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eBooks and their Future – A Brief Overview

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The world is growing digital, and change has swept across all domains of life. There is hardly any exception that has remained traditional. People love the idea of going digital, and this is seen in the case of e-ticketing, eCommerce, banking, ecards, and whatnot. As the result of growing popularity, experiments are going on in every field to ensure digitization. A new addition to it is the eBooks and their different formats.

The Digital revolution is the most significant transformation, and it seems that this won’t leave any stone unturned. And amongst the most beneficial transitions resulting from the impacts of digitization is that of eBooks. You don’t need to have a bundle of papers with you to read. Instead, a digital device will work. The change has come as a surprise to many, but it is the future for readers.

Here is a brief overview of eBooks, how they work, and how they can benefit the readers.

eBooks – An Introduction

The idea of many books in a small space without the problem of space is gratifying. And it has become a reality in the form of eBooks. An eBook is defined as the ‘electronic version of the book,’ which, in contrast to paper, uses binaries for display on the device screen. eBook should be reflowable and can’t be edited.

eBooks are a blessing for those who want no other pastime than reading. You can download and store dozens of books on your phone, PC, or any other reading device and can access them when you need them. eBooks have come to stay, and they will be there as long as the electronic devices are used.

Though the digital revolution of books is endangering the publishing industry, it is adapting to the new ongoing changes. These publishing houses are preparing and selling books in digital and physical formats.

eBook Formats

eBook is a common rubric for a range of digital formats. These digital formats are based on the configuration of code and the apps that are compatible with the specific configuration. Each of these formats has specific features, but few are used commonly.

Here are some of the common formats that users prefer to have.

PDF

PDF is one of the most common eBook formats. However, this format doesn’t fulfil the definition requirements that we gave for eBooks. Despite the fact that technical experts don’t agree on calling it eBook, it is one of the most popular formats. Adobe created PDF and now many publishers are using it for their publishing.

EPUB

Another popular format is EPUB which is compatible with a wide range of devices. The EPUB format is reflowable and can be used with devices of different screen sizes without any problem.  

AZW

AZW is a format that might not have popularity compared to PDF and EPUB, but it has a significant fanbase. The features that AZW and EPUB offer include highlights, bookmarks, and annotations. Amazon developed AZW for Kindle.

   

eBooks and their future
Source: Pixabay

Benefits of eBooks

There are various benefits of eBooks if we compare them to physical books. However, paper books have their place, but the comparative benefits of ebooks are phenomenal. These include gathering small space, portability, easy access, saving money, eco-friendliness, changes in format or fonts, etc.

We can customize some features in eBooks like the font color, size, and type. So we can choose the font of our choice. The instant download of an eBook is another pro feature that makes them easily available compared to paper books.

Creating an eBook

Digital books bring all the modern benefits with them. It is no more a problem to publish your own book, as the digital era has made it possible without any hassle. You can write the book using word processing software and then convert it to the desired format.

There are two main intents behind the publishing of eBooks. These include self-publishing or using digital books for marketing purposes. Many new writers are publishing their books and putting them for sale in the online marketplace. At the same time, those publishing them for marketing purposes publish them on their websites.

In either case, they can help you get the required audience.

Devices to read eBooks

The start of the digital era has brought many types of devices that can help with running our lives smoothly. One of them is those devices that we can use for the reading of digital books. These include mobile phones, tablets, PC, and eBook readers.

In the case of mobile phones, it is too simple to read eBooks, as in many phone models, there are pre-installed apps for reading. The same holds for tablet devices, either they run Windows, iOS, or Android, they can be used for reading purposes.  

In the case of a PC, you can install a reader depending on the OS. A range of apps available for PCs can support different formats. The common, purpose-built, digital book readers include Kindle, Kobo, Nook, etc.

The Future of eBooks

As said earlier, the future of digital books is bright because of the current innovations and the prospective ones in future. The more time passes, we might have better and improved formats and devices for electronic books. Though there is no certainty about what is ahead, we know that the current digital books are in scratch form. We will have improved ones in future as time passes and technological advancements add to this domain.

Different electronic books companies are working in the market to improve them. There is a possibility of interactive books with the features of connectivity, interactivity, connectivity, color adjustments, etc. As more readers are attracted to digital books due to smartphones, PCs, and other devices, the popularity of this kind of book is growing.

Though audiobooks are available in the market, they are no replacement for the ‘written’ books. The development of different versions in the EPUB format might be formative for eBooks. The different versions of EPUB have included pictures in the books and now is working on including audio, video, and other features in books.

So, we might be able to see a completely evolved form of books in no time as the development is going fast.

Final Thoughts

eBooks are innovation and a significant step in human development. The possibility of digital books has opened up a new opportunity for human beings making access to knowledge easy. The availability of different formats and choices in the types of electronic books makes the idea further attractive. It is attracting more readers because of the easy access and lower costs in comparison to paper books.

Though electronic books might not replace paper books soon, they will definitely attract a large portion of the reading community. As time passes and new developments come in this domain, the more readers will flock to e-reading. The future of electronic books lies in progress, and the industry is making significant developments.

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