Finding and buying e-books

As an e-book is a book in a digital form. When we think to buy this type of book, we may have to know where to find and buy it. There are some sources that can help you to find e-books more easily.

1. Fictionwise.com - secure Mobipocket, eReader, PDF formats. Moreover, multiformat books, which are usually non-DRM (Digital Rights Management) books.

2. eReader.com - is actually powered by Fictionwise. But this is a separate site carrying only eReader/.pdb format.

3. bn.com(Barnes&Noble) - even through they bought Fictionwise in March 2009, e-books in eReader/.pdb format are also available through bn.com.

4. Books on Board.com - a mixture of EPUB, Mobipocket and eReader formats.

5. Mobipocket.com - Mobipocket format (owned by Amazon).

6. Amazon.com Kindle Store - Kindle format only.

7. http://www.ebook.com/ - Microsoft Reader, Mobipocket, secure EPUB formats.

8. EPubBooks.com - a list of places to find EPUB format books.

9. Wizz-e.com - a site that focuses on e-books for children.

10. Diesel ebooks - Adobe, Mobipocket, eReader, Microsoft formats.

11. eBook Store from Sony - Sony format (BBeB) for Sony Reader.

12. Penguin eBooks (U.S.) - Microsoft Reader, secure Adobe PDF and secure eReader formats.

13. Penguin eBooks (UK) - secure EPUB format.

14. WHSmith eBookShop (UK) - secure EPUB, secure Adobe PDF, secure Mobipocket, secure Microsoft Reader.

15. Waterstones (UK) - for Sony Readers, utilizes secure EPUB.

To summarize, according to this data, we can find that buying an e-book is very easy. Because now we can buy e-books either from a bookseller's or a publisher's website.

Ref: http://www.whenihavetime.com/where-to-buy-and-find-free-ebooks-and-learning-resources/

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/uploaded_documents/PromotingeBooksReportB.pdf

E-book Readers

Now e-book can be read through many different devices. Or in other words, there are many e-book devices to use for reading e-book that come in different formats. However, they can be cassified into 3 main categories.

1. Your Computer: A simple solution since almost all e-book formats have software that is installable on Windows and Mac operating systems.

2. Multifunction/Smartphone: This group is perhaps the most interesting, because, if you have one of these devices in your possession, you can set up it to read e-book very easy. Blackberry, Treo, iPhone (and iPod Touch) are all examples of Smartphones. Many e-book formats have ways to read content from Smartphone.

3. Dedicated e-book readers: There are a lot of e-book devices out on the marketplace now. The feature that characterizes these devices is that most of them are utilize E-Ink technology, which is a non-backlit electronic display that simulates text printed on paper. These are some well-known e-book readers in this type:

- Amazon Kindle: now it is in the third generation (Kindle 3). E-book formats that can be read on this device are AZW(Kindle format), PDF, TXT, MOBI, PRC, HTML and DOC.

-Sony Reader: the PRS-700 is the most recent version with a touch screen. E-book formats that can be read on this device are Sony's e-book format (BBeB), PDF, EPUB, HTML and TXT.

-Barnes & Noble Nook: B&N released the Nook in October 2009. This tool is a relatively new contender in the e-book reader marketplace. It supports eReader format, EPUB and PDF.

Ref: http://ebook-reader-review.toptenreviews.com

http://www.whenihavetime.com/where-to-buy-and-find-free-ebooks-and-learning-resources/

E-book Formats

Since an e-book is a book in a digital form, it can exist in different formats. For this reason, there are many e-book formats that appear in the e-book world. These are some popular e-book formats.

1. Mobipocket/.prc/.mobi - is now owned by Amazon. It is available to be read on several devices.

Features: can be used on any PC or mobile device. Includes bookmarks, table of contents, and more.2. Microsoft Reader/ .lit - Microsoft's e-book format which is readable on several types of devices.

Features: clear type display technology, book-like reading environment, bookmarks and annotations.

3. eReader/ .pdb - originally developed by Palm. Or in other words, it is a program for viewing Palm Digital Media electronic books.

Features: can be used on many popular mobile devices. Includes bookmarks, table of contents, and more.

4. PDF/ .pdf - is widely available and readable on several types of devices.

Features: Windows, Mac, device compatible. Bookmarks, single or double page view. Zoom in on pages.

5. EPUB/ .epub - is created by the IDPF (The International Digital Publishing Forum). Features: Windows, Mac, device compatible. Bookmarks, single or double page view. Zoom in on pages.

Ref: http://www.ebookmall.com/choose-format/

http://www.whenihavetime.com/where-to-buy-and-find-free-ebooks-and-learning-resources/

The history of e-book

A brief history of e-book is:

- In 1971, the first "e-book" was born. Michael Hart was the creator of this innovation and founder of the Project Gutenberg of lllinois University, a public library of digital books, which houses 20,000 free books, and over 100,000 books are available through their partners.

-In 1981, the first e-book with commercial aims (a dictionary by Random House) was launched on the market.

-In 1998, the first e-book Fair took place in Gaithersburg, Maryland in the U.S. At this event, the Norm Open e-book, a series of regulations to standardize the format of electronic publication was presented. Moreover, libraries began to pay attention to e-book in this year when NetLibrary, a Colorado-based firm began to provide content.

-In 1999, the specification Open e-book Publication Structure was established, which set HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) and XML (Extensible Markup Language) as the stnndard platforms for this type of books.

-In 2001, the e-books boom started when "Riding the Bullet", a Stephen King' s well-known novel, was launched exclusively on the internet. This digital work was a resounding success, with a great amount of copies sold in only 2 days at a very affordable cost-$2.50.

Additionally, one of the first genres to become successful in the e-book field was that of the romance story. Because e-book romances were easy to shop for and easy to read, so romance novels were perfect for e-books.

Ref: http://www.myebookdesign.com/History-Of-E-Book-Design.aspx

http://www.ebookweek.com/history.html