1HDC v1.2 - eBook - Submissions

This forum is for submissions only.

Reposting the brief:

Doors Open:
Tuesday, December 4th
10 AM PST (5 GMT)

Last Call:
Tuesday, December 11th
1 PM PST (8 GMT)

THEME:
The eBook

BRIEF:
Love it or hate it, Amazon’s Kindle Reader has people talking about digital reading devices. No matter what side of the fence you are on, here’s your chance to show the world your vision of the perfect Digital eBook. We want you to take an hour out of your day to design the perfect Digital eBook.

Prize:
$125 NikeID Gift Certificate (just in time for the Hoidays)

Jury:
Winner will be selected by the Core77 Admin. Community discussion is encouraged to help ensure the best design wins.

Introducing the eScroll a travel ebook, uses a unique browsing system which enables the user to easly and quickly flick through pages as if reading the directions on the side of a thick marker pen by rolling it around.

The eScroll has a slot for a microSD card which enables the eScroll to adapt to increases in memory technology and also has a USB connection for synchronisation to your downloaded ebooks saved on your Mac or PC.

It also takes standard AA (maybe AAA) batterys which should be easy to replace when traveling and an optional backlight for nightime reading.

:slight_smile: kinl

nu*book

I think the advantage a digital book could have over traditional books is updatebility. Carrying around a book isn’t that big a deal. We don’t travel with a library. When I go on the road I usually take 1 or 2 books with me. The hassle is always remembering to get a new book for the trip… nu*book does that for me.

Users can subscribe to monthly collections for a low anual fee. For example, sign on for the Oprah book club, or New York Times best seller list, or Phillip K Dick award winners; and all new books on the list automatically download to the nubook, always giving you that nubook on the go.

The aesthetic fits with the accepted iLook, which I think it is appropriate here. The nu*book has a simple, book-like form factor, a clean touch screen device with a leather “binding” that brings in a bit of a vintage book feel. All controls are similar to and as intuitive as the iPod touch and iPhone. The product also has a headphone jack to plug in noise canceling headphones and for audio book options or other media.

My idea was to create something simple and easy read, nothing more than needed. The traditional book-cover to make the transition between a traditional book and the ebook as small as possible. Only two butttons for flipping pages back and forth, fast through by holding in the button.

i love books, and i love amazon! the e book should remain close to the spirit of a book.
this concept is based on designing very nice sleeve, i am annoyed by digital devices that are so beautiful that you have to protect them with an ugly case!

keep it simple,

  1. book spine printout, print the spine on sticker paper and use it in the spine sleeve of the cover, when you’ve read it stick it on your e-book shelf.
    2.sleeve is replaceable and available in many variations and materials just like real books! maybe some books will do special edition covers?
  2. place for paper notes / i-pod :slight_smile: etc…
    4.page flippers on all sides for use with either hand in either orientation.
    5 Highlight pen inc. bookmarking of highlighted pages

thanks core 77, i had fun!
time 1 hour and a wee bit for the last tweaks!

Hey guys.
here’s my entry.
very sketchyall in sketches.
was kinda behind due to the time difference where i am!!!

objective here was to keep the functions simple and incorporate design that will appeal to book readers and to make the transition from book to ebook seamlessly…

the design points that would make it stand out from the pack are the
-synthetic leather cover with ventilation holes on front/back that snaps on and off for easy removable…various finishes and colors would be available for customer customization
-pop up light device
-thumb scroll for easy scrolling
-large menu controls at bottom
-touch screen that allows user to “flip” the page by draggin the corner to the left with a simple touch & drag
-integrated speakers that allow lazy folks, children, or hearing impaired to hear books in audio
-wireless access, removable memory slot, headphone jack

and i ran out of time for the rest…

Here is my submission. It is a hand held “Book Dome” It has simple controls and fits in the palm of your hand. It is designed to be used with one hand so you can hold it at a comfortable position. It is smaller, so you can zoom in and out on text. It has and automatic play option, that you can slow down or speed up as you go with the browse control. Of coarse you can pause with this option also. If you would rather read page for page you can use the forward and back buttons. These buttons are controlled by your index finger and your thumb. It has internal memory, and also has the option of memory cards to share and transfer. Hope you like it.

Its a small, compact and rugged device.
Allows ebook files to be veiwed and used easily with the use of the scroll button, page turning could be changed easily with directional button. can load up to thousands of books( imagine carrying that much)

My first attempt at this (first post ever, actually.) Had to join the fun.

“What’s that?”
“Oh, it’s my favorite.”

