Have you have read an electronic book? I haven't.. I'm not the type of person who will read a book from his cell phone or those other small gadgets that you can download books to. I guess that I'm, like most people, waiting for an e-book reader that will be user-friendly and affordable. So far there were none, but according to an article yesterday on the New York Times (Are Books Passe? Web giants envision the next chapter), significant advances are on the way and maybe faster than we think.The main progress is made by Amazon.com that according to the article will unveil in October their new e-book reader. The new device won't be that affordable - it will be priced at $400 to $500. Yet, it is going to be wirelessly connected (but only to Amazon's e-book store of course), which is a big improvement in comparison with older e-book devices that had to be connected to the computer in order to download books or articles.
The article is trying to figure out if we're on the verge of a significant breakthrough in electronic books, which seemed very promising a while ago, but eventually had a very disappointing history. Overall, according to the article, there's a reason to be optimistic this time, but we still have a long way ahead of us until the e-book will become common.
Eco-Libris supports the concept of e-books as a sustainable alternative to books made of paper. Yet, we know it can take many years until e-books will be available for everyone. In the meantime we call all book lovers not to sit aside and wait, but to take an action and plant a tree for every book they read.
Raz
