E-books in the eyes of users
How many books did you buy in 2005 compared with 2003?
Will you buy a fidelity e-book at a 60% discount on paper books?
Which e-book reader would you choose to buy (single choice)?
Do you buy more paper books or e-books after you have a special reader?
What is your main reason for buying Fidelity e-books (multiple choices)?
If you need a book, which channels will you get it from (multiple choices)?
What kind of books do you prefer to read than paper books?
How do you like to buy e-books after owning a reader (single choice)?
In the Internet age, e-books, books bought from online bookstores, books borrowed from digital libraries and books read on mobile phones have opened more convenient doors for people to read. What impact has the emergence of new services such as online bookstores and e-books brought to readers? What's the difference between traditional bookstores and online bookstores? What are the preferences and trends of readers' reading and buying behaviors?
In the "2006 Reading Survey of Readers in the Internet Age" jointly conducted by China Computer News and Founder Electronics, these questions have been clearly answered. This survey randomly selected readers (14 years old or older) who bought more than one book in traditional bookstores and online in 2005 to conduct a questionnaire survey. Judging from the results of 4 140 valid questionnaires, it is not difficult to draw such an important conclusion.
Interpretation 1: Readers will buy more books in the future.
According to the data survey, compared with 2003, 44% readers bought more books in 2005, while 33% readers' purchases remained unchanged. The vast majority of readers will keep the same or add books, which is good news for all publishers. The book purchases investigated here include both traditional paper books and electronic publications.
Interpretation 2: More than half of readers get books from the Internet.
The primary channel for readers to obtain books is to borrow books from the library, and 365,438+0% readers choose to buy books. When buying books, 32% people choose to go to online bookstores to buy paper books. One of the important data is that the reading data of the website reading channel has increased by 22%, which is also the change of reading consumption pattern. Now more and more readers choose to browse online. At the same time, online bookstores buy paper books, buy and borrow fidelity e-books online, download free books online and other forms have also been recognized by readers. At present, the Internet has become a channel for 60% readers to obtain books.
Interpretation 3: What readers really buy is the content of the book.
The survey data shows that reading, copying and pasting on the computer are the main reasons for readers to buy e-books. The form of this conclusion is not the most important. Readers are willing to read and copy because the content of the book is valuable, and what readers really buy is the content of the book. The data once again confirms that it is an inevitable trend for consumers to choose e-books in the future, and it can also be seen that reference books and leisure periodicals account for the largest proportion.
Interpretation 4: Professional readers can promote readers to buy books.
38% readers tend to buy economical readers. At the same time, nearly 30% readers refuse to buy special readers, which poses a new challenge to how to choose format or cross-platform compatible mode of publishing and printing in the future.
After owning exclusive readers, 44% readers choose to search online for e-book websites to download, which indicates that electronic publishing and website cooperation will become important topics in the future; The proportion of members who tend to download from designated websites is also close to one-third. In the survey in sheet-fed printing, 78% of readers don't need it, and the high printing cost may be the main reason for this situation.
Electronic paper: the future reading will be like this.
Why are people still used to paper reading in black and white? Mainly because the paper medium is read under ambient light, it achieves high brightness, large contrast, high resolution and viewing angle 180 degrees. Moreover, paper has the advantage of being flexible in your hand, and words will not disappear soon. So many people have this experience, for some long documents to print out and read.
People's habits also mean that digital publishing faces a great challenge, that is, it needs a reader with the same comfortable effect as paper reading, but LCD screen can't replace paper reading. From the point of reading comfort, there is a great difference between computer screen and paper: LCD screen needs background light, and reading for a long time is easy to make eyes feel tired; E-book readers usually use reflective LCD screen, which has low contrast and poor brightness.
Electronic paper is an option to solve the above contradiction. This kind of "electronic paper" which is displayed by electronic equipment and has high visibility like paper can simulate the function and reading experience of traditional paper as much as possible. Compared with traditional paper, the biggest feature of electronic paper is that its content is not fixed and it can be accessed and reused at will. There are two ways to write information repeatedly on electronic paper, one is handwriting input, and the other is downloading and refreshing content through the network. Lighter than PDA, it can be folded at will; It is easier to carry and operate than a notebook computer. As long as you bring a piece of electronic paper, you can download and consult a lot of information through the internet, just like surfing the internet on a computer, no matter where you are. Moreover, because the display of electronic paper is almost as clear and stable as real paper, it will not cause eye fatigue.
At present, the electronic paper being developed can display static images in monochrome, and its goal is to replace paper display. The whiteness of the electronic paper book background and the clarity of the text are very high, and the contrast is even higher than that of the newspaper. In terms of ease of use, electronic paper has been somewhat flexible. In order to meet people's reading habits, electronic paper can even be made as thin and as thick as real paper. It has ultra-thin, printing-like texture, and memory characteristics of maintaining the display state after turning off the power. Moreover, because it belongs to the reflection mode without backlight, the content can be clearly displayed without always being powered on.
