Reading A Good E-Book

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

April 20, 1999 / 11:01 AM EDT / CBS

The first electronic books, hand-held computers designed to download, store and read books and magazines, went on sale last year. They are expensive now, but some think they're the wave of the future in reading. John Quain, contributing editor to PC Magazine, explains the pros and cons on CBS News This Morning.

Electronic books are about the same size as a regular hardback book and, though they're a little heavier, the devices can hold several thousand pages of information, the equivalent of 10 print books or a big pile of newspaper and magazine articles.

So, instead of taking a bunch of books on vacation, or a pile of magazines and newspapers on a business trip, you can just slip an e-book into your suitcase or briefcase.

This still isn't quite the same as curling up in bed with a good book. Are there any practical advantages to reading a book this way? According to Quain, there are. E-books have a back light on them, so you can read in bed without turning a light on and disturbing your partner.

They have other practical advantages. The reader can change the size of the print, and use a zoom feature. A dictionary is built in, so the reader can check the meaning of a word while reading. There's a search function that can locate an earlier reference, say to a character identified earlier. It's even got a built-in bookmark that locates the page you were last reading when you turn it on.

CBS

PC Magazine Contributing Editor John Quain.

Still, it's an expensive way to read a book. The Rocket E-Book costs $500, and the SoftBook costs $300 plus about $20 a month. Another competitor is expected to be introduced next week, and others are on the way. The cost of these new products should come down as they catch on.

Another problem is that they run on rechargeable batteries, like cell phones, so you can't just run out and buy new batteries when they run down. And, you sure wouldn't want to drop one of them on the beach and get sand in it.

Then there's the issue of curling up with a good computer. E-books may initially be accepted more for business than for recreational reading.

Publishers are starting to get into this in a big way. Barnes & Noble will start selling e-books in stores, and some books can now be downloaded at its Web site. The new Stephen King novel was released to e-books the same day it was published.

Many books can be downloaded for free, as can many newspaper and magazine articles. Users of the Rocket E-Book hook it up to a computer to download books. The SoftBook has a built-in modem that is plugged into a phoe jack. It takes about three minutes to download a book.