The book with thick, heavy and expensive now become smaller, lighter and cheaper. However, changes in the larger and significant for book lovers today is the existence of "electronic" or Ebook. It comes in various types and formats (Adobe Digital Editions, Microsoft Reader, eReader and DRMFree PDF) and can be found easily on the Internet for purchase, download and then read the appropriate digital devices. Ebook become an increasingly popular media lately.
An electronic book (also e-book, ebook, digital book) is a text and image-based publication in digital form produced on, published by, and readable on computers or other digital devices. Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital. The Oxford Dictionary of English defines the e-book as "an electronic version of a printed book," but e-books can and do exist without any printed equivalent. E-books are usually read on dedicated hardware devices known as e-Readers or e-book devices. Personal computers and some cell phones can also be used to read e-books.
An electronic book (also e-book, ebook, digital book) is a text and image-based publication in digital form produced on, published by, and readable on computers or other digital devices. Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital. The Oxford Dictionary of English defines the e-book as "an electronic version of a printed book," but e-books can and do exist without any printed equivalent. E-books are usually read on dedicated hardware devices known as e-Readers or e-book devices. Personal computers and some cell phones can also be used to read e-books.
Among the earliest general e-books were those in Project Gutenberg, in 1971. One early e-book implementation was the desktop prototype for a proposed notebook computer, the Dynabook, in the 1970s at PARC: a general-purpose portable personal computer capable of displaying books for reading. Early e-books were generally written for specialty areas and a limited audience, meant to be read only by small and devoted interest groups. The scope of the subject matter of these e-books included technical manuals for hardware, manufacturing techniques and other subjects. In the 1990s, the general availability of the Internet made transferring electronic files much easier, including e-books.
Prediction of five (5) years Ebook by Forrester Inc. recently showed that the Ebook industry will experience rapid growth for several years to come. In 2010 the last $ 966 million Ebook was sold and by 2015 is expected to surge to $3 billion of the money will be spent on Ebook (Ani Nadila Yusof, Majalah PC, Edition 172).