Books and e - books - why they're important

The traditional book has been around for centuries, but now a threat has appeared that might result in their downfall; the e - book. This is an electronic book that is digital and can be read on computers of some sort, most often tablets such as the Ipad or Kindle.

These e - books are becoming increasingly popular; in 2010, Amazon, the online shopping centre, announced that it had sold more  e - books (through its Kindle) than paperback books. This proves that the e - book is becoming increasingly important as it has already overtaken paperback books in some places. However, this view is overshadowed by the fact that, although the e - books are roughly the same price as the normal books , the tablets  themselves are hugely costly. Again however though, Rupert Murdoch, who owns much of the news corporation BSkyB, thinks that soon most people in developed countries will own tablets of some sort, which eliminates the previous down side of e - books.

Another problem though is that many people believe that e - books are not as personal as normal books; you cannot deform an e - book as you can a normal book. Also, when people read books, they are often doing this just before they go to sleep, and it has been proven that electronic screens can negatively affect your quality of sleep if used an hour or less before bed. However, to combat the last reason, the newest Amazon Kindle has been made with special technology that makes it look very dim and almost like a book. However, the Ipad does not have this function, as, unlike the Kindle, it has more functions than providing a screen for e - books, such as a touch - screen work laptop or a portable games console.

   

  Kindle; like a book?                                                                                      Ipad ; nothing like a book.


References: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1521090&highlight&ref=tsm_1_tw_kin_prearn_20110127

https://sites.google.com/a/stpaulsschool.org.uk/4thform-ict-1011/home/goog_726009803

James Bridle (a talk by him in school)