Why E-Books on Phones Can Succeed
Folks are finally starting to pick up on something we’ve been saying for years — there is a market for e-books on phones. Before you start the “it’s painful to read books on the small screen” comments, hear me out. I agree with those comments, but only to a point. I’ve read dozens of entire books on various smartphones and PDAs since 2003 and ‘ll admit that it’s not the ideal experience. But back in the day, it was the only way to read e-books on the go without booting up a clunky computer with relatively poor battery life as compared to today’s solutions.
Having said that, the ability to read a few pages, or even a few chapters, in a short chunk of free time at any location is priceless. And that’s why I believe we’re recently seeing more book-related apps than games launching in the iTunes App Store. There’s surely other reasons, but this one trumps the others from where I stand. Think about it this way — if you’re always carrying your phone and an unplanned short opportunity arises to read a book, you don’t want to whip out a computer, do you? In a situation like this, you’re not limited to how much space you have. You can read with just one hand. You don’t need great lighting. It’s simply a win-win, all around.
Don’t get me wrong, because I love reading on the Kindle2 I bought back in March. It’s my primary e-book reader — I use it daily and I read one or two books a week on it. However, there’s something to be said for consuming e-book content in bite-sized chunks here and there. I find reading most enjoyable when the activity doesn’t have a planned time or location. And thanks to my phone, it doesn’t have to be.
Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.
What about battery life?
I stopped listening to MP3′s on my cell phone because it’s battery would not last through the day.
I don’t have a smartphone yet (still using my trusty ol’ Palm E2) but readability would be a factor for me – my cell phone – an otherwise fine Samsung product – would fail my readability needs in outside viewing and high gloss.
Me E2 failed as a pdf and .doc reader (too much scrolling needed and too hard on E2′s tiny battery).
I am hopeful new screen technologies like that of Pixel Qi will improve screen readability and reduce battery consumption rates….
Battery life is certainly a constraint, but occasional reading for short periods of time shouldn’t have a major impact. If we use the battery constraint for not reading e-books, then you could easily say we shouldn’t run any apps on our phones. But the same idea is behind the success of phone apps: they offer bits of functionality here and there throughout the day.
Readability is a challenge — I’m realizing that more and more as my eyes get older. ;) But there are ways to help with that: e-book themes, appropriate screen brightness and the ability to increase font sizes.
The advantage of reading on a handheld is that you can hold it where your eyes want to look at it and move it when your eyes want it to be someplace else. When you’re reading on a desktop or a laptop you’re pretty much stuck with the screen where ever it is and the only way your eyes can get a different view is by moving your head.
Exactly.
Honestly, I don’t get all the “purist” whining about mobile apps-”books are too hard to read!” “games are too simple!” “movies are too small!” “the camera isn’t high enough quality!”.
No one is arguing the iPhone/Pre/Android experience is the BEST for any of these activities. The point is they are “good enough” for most mobile users. Good enough to make people think twice about buying that dedicated device, whether its a PSP, a Kindle, or a Flip. And that is the disruptive force.
There will always be a niche market for the dedicated devices, for the “purists”. The issue is whether they can ever break out of that niche-I think with Android and the iPhone, it is an uphill battle, and eBooks are just one of the battlefields.
I used to love reading ebooks on my old HP Jornada Pocket PC years ago. I still keep a Dell Axim around as my nominal ebook reader, although its inferior for the purpose and I don’t use it much. Wish my Android phone could get some eReader love — where the heck is the app already???
Battery is always problem. I’m angry when I have to reading from phone or computer. Usually I print, then read.
thx