Imagine such a new electronic paper reader, which is less than half a millimeter thick and can be bent gently. Usually you can hide it in your mobile phone and take it out when reading. And its greater advantage lies in the large capacity and easy retrieval of digital media, so its use prospect is very attractive.
At present, the technology of realizing electronic paper also adopts electrophoretic display. White particles and black particles with positive and negative charges move in transparent liquid respectively, and it is determined whether white particles or black particles float to the surface by different voltages. When ambient light shines, all ambient light will be scattered or reflected back. By increasing the voltage, it presents the feeling of ink. This is a simple black-and-white display, which can reach or even exceed the high resolution of traditional paper characters, and the resolution is not determined by the material itself, but by the driving board behind it.
Now the electronic paper technology is moving from black and white to color, realizing flexibility and making electronic paper interactive. In the future, we can not only see the electronic newspaper we carry with us, but also see the foldable e-books and electronic shorthand books.
At present, black and white electronic paper has been industrialized and has the characteristics of traditional paper media. In 2004, Philips carried out the work of driver integration and system, and put the corresponding results into the market in 2004.
The current development trend is mainly the increasing demand for e-reading. People's demand for information has increased. E-book readers will have a great impact on people's lives: reading materials are always at hand, the latest newspapers and magazines are received in time, reading is as comfortable as paper, there is no need to bring a heavy schoolbag, and downloading is convenient ... Besides reading, it can also support handwriting.
The application of electronic paper technology will also bring many social impacts. First, it will reduce the use of paper and trees. Secondly, the distribution and transportation costs will be greatly reduced; Thirdly, the magnifying function of electronic paper makes it more suitable for the elderly and the disabled to read.
It is conceivable that digital life will turn a new page because of the popularity of electronic paper.
Make electronic paper closer to paper
In order to avoid the defects of electronic display mode and cater to people's reading habits, electronic paper must meet three conditions: first, the text is easy to read, and people should feel that they are reading on pure white paper. The higher the degree of pure white, the clearer the text; Secondly, you can turn off the power and continue to display, because it may take one page to keep a certain display time when reading; The third is the ultra-thin foldable display, which makes it close to paper.
In order to achieve these conditions, scientists believe that efforts should be made in three directions. First, the existing display is ultra-thin and foldable; The second is to use printers to improve paper printing technology. For example, special liquids are being studied on paper at present, so that they can be rewritten many times. The third is to improve the replication technology that can replicate the information of luminous pictures.
Apabi: Future publications will look like this.
It is "traditional publishing+network technology" that produces book online publishing, but the two are not a simple superposition. The transformation of traditional publishing by network technology is under way. As the upstream link of the industrial chain, the advanced technology provided by online publishing technology service providers directly determines the competitiveness of other links.
Around 2000, with the wide application of computer and Internet technology in various fields, readers' demand for online reading and book information retrieval from the Internet became increasingly obvious. At the same time, the library also began to build a digital library in a planned way, using electronic resources to provide services for readers. This series of changes prompted publishers to cooperate with IT technology providers to carry out online publishing, and the e-book industry in China began to sprout.
The following year, Founder successfully developed the overall solution of Founder Apabi network publishing according to the international OEB standard. At present, Founder Apabi has become one of the leading e-book dissemination platforms. This is based on two core technologies of founder Apabi: CEB (Format File) technology and DRM (Digital Rights Protection) technology.
CEB (Format File) processing technology can convert original documents of various formats into a unified format, and truly preserve the format and information of words, charts, formulas and colors in the original documents during the conversion process, thus achieving a high-fidelity display effect. CEB format has a small amount of data, which is beneficial to transmission. CEB technology is in full compliance with OEB standards. Digital copyright protection technology uses certain calculation methods to protect digital content and prevent it from being illegally copied. End users must be authorized to use digital content. Founder Apabi DRM protects digital content such as e-books, e-newspapers, e-magazines and e-documents, realizes the controllable secondary dissemination of digital content, and makes the use process of digital content controllable and traceable.
At the same time, in the process of transforming into a content service provider in the Internet era, publishers are also seeking cooperation with IT technology vendors to expand online publishing. Such as Higher Education Press, Machinery Industry Press and Tsinghua University Press.
Founder Apabi finally became the partner of these publishing "big names" because of its e-book publishing and communication technology and platform. Founder obtained the written authorization of the publishing house and the authorization of the author through the agreement form, which ensured the "genuine" of every Apabi e-book launched by Founder.
As an intelligent knowledge base in the network era, digital library has been widely used at present. E-books published by Founder and Publishing House have become important digital resources of these digital libraries. At present, more than 520 university libraries such as Peking University Library and Tsinghua University Library, more than 80% provincial libraries such as Capital Library and Shanghai Library, and more than 1 100 primary and secondary schools affiliated to Tsinghua University are applying Apabi e-books or building founder Apabi digital library.
