Will electronic books mark the beginning of the end of that spine-bending teen appendage, the backpack?
NuvoMedia’s Rocket eBook (22-ounce, paperback-sized electronic book that can hold the text of 10 novels, launched in November 1998) and the new or forthcoming SoftBook, Millennium EBook and multi-version Everybook vary in features, price and design but have this in common: They’d be mighty handy for that population segment most likely to tote 12 tomes at a time — students.
Before your child once again stands tall and packless, some issues remain:
– Will a uniform text format and copyright standard be adopted to make all books available on all ebooks?
– Will Mom and Dad shell out from $200 to $1,000 in addition to the cost of books?
– Has there ever been an electronic instrument devised that a kid can’t break or lose?
– Finally, if this thing takes off, how ever will we flatten flowers or prop doors open?
