To Kobo or Not to Kobo?

First off, I'll admit that I wasn't really aware of eReaders before I started taking publishing courses in May. I had some rough idea that eBook readers were gaining popularity, but that was about the full extent of my knowledge. In the past three months since then I have been inundated with information about not just the Kobo but the whole eBook movement. My classmates and I have received a wide range of opinions about the future of eBooks and the various readers currently on the market. Given that no one in my class seemed really pro-eBooks, and that our instructors seemed to be on the fence, and that Amazon was still slashing prices of the Kindle to gain market share, it seemed that eBooks had not yet reached their zenith.

And then today marching down my Twitter feed was a Wall Street Journal article about Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' claim that Amazon's eBook sales outpaced hardcovers. Now the article was quick to state that Amazon never released hard numbers; only the relationship between e- and paper-book sales were given. Even if the numbers released (or really, not released) turn out to be off, it is getting increasingly harder to ignore the presence of eBooks. Bezos may be wrong in stating that eBooks have reached their tipping point, but they do seem to have established themselves as a strong player in the book market.

Anecdotally, I have seen more and more people using them on the subway. With the iPad and iBookstore the formatting options have been greatly expanded, as well as the number of consumers with eBook capable devices. But this concise summary in itself exposes the major dilemma facing any consumers considering investing in an eBook reader: which one? Although any purchase involves a certain amount of comparison, the problem with eBook readers is how proprietary they are. Put simple, a Kindle is designed to only read eBooks purchased from Amazon, and Amazon eBooks are only meant to be read on a Kindle. While there is talk of removing these restrictions, who knows if and when that will happen and exactly what form the changes will take. So then the consumer doesn't just have to choose between the merits of the individual reader, but also decide which store to purchase all eBooks from in the foreseeable future.

Personally this is probably the biggest reason why I wouldn't even consider an eBook reader now. The market is still in flux, and until there is some semblance of consistency, I don't feel like locking myself into a technology that might be obsolete in a year (just think of all those suckers who bought HD-DVD players just before Blu-ray won out).

The other thing holding me back is that eBook readers are still a work in progress. One teacher wisely said "an eBook is not a book." This might sound simple, but it is something that is very important to keep in mind. Reading a paper book is a certain type of experience, and reading from an electronic device of any kind is not, and never will be, the same. That isn't to say it is either better or worse, it is just to say that it is different. And right now the market is trying to determine what the best form of this "different" experience is, be it the text-only e-ink Kindle, or the interactive graphics-enabled iPad, or something new that isn't even in development yet. Until these problems are solved, no clear standard will be established, and the full potential of eBooks can't be realized as each company focuses all their time and money on simply one-upping their competitor.

But there are two things I am sure of: eBooks have taken a foothold in the book market and once their potential is realized, they will be a viable and beneficial option for consumers. What that potential ends up being, is still anyone's game. But if this video is any indication, the future is friendly.