Founder Apabi's Five Product Series
1. Founder Apabi production and publishing software
Founder Appaby production and release software includes Appaby conversion software and Appaby editing software. The former is a data conversion tool, which can convert electronic documents used for printing into readable e-book files CEB. The latter can establish a directory connection to CEB files, and can also make metadata information of e-books.
2. Founder Apabi security release software
CEB files generated by Appaby's production and publishing software can be submitted to the software to automatically encrypt the submitted CEB files, protect the copyright of e-books and manage the corresponding metadata.
3. Founder Apabi transaction processing software
This software provides an e-book trading platform for online bookstores, through which online bookstores can obtain e-book download licenses and send them to readers.
4. Founder Apabi digital book system
Libraries can buy e-books; Protected by publishers or publishers in batches or individually; Readers borrow and return e-books through digital libraries.
5. Founder Apabi reading software
You can read CEB, XEB, PDF, HTML, TXT, OEB and other files to realize the information binding between e-books purchased by readers and machine hardware.
Internet: A New Business Opportunity for Traditional Bookstores
The network is everywhere, which contains huge business opportunities, and the book wholesale and retail industry is also facing new development. How should the traditional book sales industry make good use of the Internet? I think it is necessary to take advantage of the network to develop e-commerce rapidly, expand sales and seize new markets.
Book retailing should be e-commerce.
Developing online trading is becoming an irresistible trend, and people are gradually accepting this online marketing model. The development of book e-commerce websites is also an inevitable trend. Books are the easiest commodities to realize e-commerce. As an e-commerce website in the field of book retailing, it is characterized by easy promotion, easy recognition by the public, fast circulation of goods and easy withdrawal of funds. The development prospect of book online marketing is very promising.
However, in the current book website, the share of traditional bookstores can be said to be very small. The websites of non-traditional bookstores account for most of online book sales. In the traditional book industry, major bookstores are also actively preparing and operating their own online bookstores. However, as a traditional bookstore, although it is very familiar with book management, it is difficult to make a big difference because of its lack of experience in e-commerce operation and limited technical level.
Faced with huge business opportunities, the development of traditional bookstore e-commerce websites depends on two factors, one is time, and the other is investment. As a traditional bookstore, the biggest advantage is that it has a physical storefront, complete varieties, smooth supply channels and efficient logistics distribution system. However, some non-traditional bookstores have some bottlenecks in word-of-mouth and stocking because they have no physical support, leaving opportunities for the future development of traditional bookstores.
Raise awareness and create new business opportunities
Using the Internet, traditional bookstores can do many things. For example, publishing bookstore information, shaping corporate image and improving company visibility; Publish marketing activities, store layout, address, telephone number and route; Strengthen communication and interaction with readers, and launch various surveys and feedbacks in time; Show new products and guide readers to buy them.
Taking Zhongguancun Book Building as an example, the website has been opened for two years, and the traffic has also increased rapidly. At present, the daily page visits are 40,000, and the independent IP visits are nearly 10000. Statistics show that the online shoppers are mostly white-collar workers, cultural figures and students, who have the habit of surfing the Internet and purchasing power.
On the basis of making full use of network resources, Zhongguancun Book Building cooperated with Founder Electronics of Peking University last year to introduce the functions of storefront shopping guide and online reading into the website, which not only enriched the content of the website, but also showed the books in the store to readers through Founder Network. Let readers consult books without leaving home, and effectively guide readers into the store to buy.
How traditional bookstores make full use of Internet resources, accurately grasp business opportunities, attract more netizens to buy books and meet more readers is the key.
(Meng, General Manager of Zhongguancun Book Building)
E-book roaming
In a narrow sense, e-books refer to handheld reading devices, and now digital paper books are broadly called ebook.
E-books bring people many new experiences: first, e-books can provide detailed indexing and full-text retrieval functions, which can help readers find the needed parts quickly, accurately and easily; Secondly, e-books not only retain the original paper books, but also can be equipped with multimedia contents such as audio and video to increase more experiences and improve the learning effect; Thirdly, the storage space occupied by each e-book is very small, about 4M. A DVD can store nearly a thousand books, which not only saves library space, but also is convenient for users to carry. Fourth, the content of e-books is not easy to be destroyed, which is conducive to the permanent preservation of materials.
Digital library triggers reading climax.
We attach importance to the development of digital library, not only because it represents advanced technology, but more importantly, it can make up for the demand in a targeted way.
