It’s been several decades since Douglas Adams first imagined the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, an all-digital, all-encompassing, user-written encyclopedia for savvy interstellar travelers. Of course, he was writing a comedy. Now, without a hint of irony, we all obsessively refer to Wikipedia on our internet-enabled smartphones - yet far too many of us are overlooking the most obvious use of this technology. If you’ve been looking at getting into e-books and other post-post-modern forms of literature, Kwanzoo has a new quiz just for you.

If you’re one of those people who prefers your books on paper, there are still a lot of ways that new technologies can help you get your favorite reads - Alibris and BookSwim, for example. But maybe, just maybe, you should consider changing your ways.

Digital books have come a long way since the days of badly-formatted PDFs you could only read on your PC. If you have trouble reading things off a screen and always print things out if they’re longer than five pages, you’re not alone. I’m right there with you. My eyes start to swim if I try to read an e-book on my computer. But the technology’s made leaps and bounds…maybe it’s time to consider a change. And by “change,” I of course mean the Amazon Kindle.

Up until recently, e-books were more of a novelty than anything. The idea was a grand one: the sum total of human knowledge, available for speedy download to anyone, anywhere. But the execution was a little different. A limited number of novels with expired copyrights, limited technology, limited everything. And the cost was prohibitive: not only for the reading device, but for the ebooks themselves, which - unless they were the aforementioned free-use books - cost nearly as much as their physical counterparts. By and large, bibliophiles haven’t adjusted to paying for something they can’t hold in their hands. (They’re a bit behind audiophiles in that respect.)

With their new device, Kindle, Amazon is hoping to change all that. It comes with a hefty price tag of $360, but the features are pretty impressive: the latest release, Kindle 2, has 1.4GB of storage space (enough for 1500 books), weighs only 10 ounces, and has something called “E-Ink electronic paper display.” This was not developed by Amazon, but by an independent company that hopes to replicate the look of paper on an electronic screen. According to those who’ve seen it, it does a credible job, although the improvements from Kindle to Kindle 2 aren’t terribly noticeable.

As for the physical presence of the device, a reviewer on Amazon describes the Kindle 2 as “elegantly thin.” Skinnier than a pencil and lighter than a paperback book, it’s designed to be taken on the go. But not anywhere; as this coverage map indicates, Kindle 2’s wireless capabilities, which contain most of its extra features, are limited severely by location.

One of people’s favorite features is the dictionary, which allows you to quickly look up a word while you’re reading. Users also love the compact size and ease of use. Complaints include the lack of filing system for e-books (1500 titles can be tough to scroll through) and the fact that book “rentals” haven’t yet been developed, despite Amazon’s rigorous use of DRM in their proprietary e-books. Also, page turns clock in at 1.3 seconds - which might not sound that long, but it probably takes you just a fraction of a second to turn the page on a regular book. Plus, the Kindle 2 eliminates the SD Card slot feature that was present in the original Kindle. While most users won’t have any use for more storage space, many prefer to have the option.

But Kindle’s most controversial feature has proven to be their text-to-speech ability. It’s been used on computers for decades without protest, so Amazon obviously didn’t think twice before including it on their Kindle reader without limitations. But publishers weren’t pleased. A copyright lawyer named Ben Sheffner commented on this issue in a cnet article:

Sheffner said it’s unclear whether the text-to-speech feature could be considered a public performance. Under copyright law, if someone profits from, say, a public reading of a copyright work without authorization, they are breaking the law. Someone could argue, said Sheffner, that the Kindle’s speech feature is a public performance because it enables scores of people to receive audio of a book. Sheffner added that the counter argument would be that the feature is only enabling lots of different private–and therefore legal–performances.

The Author’s Guild, an advocacy group for writers, is taking the former opinion. And rather than get involved in a costly legal battle, Amazon has decided to allow publishers to pick whether or not text-to-speech will be available on their books. Free-use advocates are crying foul, but since Amazon isn’t keen on fighting the publishers, it looks like things will be staying this way for a while. Is this conflict a harbinger of the issues that we’ll be presented with in the future as this technology advances further?

Perhaps the biggest drawback to the Kindle is that it’s just another gadget. We’ve already filled our pockets with iPods and smartphones; do we really want another expensive piece of technology that’s meant to replace something we’re already happy with? If you lose a book on the subway, you’re losing the equivalent of pocket money. If you lose a Kindle, that’s a $360 hole in your pocket. MP3 players made the leap to mainstream quickly, but with the current state of the economy, can the same thing happen with books?

And there are many other drawbacks. A quick rundown:

1. Expensive gadget vs. inexpensive book; not ideal for stressful traveling situations where things get left behind.
2. Possible copyright issues down the line, as indicated by the text-to-voice issue.
3. Book borrowing and “rentals” not fully developed. More copyright issues in the wings here.
4. There’s no such thing as a “used” e-book; everything is full-price.

For now, digital readers such as the Kindle 2 are likely to remain novelty items. But the technology keeps growing, and early adopters will keep us updated on how things are going. If you’re a seller of books or book-related gadgets, bear in mind that Kwanzoo can help you get your head and shoulders above the crowd with our quiz widgets. They’ll help you effectively segment users, target advertising, drive traffic, and more - all in one awesome package. Get in touch with us today to find out what we can do for you.

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