1HDC 09.09 - The Future of Digital Reading - Submissions

Kicker Studio has three concepts. All of our concepts take into account the following six design principles that were drawn from the research:

    • Needs to be able to show book covers (and thus personal taste) via a quick visual reference
  • Has to display traces of history
  • Can have physical characteristics (weight, visible signs of age) that reflect the content
  • Has different physical instantiations for the same content, adjustable based on reader’s context
  • Supports reading multiple things at any given time (although not necessarily at once)
  • Not embarrassed to be seen using in public.

Here are the concepts:

Concept 1: BookLight

BookLight is a mini projector/camera the size of a book light. It can clip onto book-like objects, solid surfaces, or behind the ear. BookLight can project text onto any surface and starts by projecting a reading collection for a reader to choose from. BookLight is controlled via gestures visible through its camera. Readers can page through reading material, make bookmarks and notes, and underline text with a hand or stylus. The camera also detects usage and image changes over time to reflect fingerprints and page “aging.” Pages can permanently take on some of the texture of the surface they are projected onto. Projection can be re-sized for context: reading on a hand, on hand-held reading surface, on a table or wall, etc.

Concept 2: BookEnds

Two “paddles” held separately in each hand create BookEnds, which project a holographic image in between them that displays reading material in air. The size of the reading canvas is determined by how far apart the reader’s hands are while holding the paddles. The reader flips through pages by lifting the right paddle towards left one, as though turning a page in a newspaper or book. The weight of the paddles shifts to reflect the reader’s place in the book. The relative size of each book is reflected in the weight of the panels as well. The panels can be stored standing up on a shelf to charge, displaying the spines of the reader’s collection between them.

Concept 3: Book Blocks

Book Blocks are post-it sized, thin squares with a matte, touchscreen display. Book Blocks snap together to form a larger surface area for reading. For example, many blocks together can form a newspaper-sized reading surface — content adjusts for the new surface space. Publishers can sell special blocks with their content (e.g. individual books, a yearly subscription to the New York Times, etc). Readers can share content by snapping off a block and handing it to a friend. Cafes can have Blocks embedded into tables so that visitors can attach their own blocks to see what the last occupants of the tables were reading.

THE FUTURE MOBILE DEVICE (!)

I think that in the future (sooner than later…) we will carry a personal computer on which we will consume all our media. The device will be our phone, music player, media-reader, word processor etc. The FMDevice is essentially an expandable, flexible touch screen computer.

For E-Reading, the FMDevice can be expanded to increase the screen size, making reading easier. The screen size is controlled by manipulating the interface buttons in the corners of the device. The screen is capable of expanding because of recent advances in elastic LCD technology.

Because it is also a phone and computer, media can shared easily between users via text message or email.

READ N’ ROLL

Hi all, so my idea is of a portable electronic reader that can roll up to about the same radius as a 12oz soda can. It’s inspired by the now old fashioned newspaper. I’d imagine it’d be about a quarter inch thick and available in different heights comparable to those of paper backs, hardcovers, magazines, and newspapers. The outside would be comprised of durable plastic panels that allow the reader to be rolled when not in use much in the same manner as the wheels of a tank, and would protect like one too! When opened, the panels would snap together keeping the book rigid and straight.


The reader could be rolled out completely and pages could be displayed one at a time, divided via the center, quadrants, etc. according to the preferences set by the user. Also in environments where space is tight, (i.e: cars, subways, buses, etc.) the reader could be unrolled only slightly and the page would scale to fit only the open area. Pages could be turned by either sliding (much like the iPhone)or tapping a thumb print icon which can be stationed anywhere on the page as set in user preferences.

When rolled out completely, the farthest panel to the left would be exposed. This slightly thicker panel is the control panel and contains all the buttons regarding user preferences, and also a firewire and/or USB port to upload new books and other information. The control panel also stores the stylus, which can be removed and used for note taking, highlighting, etc. This design enables the control panel or “brain” of the reader to be at the center core, and thus is most protected when rolled up.


Since I’m sure we are all aware that in this day in age we are incapable of simply developing a reader that only facilitates reading (ex: phones can’t just make calls, they have to take pics, surf the web, store music, and wash your car too), I’ve added a few extra features. The Read N’ Roll has large memory capacity and wireless ability to allow for other types of non-conventional reading to be stored and or accessed with your reader, such as–personal documents, websites, blogs, etc.

The control panel’s furthest ends (top and bottom) can still be accessed even when fully rolled up. The very top has a head phone jack that can be set to play any stored audio information even when rolled up in your bag! And on the opposite end, at the very bottom of the control panel is the port that the charger locks into when loaded in the charging dock. AND! Because chicks dig sustainability, when unrolled somewhat and placed in the sun, the reader can be charged anywhere via small solar panels stored in the panels nearest the control panel so that they are also protected when rolled up.
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Enjoy and remember that book lovers never sleep alone!

Hot Studio & friends submission, “The SuperFlyer 5000 Visits the Library in the Cloud”
Our submission consists of 2 concepts (attached as pdf), “Library in the Clouds” and “The SuperFlyer 5000.”

A multi-disciplinary group of 9 participants of Hot designers and friends gathered on Friday, Sept 25th. At 2pm we reviewed the research material, and at 3:15pm we divided into 2 groups to brainstorm concepts. We reconvened at 4:00pm (ish), and quickly sketched, photographed, and typed up our concepts.

