eBooks

An e-book (for electronic book: also eBook, ebook) is the digital media equivalent of a conventional printed book. Such documents are either read on personal computers, or on dedicated hardware devices known as e-book devices or e-book readers. more...

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An e-book is a specialised type of e-text.

Formats

A writer or publisher has many options when it comes to choosing a file format for production. While the average end-user might arguably simply want to read books, every format has its proponents and champions, and debates over "which format is best" can become intense.

Advantages

Text can be searched automatically, and cross-referenced using hyperlinks. This makes e-books an excellent choice of format for works that benefit from search and cross-reference capabilities, such as dictionaries, reference works, certain kinds of textbooks.

Less physical space is required to store e-books. Hundreds (or thousands) may be carried together on one device. Approximately 500 average e-books can be stored on one CD (equivalent to several shelves' worth of print books) Because they take up little space, e-books can be offered indefinitely, with no 'out of print' date, allowing authors to continue to earn royalties indefinitely (copyright law permitting), and allowing readers to find older works by favorite authors.

Readers who have difficulty reading conventional books can benefit from the adjustment of text size and font face. Text-to-speech software can be used to automatically convert e-books to spoken books. In addition, e-books may be read in low light or even total darkness, with a back-lit device.

An ebook doesn't need to be held open like a paperback, so it can be much more comfortable to hold. It can also be set down and read hands-free.

Since there is only one page, there is not a problem with the text near the interior margin getting obscured or shadowed by the other page (as can happen with a paperback). This makes the book easier to see from a variety of angles. The lack of a flexible joint between a book's two pages also allows the book to be positioned on its side.

It costs nothing to replicate an e-book. Copies can be made instantly and in as great a quantity as desired. This makes it easy to retain backups, and means that it is difficult to eliminate works once they have been distributed. E-books can be published by independent publishing houses, which can mean greater editorial and authorial freedom and more room for experimentation. From the publisher's point of view, the ease of distributing e-books means that they can be used to stimulate higher sales of printed copies of books.

With Internet access becoming ubiquitous in industrial nations, the ease of distributing e-books is a considerable advantage. e-books cost nothing to transfer, and such an operation occurs instantly. Readers can begin reading at once, without the need to visit a bookstore.

Read more at Wikipedia.org