In simple terms, an E-Book is any method of storing the information found in a particular book electronically, usually on a computer or on a device called an E-book reader. Until fairly recently, the most common(only?) way for accessing and reading E-Books was through a computer. For many, this was enough, but for people who liked the portability of their books, being tied to their computer for reading books in an electronic format was a burden.
Formats(Pros and Cons)An E-Book is an E-Book is an E-Book, right? If only that were true. In fact, like anything else these days, there are a number of differing "standards" when it comes to E-Books. One of the most popular, and most accessible is PDF format, which has been around for years. Chances are pretty good that you already have the software required to view these on your computer. It stands for "Portable Document Format" and is most commonly opened through Adobe Acrobat Reader, but a number of other applications are available that work just fine. The popularity of this format stems from the relatively small space these files take up and the lack of any restrictions such as DRM. You can purchase a book in PDF format and functionally have no limit to the number of copies you could create from this file, but the legality of doing so depends on the rights of the copyright owner of said book. The very practical reason why you would want to do this is to prevent yourself from losing the file forever, by making a copy and storing on a CD-R or DVD-R, if your computer fails and needs to be replaced, you still have your E-Book.
E-Pub is a popular format; hundreds of thousands of books have been published this way internationally. Between this and PDF, if the book you want has been published as an E-book, chances are strong that it has been published in one of these two formats. Again, the files are relatively small and your options for programs that will allow you to read these are not limited.
Plain Text is another format, but admittedly, you aren't likely to see it as a format for any books that aren't in the public domain. Plain Text is just what it sounds like. You won't see any illustrations or fancy layouts, just text. The files are quite small, and extremely easy to copy and redistribute, and for that reason alone aren't used in the distribution of for-sale books. Regardless of this, if you are in the market for an E-Book Reader(which we will get to below), you will want one that can handle Plain Text, and it's very likely that it won't be an issue.
Proprietary Formats: Anyone with an E-Book store is likely to have their own format of E-Book files, and this is where the similarities between E-Books and real books really fall apart. A proprietary format basically means that to read their books, you need to use their software or devices to read them. Imagine needing a special pair of glasses for reading books that you bought from one store, and another pair for books bought from another store. The main reason for this is the illusion of control. Copyright owners need to feel that they have complete control over their intellectual properties, and these proprietary formats help them feel that they retain that control, no matter how inconvenient that may be for the consumer. Aside from the already mentioned requirements of these formats, these formats also tend to restrict your ability to duplicate the files, or share them. You may be able to share an E-Book with your friend Mike once, but if Mike didn't finish reading it fast enough, he's out of luck. Some formats will only let you "share" with a certain person only once, for 2 weeks, and never again. Sounds even less like a real book than ever, doesn't it?
Another complication stemming from these proprietary formats is that publishers may choose to only release their E-Book in one format, and if it's not one that you can currently access, the burden falls on you to remedy that. This is not a big deal if you only read E-Books on your computer, it's just a matter of installing a different program. If you own an E-Book Reader however, if the book you want isn't available in a format your device can handle, they expect you to buy another E-Book Reader than can handle it.
Perhaps the most unfortunate truth about E-Books: owning a physical copy of the book does not entitle you to an E-Book version. This is the unanimous decision of publishers everywhere, particularly because they have no way of confirming every book purchase you've ever made, and there is no guarantee that every book you own is even available electronically. The bottom line is that there is no easy way to move from a physical book collection to a digital one, you are expected to purchase every book again. If you aren't dissuaded by that, or suffer from morbid curiosity, keep reading, other wise stop here, the news doesn't get better.
Reader Options: Beyond the computer
An E-Book Reader is simply a device that can display the contents of an E-Book for you to read. Beyond that basic functionality, readers differ in a number of ways, but each of them have a relatively large electronic screen that attempts to recreate the look of ink on paper, the reason behind this is that it is easier on the eyes for long term reading. If you are interested in purchasing such a device, you can expect to spend between $200 and $300, on average. Online megastore Amazon is the company behind the popular Kindle, and Barnes & Noble recently launched their competing Nook. There are a handful of other options available, but chances are if you've already heard of a specific E-Book Reader, it's been one of these two. The bad news is that no single reader supports all of the popular formats, but the good news is that there is enough overlap that in most cases this will not be an issue, and new releases are available in a number of formats.
E-Ink VS. LCD
Besides supported formats, the one element that divides E-Book readers are their screens. The two common screen types found in these devices are E-Ink and LCD. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. E-Ink displays are very easy on the eyes, as easy as print on paper, and use very little power so that these devices can go for days without recharging. The unfortunate reality of E-Ink displays is that transitioning from one page of text to another takes a second or so, if you read quickly this transition may bother you over time. The advantage of LCD displays is that they can display new information on the screen very quickly, and also use fairly low power, but not as low as E-Ink screens manage. A good LCD can still manage to sip little enough power to allow you to go a day or so without charging, but several days less than competing technology. So the trade off is speed for battery life, which is more important to you?
It's a lot to take in, but the main things that you need to remember are these: unless you already have a library of E-Books on your computer, getting a reader means starting your library from square one. Books in the public domain are free, and best-sellers are frequently $10, whereas most readers are priced in the $200-$300 range. E-Ink gives you longer times between charging your reader, but if the lag in "turning" pages bothers you, a reader with an LCD screen might be worth the shorter battery life.
