Innovation Adoption

The Digital BookBy: John Richbourg

(Storyboard Work in Progress)

The Digital Book

• Also known as the electronic book , or E-book, this innovation is the digital form of a text or image-based publication and readable on computers or other digital devices.

• Current E-readers becoming more popular with the public are the Amazon Kindle the Sony PRS-500 and the Barnes and Noble Nook.

Why an Electronic Book?

• The needs answered by this innovation were partially environmental, academic, and cultural.

• Environmentalists applauded the introduction as a way to slow tree harvesting for paper.

• Educators saw the E-book as an opportunity to have out-of-date texts replaced with a real-time device that would make learning more relevant to students.

• Cultural needs were answered by giving individuals and groups a means to share information and works of art in real-time.

Research

• The first digital book was developed by Michael Hart as Project Gutenberg in 1971.

• The first e-books were produced for limited audiences focused on special interests.

• Multiple formats and diverse readers fragmented the E-book market.

• In the 1990s, more information was added to electronic libraries for digital books.

• In 1998, Public Libraries began issuing free digital books in lieu of more traditional bound volumes for selected texts.

Development

• Initial target for the digital book was the computer using American public

• Major problems included the varied formats of media and readers, and the reticence of the American public to replace traditional texts with digital copies.

Commercialization

• Numerous manufacturers and marketing companies are now fielding the digital books and readers for consumption by the American public.

• Like anything else, it may be wise for the consumer to wait for the price to decrease while quality and functionality increase in the digital readers currently being marketed.

References

• To be added later