Digital Book Readers File Formats Information You Won't Find in eBook Reader Reviews

I was recently writing an article about the new Nook and Sony Daily digital book readers ability to handle the ePub standard, a file format that is fast becoming the preferred file format of the eBook publishers. It struck me that it may be helpful if I explained the differences between proprietary formats and the ePub standard, something you will not find in eBook reader reviews, but something you should remember when researching the many digital book readers on the market, prior to your final purchase decision.

barnes and noble book store

It was, in the early days of digital book readers, somewhat accepted by the buying public that both Sony and Amazon released their content coded in their own file format. What this effectively did was tied the eBook to one device, but it did not take long before customers caught on, something that hit the likes of Sony hard.

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But fast forward to today, the industry had been looking for a standard file format, firstly to remove uncertainty in the customers mind and secondly to do as the title suggests, standardize e-publishing.

It does look more and more like they have settled on the emerging Epub format. Why, you may ask, with so many other options about, have some of the biggest names in the industry thrown their weight behind this new format when there was, some would point out, a perfectly good one in the form of Mobipockets universally available file format. That's really a question only the likes of Google, Sony and now Barnes and Noble can answer.

Looking on from the sidelines, it seems like the three of them have ganged up to deliver a good slapping for Amazon, as their latest offerings - the Kindle US and Kindle International digital book readers - don't have natural support for the ePub standard.

On the other hand the latest Sony Edition Range of digital book readers, which incidentally are receiving some rave eBook reader reviews, and the brand new Barnes and Noble Nook reading device all support the ePub format. Titles at both the Sony-Store and the Barnes and Noble online bookstore will publish in this format, something that both companies are happy to sing the praises of.

Now, throw into the mix the quite considerable influence Google have on everything online and look at their recent backing of the ePub format. They intend to publish the whole of their massive library of over one million books in the ePub format, many of these titles are free to down load.

These developments have opened up the market totally. No longer do users of digital book readers have to purchase content from one source, this move can only lead to greater competition and ultimately lower eBook prices. And the encouraging thing is three massive companies have totally embraced, even instigated, it.

This leaves the Kindle digital book readers in a very difficult position, news travels at the same speed as prices change in this industry. Customers of the Kindle will feel short changed when this news hits the eBook reader review sites, and they every right they have to feel that way too don't you think.

Digital Book Readers File Formats Information You Won't Find in eBook Reader Reviews

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Unbiased EBook Reader Device Reviews - My Cool-er EBook Reader Review

In light of the many ebook reader device price cuts that have taken place over the last few months, many of the older ebook reader reviews are out of date. Here's my updated Cool-er ebook reader review brought about not only because of differing prices but also because other changes in the market have left some ebook readers more exposed to the risk of becoming, at best, tied to one source of ebooks or even worse, totally obsolete.

barnes and noble nook color

The one biggest point to remember with ebook reader devices at this present time is the shift in the market place towards a publishing standard. It does seem a safe bet that this standard will become the ePub file format. It is starting to appear on more and more electronic books readers.

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The big e-publishing houses, e-libraries and holders of public domain titles are moving or have moved to publishing in the ePub format. The likes of Barnes and Noble, Powells.com, Waterstones, The Sony Store and Libraries utilizing nascent e-book services have all expressed their willingness to embrace the ePub format.

With that out of the way let's bring smack up to date my Cool-er ebook reader review and have a look to see where it fits in to not just today's market but the market of the future.

The Cool-er has had no feature or specification updates since it's launch earlier this year, nor have I seen any talk of a price reduction at ebook reader reviews. This leaves it in the shadow of a lot of the newer ebook reader device models, in so much as it does not include a wireless connection capability. This said let's just concentrate on what the Cool-er is but bear in mind the price being asked. As "just" a book reader, the Cool-er stands up well.

The screen is of adequate proportions and does score well over many others courtesy of the fact it can be read in landscape as well as portrait mode. It uses the industry standard e-Ink technology, so is easily readable, with crisp, clear text image. The bright, funky colors still remind you very much of the ipod, and will appeal probably more to the younger generation than the 9-5ers.

It has 1gb of internal storage which, through the use of SD cards, can be expanded to infinity. And you might need to do that as the device DOES support both ePub and that other favorite for free stuff, Adobe PDF. Great news when you visit the massive virtual library at Coolerbooks.com, of the 750,000 titles on offer 500,000 are free for you to download, thrillers, fiction, bios, chicklet, kids titles, the whole ensemble.

So what conclusion can be drawn from this Cool-er ebook reader review? It is my opinion this is another of those smaller companies that will struggle to maintain the price they are asking for their ebook reader device. It still smacks one of those gimmicky, cheap Chinese imports that are purchased at Christmas as a "stocking filler" and has none of the build qualities of the better known models. Even though that's how I feel, it still has a place in the market, only not at the current price, which I believe to be 0. Put up the side of the Sony prs-300, which many ebook reader reviews are reporting to be selling as low as 5, it looks terribly over priced.

Unbiased EBook Reader Device Reviews - My Cool-er EBook Reader Review

BARNES AND NOBLE