Hi everyone
If we were in the USA then this would be an easier issue to deal with. Not
only do they have more field guides available as apps for iPhone / ipad
/Android etc, they have a much greater range of books available as ebooks.
Australian publishers continue to deny us that sort of access - but it is
changing gradually.
I think for a long time, though, it will mainly be "popular" titles that
are published as ebooks. There is a lot of frustration in the academic
world about the lack of textbooks available in electronic format. Many
publishers are reluctant to publish an ebook when they have a reliable
income stream from physical copies already. From what I've read on library
mailing lists, Australian textbook publishers will only provide an ebook
when a real book is purchased, or under strict licensing conditions that
make it difficult for school libraries to purchase electronic titles. For
most families buying textbooks, it is easier to buy a real book that can
be sold at the end of the year - that is difficult, if not impossible, due
to the digital rights management embedded in most ebooks. It's similar for
textbooks that come with a CD-ROM.
I think that in Australia it is unlikely we'll see a whole lot of ebook
titles in niche fields such as natural history. So Jill, you'll need to
carry your plant, mammal and insect guides around for a while longer,
unless CSIRO get on board and put the challenge up to other publishers by
providing ebook versions of their titles.
By the way, there are an increasing number of e-readers with colour
screens. Sony have a colour version, as do Samsung and (I think) Kobe. I'm
fairly sure a colour Kindle is available in USA, so we will have it soon.
Russell
On Thu, December 23, 2010 12:47 pm, Jill Dening wrote:
> I don't want to start a thread about the worth of ebooks compared with
> paper books. I was talking about the possibility being able to take an
> ebook reference book into the field when it isn't possible to have paper
> books with me.
>
> So far, responses have indicated that when I DO buy a reader (and it
> will happen at some stage) the only one for me is the iPad, because I
> want to view reference books in colour. Now apparently it's a case of
> waiting until the pertinent books become available as e-books. And by
> then the market will have different products available.
>
> Jill Dening
> Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
>
> 26° 51' 41"S 152° 56' 00"E
>
> On 23/12/2010 11:33 AM, Clive Nealon wrote:
>> That's all true - I can't imagine not having access to all the books
>> I've accumulated over time.
>> However, I have used the Morcombe Guide app downloaded to an iPod touch
>> and found it very useful, convenient, and light.
>> Certainly if I'm travelling overseas in the future I'll be looking for
>> the relevant Guides.
>>
>> (While I have a mobile phone, I still see it as a tool that people can
>> use to contact me - I rarely make calls myself.)
>>
>>
>> Regards, Clive.
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Tony Russel<>
>> To: 'Chris Sanderson'<>; 'David
>> Adams'<>
>> Cc: 'birding-aus'<>
>> Sent: Thu, Dec 23, 2010 4:22 am
>> Subject: RE: [Birding-Aus] ebooks
>>
>>
>> I still prefer books, paper ones of course. I have enough to occupy me
>> when
>> on trips - things like scopes, bins, GPS's etc. I don't even give in to
>> having a mobile phone ( which tend not to work in the donga anyway).
>> iPads
>> and eBooks sound horrendous. I often wonder why people need to have the
>> latest gadgets.
>>
>> Tony
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From:
>> On Behalf Of Chris Sanderson
>> Sent: Thursday, 23 December 2010 11:28 AM
>> To: David Adams
>> Cc: birding-aus
>> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] ebooks
>>
>> Jill,
>>
>> I think using an iPad (or similar, I'm sure another company must be
>> working
>> on something by now) will be better for things like field guides than an
>> eReader. The big issue you have with thinks like Kindles for field
>> guides
>> is they can't do colour. So while they are much better than iPads for
>> reading books (non-active screen so they don't tire your eyes out), that
>> isn't such a huge problem for field guides. You can already get quite a
>> few
>> field guides for iPad/iPhone in the USA, and a few in other countries
>> (obviously including a bird guide in Aus now), so I think while the
>> uptake
>> is currently slow, it will happen eventually. Will be interesting to
>> see
>> how long it takes CSIRO as our biggest publisher of field guides to pick
>> up
>> on the technology.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Chris
>>
>> On Thu, Dec 23, 2010 at 10:44 AM, David Adams<> wrote:
>>
>>>> I have armloads of
>>>> reference books that I can't take with me when we go away in our
>>> campervan,
>>>> because there just isn't room.
>>>
>>> Familiar problem, made even worse then air travel is involved ;-)
>>>
>>> I'm not sure about e-readers, but more and more field guides are
>>> becoming available for smartphone operating systems, particularly iOS
>>> (Apple) and Android (Google.) Morcombe is available for Australia on
>>> iOS (worth it for the calls alone), there are two excellent guides for
>>> North America, some for Europe, and the SASOL guide for South Africa
>>> was announced yesterday.
>>>
>>> Static e-readers might be of some use for field guides, to be sure.
>>> After using a dedicated field guide app, I'd say apps have a lot more
>>> to offer:
>>>
>>> * Integrated sounds, links, photos, and the like.
>>> * Searching by more than word or phrase.
>>>
>>> I find the apps good enough that I've been guying electronic version
>>> of books I already own for more than I paid for the books in the first
>>> place. I honestly wish I could get everything in this format. I'd
>>> still carry paper, but a lot less.
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