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iPhone as eBook?

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The technology industry needs an eBook. It always has. There have been many attempts, but for whatever reason, it just hasn't happened yet. How difficult would it be to put a web browser and a PDF reader in a wireless tablet-form with a really good display? Well, as it happens, that's been done now. It's called an iPhone.

We might yet finally realize the promise of the eBook from the company that by all rights has always been destined to slay this particular dragon. Apple has always been supportive of education, and with OS X, they have shown considerable support for the various Open Source platforms. The only thing missing up to now has been the hardware: a problem which was gloriously solved when the iPhone was introduced.

Now we just have to solve the other two halves of the problem: the software standards and the books themselves. (For some reason, this problem has three halves. Nobody knows why exactly.) The second problem is the easiest.

Books will be distributed electronically. This is going to happen. We don't need to print books on paper any more. We just don't. Printed books aren't going away any completely time soon, but that doesn't mean we have to keep chugging them out while we argue over whether it's a good idea to distribute information electronically. At this point, I'd say that particular debate is over.

It should happen first with textbooks. Yes, yes, we all know how wonderful it is to load up a credit card with $90 worth of the latest 15 lb. 1200-page monster archaeology text. That text should be available on-line for $10, with automatic updates and RSS feeds to the top 100 archaeology resources on the Internet. The iPhone can do that, and it should.

The Standards are the easy part

The software standards are actually the easier of the two problems. PDF is the right format for typeset texts, but properly formatted (and rendered according to proper standards) HTML+CSS is not too shabby either. PDF is native to OS X, so that's no problem. The browser thing might be an issue simply because there are so many choices, but Firefox, Safari and Opera all run on OS X quite well, so there are at least three good options already.

Then there is the issue of how to buy and sell books if they are being distributed electronically. This problem has also been solved by Apple. They've already proven music, television and movies can be distributed electronically with iTunes. There should be hundreds of retail electronic bookstores on-line that can just beam books straight to the iPhone in almost exactly the same way iTunes will send music.

Before we even start with the skeptics and how it will never work, they said the exact same thing about iTunes, and Apple has sold over one BILLION songs so far. Give customers the choice, and let them decide what they want to buy. The iTunes debate was a great example of the valueless nature of this constant skepticism about entrepreneurial business. For all the carping we hear about free markets, it's truly incredible to see how many people line up to ridicule customer choice.

I have always believed Apple should be the company to market an eBook. It makes all the sense that can be made for this product to belong to a company that can seamlessly meld hardware and application as they've done with the Mac, iPod and iPhone.

The good news is, they may have already done it, and that's good for everyone.

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Sandro 5 years ago

Technically, it was accomplished with the Nokia 770, which I've been using for over a year now for reading, browsing, etc. The iPhone is simply integrating a cell into the package, slimming it up, and just making it look snazzier overall. All good things. :-)

Saara 4 years ago

Sandro you are right.....Apple has done a great job. Its such a nice phone.

http://www.digitivity.com/communication-equipment/

Mobile Phone Gal 4 years ago

yeah but it has a nice price too! I'm more of a sony ericcson person but agreeably it is a smart piece of technology

Private Label Rights 4 years ago

Excellent post! I really enjoyed reading it.I will be back for more!Sincerely,Edwin Syahrial H.http://www.EdwinHarahap.com

Erik 3 years ago

Hi!

Nice thing an ebook but a little bit expensive. In the future they will have a central position in life - like today the handy has (I think about foldet displays and so on).

Regards, Erik

--------------------------------------------------

<a href="http://www.gipsy-info.com">la vie est belle :-)</a>

Erik 3 years ago

Hi!

Nice thing an ebook but a little bit expensive. In the future they will have a central position in life - like today the handy has (I think about foldet displays and so on).

Regards, Erik

--------------------------------------------------

<a href="http://www.gipsy-info.com">la vie est belle :-)</a>

Helder Pinto 3 years ago

Can you imagine a dj mixing in a club with iPhone?

you can see it here http://hubpages.com/hub/Play-music-with-new-apple-

bingbongplop3 3 years ago

GREAT HUB! a lot of links as well. you must've really researched

joefriday 3 years ago

Great Hub indeed ,you certainly did do your oework for that one.

http://apple-ipod.ruqqa.com

automated ebook software 3 years ago

Excellent research. I am considering a phone for that reason alone. Some of the readers are so expensive. thanks...

mandtz 3 years ago

Nice ebook.Maybe i will buy it ?LOL.

You have written this hub very excellently ,the information and guidance are worthy for me.Thanks

anteck 3 years ago

Hi Lincoln, informative article and some interesting views.

I wonder how the iPhone will go on par with Amazon's Kindle. Seems that the iPhone has a wider base, so it'll be more popular for people who want to read eBooks online.

Check out our Unlocked iPhone Buyers Guide - http://www.squidoo.com/buyunlockediphone

Avare 3 years ago

Thanks for hub. I like iPhone much!

tammy 2 years ago

get iphones 3gs at 10% discount ($340) you can contact us tammyted231@yahoo.com, 2-3 day delivery after payment .

ebookroyalties 2 years ago

This was an interesting hub. I am in many ways very favourably inclined to Apple's products, and to the iPhone, but I am not really sure that it is a great tool for reading ebooks. I would rather think that the new iPad may be a much better choice, although I haven't tested it personally.

In any case, I think your article is great in many ways, and that ebooks certainly is a part of the future. However, I also think that some of your suggestions are not so on the money. For instance, your statement that a 1200-page archaeology text "should be available on-line for $10" sounds very, very far from reality or any possible future; especially if we are talking about an up-to-date professional academic textbook written by one (or several) of the top scholars in the field.

But be that as it may, ebooks are, nevertheless, here to stay. And Apple will surely be one of the leaders in the niche.

Bo, Editor,

http://www.ebookbrothers.com

Iberkenbosch 2 years ago

Yes Apple's iPhone is very useful to read e-books.Now everyone have very good experience in reading e-books through iphone & is very popular also.Thanks for this nice hub.

secretscp 2 years ago

I think the iPhone is too small to really read an eBook, especially a long one. But I hope someday to have an iPad or a Kindle.

adorababy 2 years ago

I really like this application. It means you can quite literally carry a small library in your pocket. The one problem is that, unlike the Kindle, you can’t buy new titles direct from the iPhone.

David Smith 22 months ago

I love reading ebooks on my iPhone when Im on the way to work, you get used to it... Thank you for the great hub

teddy 21 months ago

Excellent informative article and some interesting views.Thank you for the great hub.

Cameron 18 months ago

I've got a kindle,, and i've tried the ebooks on both my iphone and that. The kindle trumps it any day!

Greg 16 months ago

I think this will be a great idea, althoght i enjoy reading ebooks on my ipad.

lowprice 16 months ago

i like e-book feel like read really book better

ellon 12 months ago

These days iphone have become very popular among the users and they have almost become ebook.As iphones are acquiring these facilities in a rapid way thats why it has been recommended as ebooks.

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