The Electronic Book... : E-Books A Presentation by Max Pearce Director Technology Assessment
The Electronic Book... : E-Books A Presentation by Max Pearce Director Technology Assessment
The Electronic Book... : E-Books A Presentation by Max Pearce Director Technology Assessment
What is an E-Book?
A portable device that can display text and images stored in internal memory, thereby mimicking the conventional book. E-Books potentially offer the user additional features not possible with the conventional printed page, including notetaking and dictionary capabilities. Can you think of others?
Similar Technologies...
Notebook and palm-top computers incorporate the types of technology necessary to build E-Books. Devices like the Casio Cassiopeia and 3-Com Palm Pilot PDAs have essentially identical architectures to the E-Book products currently on offer.
The PDA...
One E-Book manufacturer claims that it is possible to use a Palm Pilot or Windows CE PDA to read electronic titles. Presumable this would require special applications software within the PDA. Most PDAs have small screens and are probably not an ideal E-Book platform.
The Cassiopeia...
The Casio Cassiopeia is a Windows CE based personal digital assistant device with 8 Mbytes of memory. It retails in Australia for around $750.
E-Book Architecture...
Display Unit Navigation Controls Communications Interface Microprocessor controller and OS Memory Power supply
RocketeBook...
Manufacturer: NuvoMedia Price: About US$500 Capacity: 4000 pages Weight: 570 gm Dimensions: 19 (h) x 12.5 (w) x 3.5 (d) cm Screen: 14 cm diagonal Battery life: 17 hr back-light, 33 hr without
RocketeBook...
SoftBook...
SoftBook...
Manufacturer: SoftBook Press
Price: US$299 + $19.95/mth minimum purchase Capacity: up to 100,000 pages text & gray-scale
Weight: 1.3 kg Dimensions: 28 (h) x 21.6 (w) x 2.5 (d) cm Screen: 24 cm diagonal Battery Life: Six hours.
RocketeBook...
SoftBook...
The SoftBook
The SoftBook does not require a computer to download titles. The SoftBook incorporates a dial-up modem and internal software to allow the download of the selected title(s). If a title is deleted from the SoftBook it can be retrieved at no charge.
Millennium E-Reader...
Manufacturer: Librius Price: US$199 Capacity: 8000 pages Weight: 0.34 kg Dimensions: unknown Screen: 480 x 320 pixels Battery Life: 22 hours
Millennium E-Reader...
The Millennium E-Reader is expected in US Summer 1999. Librius indicate that the electronic titles can be read on Palm Pilot or Windows CE devices. An E-Reader is therefore not necessary if you own an existing palm computer device.
Display Technology
E-books currently offer Liquid Crystal Display panels; some are touch sensitive. LCDs require back-lights for use in dull lighting conditions, have limited viewing angles, suffer from low contrast, can exhibit slow response in cold conditions are mechanically fragile and consume considerable power.
LCDs...
High performance LCD display panels have been developed and are now used in laptop and personal computers. These new displays still however suffer from viewing angle restrictions, excessive power consumption, limited contrast range in daylight and mechanical fragility.
FEDs...
FEDs should compete with existing LCD panels and may allow the development of flat-panel home cinema - perhaps one day. Their power consumption is claimed to be about 50% of a comparable LCD panel. FEDs are still fabricated using glass and are have similar fragility properties to LCDs.
LCD
FED
LEPs...
The chemical is known as: Poly(p-xylenealpha-tetrahydrothiophenium bromide)
LEPs can be fabricated on flexible substrates, thereby increasing display ruggedness.
A LEP E-Book...
LEP display technology is probably fundamental to the development of low cost E-Books. Once the manufacturing is mastered it is expected that rugged low cost, low power, high contrast, wide viewing angle displays will be readily available. But dont hold your breath!
In summary...
Practical E-Books depend on the availability of better display technology like Light Emitting Polymers. Despite the current technological limitations, E-Books are seeing the light of day. The RocketeBook is a good example.
RocketeBook...
The RocketeBook is produced by NuvoMedia and is assembled in Taiwan Barnes & Noble provides the book titles via their Internet Web site You need a PC with Win95/98 and an Internet connection with a spare serial port for connection to the RocketeBook
RocketeBook security...
Each RocketeBook must be registered with NuvoMedia via the web. The Registration process loads a secure Rocket Certificate (A Rocket Key and Rocket ID) into the RocketeBook. When you order an electronic title, the book file is encrypted for use with your RocketeBook only.
RocketeBook...
E-Book titles are available at the Barnes and Noble Web site [www.barnesandnoble.com] An account is established using a suitable Credit Card (MC, Visa or Amex). An e-commerce system allows the user to select and buy RocketEditions. An e-mail is sent to the buyer with Web details to allow downloading of selected titles.
RocketeBook Memory...
Total memory 4096 kbytes Operating System 664 kbytes User memory 3432 kbytes Necromancer text is about 200 k characters. Necromancer E-Book files is 166 kbytes Memory would hold about 20 similar titles
Any Questions...
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E-Books...
The End