Smart phones write a new chapter in e-books market

Kindle ignited a surge in electronic reading, but other devices may find even more fans.

Associated Press

September 7, 2009

 

A few weeks ago, Pasquale Castaldo was waiting at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport for a delayed flight when a man sitting across from him pulled out an Amazon Kindle book-reading device.

"Gee, maybe I should think about e-books myself," thought Castaldo, 54.

He didn't have a Kindle, but he did have a BlackBerry. He pulled it out and looked for available applications. Sure enough, Barnes & Noble Inc. had just put up an e-reading program. Castaldo downloaded it, and within a minute, began reading Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice."

As others are also discovering, the North Haven, Conn., banker found e-books quite accessible without a Kindle.

"The BlackBerry is always with me," Castaldo said. "Rather than just sitting there, if I can fill that time by reading a good book, I might do that, in addition to doing the other things I might do, like reading e-mail and Twittering."

Thanks to Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle, e-book sales are finally zooming, after more than a decade in the doldrums.

But the pioneering device may not dominate the market for long. As Castaldo found, many phones are now sophisticated enough, and have good enough screens, to be used as e-book reading devices. In addition, e-book reading on computers is already surprisingly popular.

E-book sales reported to the Assn. of American Publishers have been rising sharply since the beginning of 2008, just after the release of the Kindle. It's the best sustained growth the industry has seen since the International Digital Publishing Forum began tracking sales in 2002 -- a sign that e-books finally could be about to break into the mainstream.

U.S. trade e-book sales in the April to June period this year more than tripled from the amount a year ago, as reported by about a dozen publishers.

Total reported sales at wholesale prices were $37.6 million. That's less than 2% of the overall book market, but the number understates e-book sales because not all publishers contribute to the report.

The most well-known dedicated reading devices, the Kindle and Sony Corp.'s Reader, try to emulate the look of the printed page with a display technology known as "electronic ink."

While many find the result pleasant to read, e-ink also imposes limitations on the devices. They can't be backlighted like other screens. They can't show color. They're also slow to update, making them difficult to use for Web browsing or other computer activities.

The Kindle has a wireless connection directly to Amazon's store, meaning users can buy and download books to the device within minutes, much like Castaldo could do on his smart phone. The Reader lacks a wireless capability and thus needs to be connected to a computer to load books.

Forrester Research analyst Sarah Rotman Epps said that while the Kindle has sparked interest in e-books, downloads of e-reading applications for smart phones have far outnumbered the Kindles sold.

The Stanza app for the iPhone and the iPod Touch, for instance, has been downloaded more than 2 million times since last summer, compared with Rotman Epps' estimate of more than 900,000 Kindles sold through the first quarter of this year.

"There will be a market for dedicated reading devices, but there's potentially an even bigger market for reading on devices that people already own, like smart phones," she said.

 

Source : Los Angeles Times

 

한글번역

펼쳐두기..

 

스마트폰이 전자서적 시장에 새로운 장을 쓰다

 

킨들은 전자독서의 변화에 불을 붙였지만, 다른 기기들은 훨씬 더 많은 팬들을 찾을지도 모른다.

몇 주 전, Pasquale Castaldo가 댈러스의 포트워스 공항에서 지연된 항공편을 기다리고 있을 때, 맞은 편에 있던 남자가 아마존 킨들을 꺼냈다.

 

“이런, e-book에 대해 생각해봐야 되겠군.” 54세인 Castaldo씨는 생각했다.

 

그는 킨들이 없지만 블랙베리는 갖고 있었다. 그는 블랙베리를 꺼내고 사용할만한 애플리케이션을 찾아봤다. Barnes & Noble Inc.가 막 내놓은 전자독서 프로그램이면 충분했다. Castaldo는 1분 내에 프로그램을 다운로드 했고 Jane Austen의 오만과 편견을 읽기 시작했다.

 

다른 사람들도 발견하고 있는데 코네티컷 주 the North Haven에 사는 은행원은 킨들 없이 접속이 가능한 e-book을 알아냈다.

 

“블랙베리는 언제나 저와 함께 있죠. 저기 그냥 앉아있는 것보다는 내가 그 시간을 책을 읽는 것으로 채울 수 있다면 아마 그렇게 할 것입니다. 게다가 이메일을 확인하거나 트위터도 하겠죠.” Castaldo가 말했다.

