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The Future of PDA eBooks
PDAs, like Palm and PocketPC's, have made PDA ebooks much more popular. Without PDA's, reading electronic books “on the go” would have failed like webmalls did in the early 1990s. They’ve allowed ebooks to avoid the number one problem of any new technology: arriving before it’s time.
The First PDA ebooks
What PDAs accomplished for people’s busy schedules, ebook reading devices keep promising today. But the two earliest contenders back in 2000: NuvoMedia’s “Rocket eBook” or “ReB” (now RCA’s REB-1100), and Softbook’s “Softbook” (now RCA’s REB-1200) failed on too many counts.
Screen sizes and resolutions were adequate: the ReB reproducing trade paperbacks, and the Softbook targeting full- size college textbooks. However, the devices were still too expensive (Reb: $269, Softbook: $699) and too fragile to compete with the paper versions they were trying to replace. And compared to other computing devices: a used, outdated laptop computer did more for the same price. Don’t even think about handing one of these devices to your six year-old, or reading one these in the bathtub.
The Apple Newton and the USRobotics Pilot
PDAs (or Personal Digital Assistants) seem so commonplace today. But they did not avoid growing pains. Just ask anyone who’s dealt with that deservedly-deceased PDA, Apple Computer’s “Newton”. In 1993 it was visionary, but it was also over-sized, over-priced and under-powered.
It took the introduction of USRobotics’ “Pilot” PDA in 1996 to get busy people to leave their bulky organizers behind. Now called the “Palm” PDA by Palm Computing, the Pilot is used by millions of people around the world. Busy people who have to read professional texts, tomes, journals, and what-not as part of their daily lives. These same people probably also read for the pleasure of it. Hmmmm. If—somehow—these people could read ebooks on their PDAs….
PDA Makers separate Hardware from Software
No longer having to justify their existence, makers of PDA ebooks now focus on making their wares more useful to consumers. Increased durability, built-in and with slim, protective cases allow these devices to be taken almost anywhere (sorry, the bathtub is still off-limits).
And the practice of allowing third-party companies and individuals to write software for these devices was the mark of the Pilot from the very beginning. That practice is also followed by the other major PDA ebooks platform gaining worldwide acceptance: Microsoft’s PocketPC.
Actually, Microsoft doesn’t even make PDA ebooks. They license the PocketPC operating system to PDA makers such as HP/Compaq, Toshiba, and NEC, to name a few. Palm Computing has done the same with Handspring, Sony, and Kyocera (who use the Palm OS in their mobile phones!), among others.
Price drops will make PDAs more popular
All sorts of devices are being “PDA-enabled” at nearly all price ranges. An example is Palm’s own “Zire” line of products. The lowest-scale model retails at $79! That price is well below what early ebook-boosters saw as the “magic number” for competing directly with paper.
Once prices fall below $100 for PDA ebooks, schools and business can justify the cost of purchasing in bulk. This reasonably opens up the world of portable PDA ebook reading to anyone.
Another platform for ebooks?
Schools will still have to wait, however. PDA screens are just too small for the large tables and illustrations favored by textbook publishers. This leaves the REB-1200 as the only true ebook reader capable of displaying such works. But maybe another general-purpose device will help PDA ebooks hold the line. Keep your eyes on the Tablet PC.