What is a digital book?

At http://blog.pauldorset.com/2011/03/reading-books-on-iphone-what-is-digital.html

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Reading books on an iPhone - What is a digital book?

We live in a digital world. Or do we? This week I have been amazed at how many people don't understand just exactly what a digital book is. So, I thought I'd spend a little time to discuss the topic.

Back in the good old days (yesterday), the only way to get a book was by going to the bookstore and buying a physical copy. You treasured this copy and if the book was a good one it eventually became all dog-eared and well read. Then computers happened and some people decided it would be a good idea to start scanning some of the books so that you could take a look on your computer at actually what was inside them. It was sort of like going to the bookstore, except you could do it from your own home. Amazing.

Talking of which, amazing became Amazon and a new era was born. Amazon decided people didn't need to be going to actual bookstores anymore. The digital revolution was beginning. You see, in parallel to Amazon opening its doors, other people were starting to publish digitally scanned copies of books online for people to read on their computers. It wasn't a big market, but it was a market nonetheless.

And then it happened. Amazon released the Kindle - the world of book reading was about to change forever! The next year or so saw a mad rush for publishers and authors to convert all their books to a format that could be read on the Kindle. Indie authors sprung up all over the Internet. Suddenly book publishing wasn't just for the big companies. If you could get enough of a following from your fans, you too could sell a bestselling book.




But wait, the story isn't over here. Most people think that's it but actually there's a very important part of the understanding missing. You see, having a book available for the Kindle doesn't mean you actually need a Kindle to read the book! And this is why I am writing this blog post, to help others understand exactly what options are available to read a digital... ( more at http://blog.pauldorset.com/2011/03/reading-books-on-iphone-what-is-digital.html )