The world of e-book devices, apps, providers and acquisitions is fast-changing and very complex. Keeping up with it all is a challenge for any publisher. A colleague drew my attention to a very helpful map of the e-book universe brought to us by the folks at TechFlash.com.
As Eric Engleman puts it:
In recent weeks, we’ve seen Sony announce a new lineup of electronic readers; bookseller Barnes & Noble form partnerships with forthcoming e-readers from Plastic Logic and Irex; and Google team up with various devices to distribute digital titles from its giant book scanning project. Looming over all this is Apple, which is rumored to be developing a tablet computer with e-reading capability. Apple’s entry into the market—given the company’s success with the iPhone and other consumer electronics—could shake things up for Kindle and other players.
TechFlash also has created a version of the same map in an interactive format—just click on any icon and get more information. It’s a large file, but it may prove worthwhile for you.
To keep things in perspective, sales of e-books still amount to less than 1 percent of the total book market. Few expect things to stay at that level, however. Keeping current on the shifts and changes is a key and major task in this fast-moving and very unstable field.
One of the interesting features of the map is how many arrows are pointing to the iPhone, and it’s place near the middle. Though we hear lots about the Kindle when it comes to e-books, iPhone and Apple may be the future.
Andy
Just downloaded to my Kndle 2 Andrew Marin’s “Love is an Orientation.”
Thanks much InterVarsity.
Great. We’ve working hard to supply Kindle with our books. We’ve got almost 300 titles available on Kindle now with more being added each month. For those who like them, they really like them. Glad you do!
Andy