v-book
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Google and Amazon debut cellphone e-books, eye strain
Sure, we pretty much figured that the V-Book (which is actually not a book at all) would be the final nail in the coffin of what was once known as "literature," but it looks like both Google and Amazon have other plans. Not only have their been rumblings of a new Kindle, but Amazon has announced that it'll soon be making the popular e-reader's some 230,000 titles available for your cellphone. The company hasn't said when the titles will be available or exactly what phones would be supported -- but we're guessing that we'll be seeing handsets with nice, big screens like the G1 and the iPhone on the list. If that weren't enough, Google's Book Search holdings -- about 1.5 million public domain works -- will soon be available for cellphone-based e-readers like Stanza. This is good news for people who need access to data on the go -- and really good news for anyone who would like to curl up next to the fire with a nice glass of wine and their Curve 8900.[Image courtesy of Spacesick, Via Unwired View]
V-Books: the future
You know, once in a while you hear such a logical, well-thought-out idea that you start to wonder, even fear, that society will end up heading down some sort of interesting and completely boring path to productivity and peace. This is not that idea. HarperCollins has restored our faith in the wonderful futility of humanity with "Video Books." The publishing house is on the hook for six v-book versions of real books, which involve an ultra-abridged version of the title being spoken directly to the camera by the author. The first of these is Jeff Jarvis' book What Would Google Do?, which is 23 minutes of the man speaking to your face in front of a white backdrop, and retails for $10. We were hoping for something a bit more like Reading Rainbow, but we must admit the two minute preview we saw was strangely compelling. Authors receive 25 percent of the sales, on par with e-book rates, but can you really put a royalty rate on the future?Read - HarperCollins Tries 'Video Books'Read - What Would Google Do? V-Book
