Digital devices provide new way to read

By BECKY ATKINSON
Edited by MIRIAM CAMP

Running out of battery has never been a problem for print media before.

New digital devices such as the Amazon Kindle and the Sony Reader are providing a new way to read books and newspapers - electronically.

Though these digital devices offer a new way to read and other benefits that may be improvements over print reading, these new devices have new problems that print media have never had to face.

“Last night my Kindle ran out of battery,” said Scott Shamp, director of the New Media Institute at the University of Georgia. “This is never been a problem with print books.”

Shamp downloaded his first Kindle book four days ago, a book called “Loving Frank” about the life of Frank Lloyd Wright. Before he had only read newspapers on his Kindle.

“It’s something really cool to wish I had the New York Times and then, boom. I do.” Shamp said.
Newspapers are embracing devices such as the Kindle as a way to cut costs and encourage people to pay for subscriptions.

“We'd welcome people reading us on Kindle,” said Charles Gay, Sunday editor for the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “As long as people are paying for our product, we don't particularly care what the format is. In fact, Kindle has the advantage of saving us the cost of newsprint and delivery, which are two of our three biggest expenses.”

Though his Kindle ran out of battery, Shamp still thinks the Kindle has some great features. He loves being able to change the font size, being able to make notes and to access a dictionary directly from the Kindle.

Being able to buy books immediately is another feature he enjoys.

“The other night after I finished my book, I just went online and downloaded another one,” Shamp said. “It took two minutes.”

He also hasn’t noticed a problem reading a book from a screen instead of printed pages.

Dr. Shamp believes the Kindle and other digital devices will ultimately be successful.

“I think it has to,” he said. “We can’t have more dead trees.”

Elizabeth Davis, director of the writing certificate program and an English professor at UGA, agrees that there are pros for the Kindle and other such digital devices.

For one thing, downloading digital books is cheaper and more economical, and thus more affordable for people.

According to Amazon.com, the price of the new Dan Brown book “The Lost Symbol” is $9.99. The print version is $29.95.

Shamp was impressed by the fact that an individual issue of the New York Times is only 75 cents.

Davis also thinks people will like the portability of the digital devices. The Kindle weighs 18.9 ounces and has a 9.7 inch display screen and is as thin as a pencil.

Another feature of digital devices Davis thinks will be beneficial is the greater access people will have to a wider variety of texts.

“The more that goes online, the more access we’ll have,” Davis said.

The benefits of increased access are similar to benefits the Gutenberg Project and the Google Book Project provides. More books will be available for everyone to read.

Despite these features, Davis still does not have a Kindle, mainly because of the hefty price tag.

“What limits people is the first initial outlay of cost for the device,” Davis said.

The Kindle costs $299, but the Kindle DX, the newest Kindle with improved features such as larger screen size, costs $489.

But even without having to pay for the device, some students at Princeton University still aren’t satisfied. Two weeks ago, 50 students received a free Kindle DX as part of Amazon’s Kindle e-reader pilot program.

According to The Daily Princetonian, Princeton’s independent student newspaper, students seemed to agree that the devices made it difficult to annotate books, such as highlighting and writing in the margins.

Davis believes some people will like digital readers such as the Kindle and some will not.

“It’s not an either-or situation,” she said. “Books and digital devices are going to co-exist.”

Peggy Gaffney, an employee at Borders bookstore in Athens, has experience with digital devices and books co-existing.

Borders all over the country are selling the Sony Reader, another digital reader that is similar to the Kindle.

The Sony Reader provides many of the same features as the Kindle but with a lower price tag. Prices range from $199 to $299, according to the Sony website.

“We’ve done well with it,” Gaffney said about the Sony Reader. “Now that it’s come out with a new version, I expect it to do well. A lot of people are interested, especially for the holidays.”

Gaffney agrees with Davis on the fact that some people will like the digital devices and some people won’t.

“I don’t think it’s for everyone,” Gaffney said. “There will be certain people who like it and some who don’t. Some people won’t want to mess with another electronic.”

Gaffney is not worried about selling a machine that some think might take the place of books.

We’re just providing another way to read books, she said.