warm
welcome during guest presentations in various book fairs and
symposiums in France and Europe, and a warm welcome from the
French-speaking media - press, radio, television and internet.
An international patent was filed in April 2001. The French
startup iCodex was created in July 2002 to promote, develop and
market @folio. A few years later, there is still a warm
welcome, but yet no funding. In August 2007, the @folio team
began seeking funding worldwide. Pierre's passion for a cheap
and beautiful reading device intended for everybody - and not
just the few - has no boundaries, except some financial ones.