 

아마존닷컴의 킨들 덕분에 10년이 넘는 침체 뒤에는 e-book 판매는 결국 급격히 증가할 것이다.

하지만 선도하는 기기는 시장을 오랫동안 지배하지 않을 것이다. Castaldo 씨가 발견해낸 것처럼 많은 휴대전화는 충분히 세련되었고, e-book을 읽는 기기로 사용되기에 충분히 우수한 화면을 갖고 있다.

 

미국출판사협회에 보고된 e-book 판매량은 킨들이 막 출시된 2008년 초 이후로 가파르게 증가했다. 이것은 국제디지털출판포럼이 2002년 판매 조사를 시작한 이후로 지속된 해당 업계에서 보인 최고 수치이다.

 

12개 정도의 출판사가 보고한 바에 따르면, 미국은 올해 4월부터 6월까지 e-book 판매량에서 1년 전보다 3배를 거래했다.

 

최종 보고된 판매량의 도매가격은 3,760만 달러다. 이것은 전체 도서시장규모 보다 2% 작지만, 모든 출판사가 보고서에 참여한 것이 아니기 때문에 e-book 판매량에 대한 수치는 실제보다 축소된 것이다.

 

가장 잘 알려진 읽기 전용 장치인 킨들과 소니 리더는 “전자 잉크”로 알려진 디스플레이 기술로 인쇄된 출판물과 경쟁하려 한다.

 

많은 사람들이 읽는 기쁨의 결과를 찾는 동안 e-ink는 장치에 제한을 두었다. 그 장치들은 다른 화면처럼 백라이트를 포함할 수 없다. 색깔을 보여줄 수 없다. 또한 업데이트가 느리고 웹브라우징이나 다른 컴퓨터 기능을 사용하는 것을 어렵게 만들고 있다.

 

킨들은 아마존 스토어에 직접 무선으로 연결할 수 있어서 사용자들은 Castaldo가 그의 스마트폰에서 했던 것과 같이 몇 분 이내에 책을 사고 다운로드할 수 있다. 독자들은 무선통신 사용량이 부족하기 때문에 책을 저장하기 위한 컴퓨터 연결이 필요하다.

 

Forrester Research의 연구원 Sarah Rotman Epps는 킨들이 e-book에 대한 관심을 자극하는 동안 스마트폰에 대한 e-reading 애플리케이션의 다운로드는 킨들이 팔린 것보다 훨씬 많았다.

 

예를 들어, Rotman Epps가 추산한 올해 1/4분기 동안 팔린 킨들의 숫자인 90만개 이상에 비해 아이폰과 아이팟 터치를 위한 Stanza 애플리케이션은 지난 여름 이후로 200만 회가 넘는 다운로드를 기록했다.

 

그녀는 말했다. "읽기 전용 장치시장이 존재하겠지만 잠재적으로 사람들이 이미 갖고 있는 스마트폰과 같은 장치에서 읽기를 위한 훨씬 큰 시장이 존재합니다."

 

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Is Google Android coming of age?

With a slew of new devices, is it time for Google Android to take the spotlight.

By Claudine Beaumont, Technology Editor
Published: 12:01AM BST 04 Sep 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Could September finally be the month when Android comes of age? The mobile phone operating system, developed by internet giant Google and a consortium of handset makers and component manufacturers, is finally looking like a genuine competitor to other devices, such as Apple’s iPhone. In truth, the Android software has never been a problem; rather, the problem has been with the handsets that run the operating system. The very first phone, the G1, looked like an ugly duckling next to the swan that is Apple’s iPhone. Although many users love its slide-out qwerty keyboard, the chunky styling and muted colours did not do justice to the sheer potential of the Android OS. It lacked the slickness and pizzazz of the iPhone.

 

The truth is that most consumers choose their new handset on the basis of appearance rather than its operating system or features. But now, a slew of well designed, beautifully realised devices could become the Trojan horse for the Android platform.

 

So far this year we’ve seen the HTC Magic, a lovely touch-screen device, and the sublime HTC Hero, a mobile phone with so many delightful features that it should be considered as a serious competitor to the iPhone.

