Sunday
Sep202009
Ebooks explained
Sunday, September 20, 2009 at 9:38PM What are ebooks?
Ebooks are electronic books, where the text, and sometimes pictures, of a printed book have been digitised into an electronic format.
How do I read an ebook?
Ebooks can be read on computers, such as laptops and netbooks, many mobile phones and on dedicated devices generally called ebook readers.
What formats of ebook are available?
There are varying formats of ebooks available, with the most common being:
- PDF - Adobe Acrobat PDF documents
- AZW - Amazon Kindle format
- BbeB/LRF - Sony Reader format
- ePub - A popular open standard created by the International Digital Publishing Forum
Not all ebook readers are compatible with all ebook file types, so check carefully before purchasing an ebook reader or downloading ebooks online.
What are the advantages of ebooks?
- If you’re looking for a particular word or phrase in the text, it’s easy to search an ebook.
- Ebooks can be cross-referenced using hyperlinks.
- Ebook readers allow you to customise how you view ebooks, by letting you change the typeface and font size – so any ebook can become a large-print book if you’re visually impaired.
- The file size of ebooks is relatively small, so an average ebook reader can store hundreds or thousands of ebooks on its internal memory or on memory cards.
- Ebooks take up very little physical space, and are therefore ideal for travel, such as holiday reading.
- Bookmarks and auto-resume functions mean that it’s easy to find your place when reading an ebook.
- All fiction published prior to 1900 is in the public domain, so can be made available for free download and distribution. And ebooks never go out of print.
What are the disadvantages of ebooks?
- You'll need a battery-powered or mains-powered device to read them. Therefore if there’s no power, or the battery runs out, your won’t be able to read an ebook.
- Ebooks are often, particularly for new releases, little cheaper to buy than the printed versions.