The Kindle e-book Reader

The Kindle e-book Reader (or sometimes known as e-reader) by Amazon is an electronic book which enables users to read books, newspapers, weblogs and more (Mohns, 2008). Kindle allows users to read many books on the go without carrying several books. Up to date, the e-reader supports up to 115,000 books.

The differences between Kindle e-book reader and print books are as follow:

1. Kindle allows readers to read books on a handheld wireless device.
2. Kindle saves money and adds convenience because daily newspaper subscription is allowed.
3. Turning pages with Kindle is easier especially at crowded places.
4. Kindle has less weight if compared to most books or novels.
5. Equal to print readability and multi-device integration.

[CNET.com, 2007]

Example of print newspaper and Kindle e-book reader newspaper.


According to Geeks Are Sexy (2009), the majority of age group who uses Kindle is aged 50 - 59. But why the older generation?
The reasons are as follow:

1. Older readers particularly appreciate the relative ease of reading text on the large-screen compared with other devices such as smartphones.
2. The demographics have been swung by the Oprah effect, with her traditionally older audience following her recommendation.
3. The magazines available in Kindle form are particularly popular among older readers.
4. Older people are more likely to be avid readers and thus find the Kindle a worthwhile purchase.
5. Older people may have more money to spend on the Kindle because their ‘gadget budget’ isn’t eaten up by other devices seen as must-have by younger buyers such as smartphones or laptops.

[Geeks Are Sexy, 2009]

However, McKeown (2009) said the adoption of e-reader is slower than people think because of the value of e-reader is lower than print books, the manufacturers do not understand the book buyers' demographics, and the pricing of e-reader.

So how do e-readers and print books survive together?
First, the price of an e-reader is from $250 - $400, so not everybody could afford. Then, there are reasons print books are better than digital books:

1. Printed books are still available everywhere.
2. Books are versatile and re-usable.
3. No batteries required.
4. There are millions of books titles in print.
5. No need to upgrade e-book software.
6. Books are cheap.
7. Books do not melt or break.
8. No DRM (Digital Rights Management).

[Squidoo.com, n.d.]

Not everybody prefers to use e-book reader. Thus, print books still can survive in the market.

References

Mohns, R 2008, Review: Amazon Kindle, MacInTouch, viewed 18 November 2009, <http://www.macintouch.com/reviews/kindle/>.

CNET editor’s Review 2007, CNET.com, viewed on 18November 2009 <http://reviews.cnet.com/e-book-readers/amazon-kindle/1707-3508_7-32751890.html>.

Kindle finds a mature audience 2009, www.geeksaresexy.net, viewed on 18 November 2009, <http://www.geeksaresexy.net/2009/05/01/kindle-finds-a-mature-audience/>.

McKeown, J 2009, Why E-Reader Adoption Will Be Slower Than People Think, PaidContent.org, viewed on 18 November 2009, <http://paidcontent.org/article/419-why-e-reader-adoption-will-be-slower-than-people-think/>.

Print Books vs. Digital Books n.d., Squidoo.com, viewed on 7 November 2009, <http://www.squidoo.com/print-books-or-digital-books>.

Designing for Print vs. Online

Audiences read printed materials and online websites differently. According to Nielsen (1997), people do not read word by word on web pages, but they scan. Nielsen (2006) also added that people read web content in an F-shaped pattern - where F stands for Fast.

Heatmaps from user eyetracking studies of three websites. The areas where users looked the most are colored red; the yellow areas indicate fewer views, followed by the least-viewed blue areas. Gray areas didn't attract any fixations. [Nielsen, 2006]


Hence, designing and writing for print and online are different. On websites, the first two paragraphs must state the most important information (Nielsen, 2006). In other words, inverted pyramid format is used. Radshaw (2003) opined that web content should have 50% of the word count of its paper equivalent. Print has a huge canvas that designers can play with, so word limit is not important (Nielsen, 1999).

Websites should contain more subheads and bullet points if compared to prints. Besides, web design should be simple, clear, consistent, appropriate, appealing and usable.

Source: http://www.drudgereport.com/

This is an example of a bad web design because there are too many links and the image is too small. Besides, capital letters and underlined words were overused.

Source: http://www.cakespy.com/

On the other hand, this blog has a good design because the layout is simple, appealing and usable.


References

Nielsen, J 1997, How Users Read on the Web, useit.com, viewed on 17 November 2009, http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9710a.htmll.

Nielsen, J 1999, Differences Between Web Design and Print Design, useit.com, viewed on 17 November 2009, http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990124.html.

Nielsen, J 2006, F-Shaped Pattern for Reading Web Content, useit.com, viewed on 17 November 2009, http://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html.

Radshaw, K 2003, Web Writing vs. Print Writing, Kerry.net, viewed on 17 November 2009, http://www.kerryr.net/webwriting/guide_web-vs-print.htm.