 

HTC, the Taiwanese manufacturer responsible for both the Magic and Hero – as well as the dull G1 – is mining a rich seam of design and creativity, and has firmly positioned itself as the pre-eminent Android handset maker.

 

It won’t go unchallenged for long though; Samsung is working on its own Android-based devices. Later this month, Motorola – a mobile phone maker in need of a big hit – will launch its own Android phone. If online rumours are to be believed, it will feature a huge 3.7in touch-screen and slide-out keyboard, positioning itself as an alternative to, say, a BlackBerry or Nokia smartphone.

 

Android, too, is starting to filter through the technology ecosystem on to other devices. Acer is installing a version of the Android operating system on a forthcoming range of netbooks, with Asus, another maker of diminutive laptops, expected to follow suit later next year.

 

The ubiquity and power of mobile devices means that software developers and consumer electronics manufacturers are keen to stamp their mark on this emerging market, in much the same way as Microsoft dominated the desktop computing space in the last decade.

 

Android’s fresh momentum surely makes it a leading contender in such a race.

 

(Source : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/6132844/Is-Google-Android-coming-of-age.html)

 

 

한글 번역

펼쳐두기..

구글 안드로이드 시대의 도래인가?

 

새로운 디바이스들의 큰 영향과 함께 구글 안드로이드가 스포트라이트를 받아야할 때인가.

 

9월이 최종적으로 안드로이드의 시대가 오는 달이 될 것인가? 인터넷의 거인 구글, 휴대전화 제조사 컨소시엄, 부품 제조업자가 개발한 휴대전화 운영체계는 최종적으로 애플 아이폰과 같은 다른 기기에 유일한 경쟁자인 것처럼 보인다. 사실 안드로이트 소프트웨어는 문제가 있었던 적이 없고 오히려 운영체계를 작동하는 휴대전화가 문제였다. 최초의 안드로이드 전화 G1은 아이폰이라는 백조 옆에 있는 미운 새끼오리 처럼 보였다. 많은 사용자들이 G1의 슬라이드 방식 쿼티 키보드를 좋아했지만, 거친 스타일과 칙칙한 색상은 안드로이드 OS의 완전한 잠재력을 정의하지 않았다. 아이폰의 매끄러움과 화려함이 부족했던 것이다.

 

사실 대부분의 소비자들은 운영체제나 사양보다는 겉모습에 기초한 새로운 휴대전화를 선택한다. 하지만 지금 잘 디자인되고, 아름답게 구현된 기기들은 안드로이드 플랫폼의 트로이 목마가 될 것이다.

 

올해까지 우리는 매력적인 터치스크린이 달린 HTC Magic과 아주 많은 즐거운 사양을 갖춘 HTC Hero를 보았는데, 분명 아이폰의 진정한 경쟁자로 간주될 것이다.

 

대만의 제조사인 HTC는 디자인과 창의력의 풍부한 연결을 발굴해내고, 자체적으로 탁월한 안드로이드 휴대전화 제조사로 확고히 자리잡게한 Magic와 Hero-뿐만아니라 투박한 G1까지-에 대한 공을 갖고 있다.

 

삼성이 자체적으로 안드로이드 기반의 디바이스를 개발하고 있어서, 오랫동안 확고한 위치를 지키지는 못할 것이다. 이 달 말에 한 방이 필요한 휴대전화 제조사인 모토로라는 자사의 안드로이드폰을 출시할 것이다. 만약 온라인 상의 루머가 사실이라면, 3.7인치의 대형 터치스크린과 슬라이드방식의 키보드를 갖추어서 블랙베리나 노키아 스마트폰의 대항마가 될 것이다.

 

안드로이드 역시 다른 장치의 기술체계를 통해서 선별하기 시작했다. 에이서는 몇 년 후에 선례를 따를 것으로 예상되는 다른 소형 랩탑 제조사 아수스와 함께 곧 출시할 넷북의 범주에 안드로이드 운영체제 버전을 탑재한다.

 

휴대기기의 편재와 영향력은 소프트웨어 개발자와 소비자인 전자제품 제조사에게 마이크로소프트가 데스크톱 컴퓨터 영역을 지난 10년간 거의 같은 방법으로 지배한 것처럼 그들의 영역을 이 신생 시장으로 넓히기를 간절히 원한다는 것을 의미한다.

