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Will that be a paperback or ebook Madam / Sir?

The publishing industry is at the crossroads. Not only affected by the GFC, it is trying to come to grips with the phenomenon of ebooks. Apple [with its iPad and iPhone] Amazon [with its Kindle] and Barnes & Noble [with its Nook] are just 3 ebooks companies which are out there trying to wrest the publishing industry from conventional publishing houses.

Amazon has just released a new lower-priced Kindle. The effect of all this activity is the subject of a piece "Can Amazon turn ebooks mainstream?" in The Guardian:

"Anyone unlucky enough to commute will know that dead tree media still rule the roost, as least on the nation's public transport. But ebook readers, including the odd iPad, are starting to creep in, along with mobiles, games consoles and even DVD players on long journeys.

There's a deep-seated resistance to digital versions of a centuries old traditional of printed books, which have rightly enchanted, educated and enlightened readers since movable type. So what will it take for ebooks to become mainstream?

There are dozens of ebook readers on the market, all largely comparable in size and offering from the lesser know Astak, Kobo and Alex readers to the Kindle, Nook and Apple iPad. Amazon's launch today of a smaller, cheaper Kindle is significant for two reasons: firstly, it pushes arguably the most popular ebook reader towards a more mainstream audience by making it more affordable."

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