E-Book Readers Open Up A Whole Range Of New Possibilities

E-book readers suddenly became all the rage during 2009. The launch of Amazon's Kindle 2.0 and Kindle DX readers created a good deal of publicity for these devices. Other manufacturers responded with their own readers - Sony with its Daily Edition and Barnes and Noble with the Nook reader. Other companies - such as Microsoft and Apple - made it known that they had devices of their own in development and scheduled for release in the near future.

E-book readers are essentially consumer electronics devices, so it is very easy, and perfectly understandable, to concentrate on the various technical merits and demerits of the devices themselves. Amazon's Kindle has wireless connectivity, Sony's Daily Edition lets you lend e-books to your family and friends, the Nook has a color screen, etc.

However, without diminishing the technical achievements of the various companies involved in any way, it may be worth taking a moment to consider that e-book readers may very well be the biggest single change in both publishing and reading since the invention of the printing press by Gutenberg in 1440. The introduction of the printing press quite literally put books in the hands of the common man as it hugely reduced the publishing costs involved.

There have been very few changes in the way that we read books since then. Of course, there have been advances in printing technology, computers and word processing have made the already existing process more efficient. Nevertheless, the end result has been pretty consistent - we read books which consist of paper bound between retaining covers with text printed upon it.

As a consequence of the end product, publishers had certain restrictions. They have been producing a physical product for years, which carries some level of cost and also needs to be delivered, either to a bookshop or possibly by direct mail to the customer's home.

The key thing to note about e-book readers is that they do not simply represent a more efficient way of carrying out the same process - they change all the rules, for publishers and readers alike. No physical product means that fewer materials are consumed - delivery charges are also very much reduced.

E-books are not only cheaper to publish and distribute, they are also - even after offsetting the materials that are required for the manufacture of the e-book reader hardware - better for the environment.

Publishers now have more possibilities for marketing both books and authors. If a publisher wished to highlight a particular author for example, then they could offer samples of their work either at very low prices or completely free. Another technique, which is rapidly growing in popularity, is to offer the first volume in a series free, in the expectation that the reader may go on to buy subsequent books in the series or other books by the same author.

The Amazon Kindle store contains a pleasantly surprising number of free Kindle books. All Kindle books, free or otherwise, have their first chapter made available as a free download so that prospective readers can sample the book before they buy. One possible benefit is that readers maybe encouraged to experiment a little and to try authors who they may have previously overlooked.

As understandable as the present excitement with the technical capabilities of e-book readers is, it will be the additional opportunities for publishers and the increased choice coupled with instant access for readers that is going to change the way that we look at books in the future.

Check out the Amazon Kindle reader and find out how you can save money by downloading free Kindle ebooks straight from Amazon's Kindle store.