 

안드로이드의 새로운 힘이 이 같은 경주에서 선두주자로 만들 것이 확실하다.

 

 

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How to Choose a Topic

[Source : teentimes.org]

 

While all topics may be debatable, not all topics are good for debates. So selecting a topic is not as easy as it may sound. This is especially true when someone is trying to come up with a fresh, new topic. In a class or tournament, many topics are needed, so having a broad variety of topics on hand is a good idea. A good topic should be balanced and well-phrased.

 

At a debate tournament, there could be a need for dozens of topics. Take the NSDC (National Schools Debating Championship) tournament for example, where there are usually three prepared round motions?students know the topics in advance?and five impromptu rounds, rounds that usually involve selecting from three topics. Such a tournament needs 18 topics. Impromptu rounds should have a theme, which means that there would be eight categories for these topics. A dozen common themes (with plenty of debate topics) are culture, diplomacy, economy, education, environment, governance, health, media, politics, science, sports, and local topics?the last one relevant only to the region of the event.

 

Picking themes can help narrow topic choices. The next issue of concern is to have a well-balanced debate motion. This means that it needs to be debatable for both sides of the motion. “This House believes that the Sun rotates around the Earth,” is not a fair motion because there is one side that is absolutely right and one that is clearly wrong. Let’s say you have decided to use the theme of the environment from the list. “This House would fix the environment,” certainly leans more in favor of the proposition since the opposition would find it increasingly difficult to argue that we should let the environment collapse. A fairer balance might be, “This House believes that the environment is more important than the economy.” Such a motion pits each side with a clearer mothod idea to counter the other. In truth, both the environment and the economy are important, so arguing which is more important becomes an interesting and fair debate.

 

Finally, we come to phrasing. Poorly worded topics are very problematic. Take the final wording achieved in the previous resolution. If we add “much” so that it reads, “This House believes that the environment is much more important than the economy,” we have created a much higher burden for the proposition and a much lower burden for the opposition. Especially in pre-collegiate debates, motions with absolute terms like “always” and “never” can become high hurdles for students.

 

Exercise:
Select a theme from the list mentioned in the article. Generate three different debate topics for that theme. Make sure each topic is balanced and well-phrased. Repeat with other themes as needed.

Can’t Sleep?

Source : www.teentimes.org

 

Forget the upbeat music from Craig David or Wheesung for now. We will get down to how to deal with real-life insomnia. Insomnia, other than the fact that it’s the title of a song for the above two artists, is a word used to describe a condition where one can’t fall asleep. As you know, sleep is essential to all living animals. It is vital for the brain and a variety of organs in the body.

Insomnia has become a common phenomenon recently and happens to many adults and even teenagers. It causes problems, such as excessive sleepiness, tiredness, trouble thinking clearly or staying focused, obesity, and feelings of depression or irritability.

 

Insomnia is not determined by the number of hours you sleep every night. Since everyone has different sleep needs, there is no correct amount of sleep. On average, most people need between seven to nine hours of good quality sleep each night in order to feel alert the next day. But some people function perfectly well with only four or five hours of sleep. The key to healthy sleep seems to be a consistent pattern, rather than the number of hours one sleeps. According to research, women are twice as likely to suffer from insomnia than men. It suggests that certain social factors, such as grades or relationships with peers are related to poor sleep and increase the risk of insomnia in teenagers. Furthermore, the frequency of insomnia tends to increase with age.

Are you that person in the popular song, “Insomnia?” There are many things you can do to get the sleep you need. You can practice some of the advice listed below:

 

▶Try to go to bed at the same time each day and get up at the same time every morning. Try not to take naps after 3 p.m.

 

▶Get into the habit of regular exercise. Try to work out during the day?it is recommended that you exercise at least 5 to 6 hours before bedtime.

 

▶Eat dinner at least 2 to 3 hours before bedtime.

 

▶Make your bedroom dark, quiet, and cool. Light shouldn’t be a problem while you are sleeping. Try a sleeping mask if light bothers you. If noise becomes a problem, try earplugs.