My concept allows the user to customize the book and really distinguish it as their own… Righties. Lefties. Professionals. Stay-at-home Moms. Artists. Type A. Type B. Make it your own!

The styli act as a mouse would on a computer, but with greater freedom and handwriting recognition… (choose from pen, pencil, chalk, ink, crayon, marker, etc.) It’s not so much about what the favorite comes pre-loaded with as it is what the user wants to do with it. Change the shells. ‘Write’ on it. Make notes. Thrumb through pages. Interact.

I foresee widgets and plug-ins that can be uploaded to your favorite and utilized and exported as well. (Ex: Cookbook layouts that user fills in and then print as their own.)

USB charged and synced. Headphone port. SDmemory port.

Straight-forward with a flair. Blend in or stand out. People are different, and so their favorite should reflect that.

Very simple, durable, pocket-sized appliance.

When I’m lying in bed at night reading, and I’ve got to get on a plane early the next morning, I don’t want to get out from under my warm covers, walk across the room, and put my book over with my luggage so I won’t forget it in the next day’s rush out the door. I want to be able to throw the book across the room, have it land somewhere near the bags, and collect it in the morning.

I want to be able to drop my book on the subway as I doze off on my commute home at night without worrying that it’s going to break. C’mon, books just don’t break.

As I thought about that, I recalled my old Sony sports walkman I had as a kid. A trusty go anywhere, do anything ROCK AND ROLL machine! This is just like that only more, you know, bookish. 4 buttons allow browsing in any orientation, roll-up rubber screen protector keeps the screen nice and scratch free, and of course bright YELLOW for that old school charm.

Anyway, best I could come up with in an hour (well, that hour anyway). . .

This idea is a tri-screen design with touch screens. Users can select the book they want to read from the cover, highlight and take notes by using the stylus. To turn the pages, users just simply touch the screen diagonally.

My concept is called flutter. It serves as a transitional platform which can help bring e-books out of a niche market and into the mainstream. It stores and “plays” digital e-books, MP3 audio books and uses the soon-to-be ubiquitous e-paper media as a sort of swappable display.

I would like to be optimistic as possible about electronic books. I feel that with the inevitable reduction in the cost of e-paper films, books and magazines could eventually be “published” on cheap e-paper films with built in memory. A compact e-paper reader could then provide the power and control to read it.

Consumers hate DRM when purchasing digital music. CDs, though obsolete as a media, put the power into the hands of the consumer to listen, rip, copy, sell, trade, borrow, etc.

Flutter delivers content in the same way: digitally through a physical media that can “replace” books while simultaneously allowing pure digital downloadable content (like kindle) to bubble up and gain acceptance.

I tried to make mine as realistic and functional as possible, especially with power concerns. That’s why I chose to use full color digital ink! Which has recently made waves and is EXTREMELY power efficient. :slight_smile:

(Here’s a link for the curious)

Ever since Sony came out with their first digital ink reader, I envisioned a product like this one. I would love so much to curl up on a couch and read a good book on my e-book reader and put it back into the shelf or into my satchel…

With this design I try to encourage children to read more. There is a big number of adults who read frequently before falling asleep. They read a book, put it down, turn the light off, then fall asleep.

Children, especially between the age of 4-8 still require their parents to leave their lights on. This e-book tries to encourage them to regard reading as part of their daily activity. Read a story/do an activity book before go to sleep, put the book down, and turn the light on.
As the light itself is their book, it reminds them for the daily habit of reading.
e-book for children2.jpg

This is a concept that takes the idea of of a virtual keyboard a step further. (http://www.virtual-laser-keyboard.com/)

I was also inspired by a word processing program called Darkroom. The software eliminates all distractions by covering your screen with black and using brightly colored text to save you eyes when you need to type for a long time.


Using Bluetooth technology it should be possible for a device to project information directly from a pdf or other word file. The ideal time to use the VirtualE product would be at night as you would have a higher color contrast.

The thought leading towards my design was focused around intuition- why would someone want to read a static, non-changing and only on-screen medium? It’s almost prehistoric, sounds like something Moses was handed. Recalling the feeling of wanting to turn the page when eager to read more, I wanted to pass this ability and response on to the next generation of books.

Being around the size of your average paperback and featuring 2 slim (c. 5mm) “slabs” with a touch sensitive OLED screen on each side, the ebook is a book once again. With the ability to sense when you’ve turned a page, it changes the writing ready for you to read. Also in the event of you wanting to reread the last page, simply flick back.

The layout also allows for each page to be edited, or notes to be added- with the hinge system being semi-rigid it can sit like a small laptop and the lower screen turns into a keyboard.

Time- around 1 hour