Looking back at the library of Tsinghua High School, it has developed from a library in the past to several independent libraries now. The most obvious characteristics of personal feelings can be summarized as one more, two more and three less. One more book means that we have more old books; Parents refer to the aging of our personnel's knowledge structure, equipment, buildings and electronic equipment; "Three less" means fewer buildings, less funds and fewer people, mostly 3-5 people. However, the lack of funds in the information department is a legacy problem, and the library is basically a department with only input but no output. Although this situation has been improved through various assessments, it will not happen overnight. We believe that the digital library will help us change the status quo.
First of all, the price of e-books is relatively low, which can make up for the shortage of library funds. Secondly, Founder Digital Library mostly adopts the classification of Chinese Library Classification, so our staff don't have to repeat their work, just buy copies, which is very convenient. Furthermore, the copied e-books occupy virtual space, not the actual space of the library. No library can be open 24 hours a day, but when the digital library is completed, students can use our library through the internet, thus getting rid of the time and geographical restrictions in using the digital library.
As far as the middle school attached to Tsinghua University is concerned, the digital library was opened last year and has been officially used for half a year. After the opening, we released news to guide students to use it. At present, our popular books account for about 3% to 4%. At that time, we bought 18000 kinds, and our copy was 1. 79 books were reserved and 74 books were renewed, accounting for 65,438+00% of popular books. Our online browsing times are 45 18 times, the downloading times are more than 680 times, and the navigation times are more than 1 1000 times. Moreover, this is only a notice published online, and there is no large-scale publicity. In use, we found such a phenomenon that news is posted on the Internet every one or two months, and each release will cause a small climax of use, and students and parents will come to consult.
Our next plan is to train teachers and students separately from Founder. The teacher training has not yet started, and the students have already conducted a small-scale training. In each class, we elect a librarian to be responsible for the communication between the library and the students. This time, we use this librarian to promote the promotion of digital books, and the students are very enthusiastic about using digital libraries. At the same time, we also won the support of other departments in the school. For example, we cooperated with Founder to make an application short film, which was broadcast irregularly by the school audio-visual education to deepen students' impression. For primary and secondary schools, digital library will be a very promising job.
Four trends in the development of e-books
Trend 1: Paper books and e-books will coexist in many ways.
Today, more e-books are read on PCs and laptops, and then mobile e-books and handheld devices will develop rapidly; With the maturity of technology and the reduction of production cost, multimedia e-books with images and even animations will become more and more popular. Printing on demand and page-by-page printing still have great vitality, especially for some academic books.
For readers, 2006 is an important turning point in the development of China. In China, at least four readers will be put into practical use to solve the problem of uncomfortable screen reading. The common characteristics of these readers are that the reading quality is close to paper and the appearance is exquisite. At the same time, the price range covers 1000 yuan to 6000 yuan, which can meet the needs of users at different levels.
Trend 2: Library and mass market promote each other.
Through the library market, a large number of readers who are familiar with e-books have been trained. The ultimate readers of the library are the public, whether students, teachers or government officials. In this way, the mass market will know more and more about e-books, which will definitely start gradually. On the other hand, the strong demand of mass readers for e-books will become the driving force for libraries to build e-books, and libraries and mass markets will promote each other.
Trend 3: Publishing houses promote online publishing.
More and more publishing houses set up full-time institutions to promote online publishing mechanism. According to statistics, the number of publishing houses that basically formed an online publishing mechanism was 6 in 2003 and 45 in 2005. It is expected that the number will reach 80 in 2006 and 180 in 2007.
In promoting mechanism construction, there are three core elements: full-time departments or personnel are responsible; Make an annual publication plan, including quantity, publication time and expected income; Linked to the internal evaluation mechanism. Among these three items, full-time departments and personnel are responsible for the core elements.
Trend 4: Electronic paper integration
"E-books are also books", which is the natural conclusion that the book industry is positioned as a content service provider. In the development and operation of specific products, the integration of e-books and paper books will generate new business opportunities. In view of the trend of "electronic paper integration", a "book marketing alliance" based on e-books and the Internet has recently been announced. The alliance positioning is that Apabi, the founder of Peking University, builds a three-dimensional book information network with well-known domestic publishing houses, bookstores and websites, aiming at helping readers to obtain books conveniently anytime and anywhere.
E-books are read like this
There are many terminal devices for reading e-books, such as notebook computers, PDA, smart phones and so on.
The advantages of PC and notebook computer are large storage capacity and convenient content update. However, the weaknesses are also obvious. It is not very portable, so it is difficult for users to read it in real time.
Pdas and smart phones can also read e-books in their spare time, and software downloads are also rich, such as the famous iSilo and eReader for Pocket PC. Just because of the limited space, reading can only be done occasionally.
PSP, a powerful ultra-portable computer, has become the choice of reading e-books because of its large screen and good battery life.
Hand-held reader is a terminal device specialized in reading e-books, which highlights the advantages that many paper books do not have, such as searching, downloading and replacing book contents; It also allows e-books to be separated from computers and truly become "books" that can be carried around and moved freely.