We had beer, we had fun, and if we’re being honest, we ran a little over the allotted time. Blame the beer.

Thanks for giving us an excuse to have fun!

[slideshare]

Not sure why SlideShare isn’t showing the deck, the perms on their site are all set to public. Here’s the direct link: http://www.slideshare.net/joshdamon/1hr-design-challenge

Also, C77’s upload limit is 2mb, so here’s a link. http://hottub.hotstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/90-minutes-v2.pdf

Here is our digital reader - the Flipit!
Check out all the cool features in our presentation.
Please know that we took more than 90 minutes.



Spira! aims to build upon the experience of reading a book by providing an immersive reading atmosphere. The key feature of Spira! is the uninterrupted stream of words, which the user continuously reads as they pass by. The words flow from one spiral to the other, allowing the size of each spiral to subtly indicate reading progress. The spiral interface is used throughout the Spira! feature-set, organizing libraries, friends, annotations, and bookstore. The user can navigate the spiral menus one of two ways: a touch-screen interface for intuitive interaction, or a ‘quick wheel’ for one-handed operation. Text flow speed can be adjusted by both interfaces.

To fully immerse the reader in the literary experience, an encircling OLED display gradually changes images and colors designed to match the action and mood of the story.

Readers can develop their own personal library, which they can then share with friends. Sharing is encouraged by allowing users to give friends their favorite excerpts of books they recommend. While browsing through friends’ libraries, users can also view comments, reviews, and favorite quotes from each book.

While at any bookstore browsing through ‘classic’ books tagged with RFID, users can quickly purchase books via the RFID receiver embedded in the Spria! Users can also purchase books via an online bookstore that offers text-only, animation-enhanced, and special edition books. Users can also purchase personalized backgrounds through the online bookstore.

To ease the digital transition, some features are nostalgic - the fabric grips are reminiscent of classic hard cover books, and the black and white screen is similar to text on paper.

A feasible digital reader of the future should be it’s own unique entity. This design takes the best parts about reading a book – getting lost in the story.

General Concept:

• Multiple book shells
• Physical LED paper-like pages
o Can be added or subtracted depending on book length
• Digital spine/cover changes with chip
• Chip fully inserts into spine
• Chip system supports current format/layout of library/bookstores
• Can take notes on pages (stylus - ecosystem)
o Save to the chip
o Customizable books
• Can plug chip into projector (part of ecosystem)
• Shells can be old, new, glossy, matte, worn pages, leather bound
o Authentic reading experience
• Can buy chips in different formats
o To adapt to size of book
• Add-ins available for font size
o Elderly
• Pages load instantly to allow flipping through
• Can have artisan style books designed to work with only one chip
• Can buy preloaded books with chips already in them
o For those who don’t want to change, don’t want to deal with technology
• “The Librarian” - chip organizer

• New technology would be cheaper than purchasing normal books


Ecosystem:
• Stylus
• Projector
• “The Librarian” - chip/shelf organizer
• Shells
• Chip options
• Expansion packs for shells (extra pages)
• Chip holder




Revolutionary (and Snazzy) Book Sharing Interface

Visually browse your electronic bookshelf or check out your buddy’s through an online social book network. With our interface, you can share your collection with friends and add books to group pools. Friends make a request to borrow a book but it is up to you to accept or reject the request. If you let them borrow a book, you may specify the duration of the loan (or not) and track their progress through the book (so you can bug them if they aren’t reading it).

One catch:

When your friend borrows a book that book becomes unavailable to you. You can forcibly snatch your book back only after two “polite” return requests via the interface or once the book is “past due.”

Scribbles

With included stylus you can scribble notes all over the margins of your book. The display of notes can be toggled on/off without loss of data. Friends that are borrowing your book are unable to toggle your scribbles/notes. They may add their own notes and toggle as usual, but they are stuck with yours (like a real book!). Upon return of your book, their notes can be toggled on/off. Just imagine the potential layers of literary discourse to be held within these shared books…

Conceived by Michael Hages + James Killinger

This is the Earjections earbud. It projects the readers infomation infront of them for easy viewing anywhere. Pages turn or flip just like the type media would if it where in front of you. Enjoy clutter free reading anywhere at anytime. It works off the bluetooth attached to your favorite cell phone, PDA, or moblie device. The small projector produces a powerful holographic image that automatically adjusts to light levels. Safe and smart for all ages.

This is our project

The Quarto.

“Quarto (abbreviated 4to or 4°) is a technical term describing the format of a book, which refers to the size of leaves produced from folding a full sheet of paper on which multiple pages of text were printed to form the individual sections (or gatherings) of a book.” - Wikipedia

25 Pages = 50 Front and back
OLED Cover Flow front and back cover
OLED and touch panal screens on all pages
Accelerometer to flip book and continue reading. FLIP AND GO
sound headphones hdmi with video
3d glasses using new barcodes and camera
3 sizes: small, Quire, medium, Lexicon, large, Opus
Libray/Book Store
RF BLUETOOTH WIRELESS = social aspect
rent borrow buy using and iTunes like store
battery- usb charging and wireless place mat charging .






Nicole Zigmont
Brian James Simmons
Ryan Ramplin
Alex Pytlarz

Jeff Barberio and Juliet LaDieu
Carnegie Mellon University
BookPlus Digital Reader

Look and Feel
In developing our design, we analyzed many aspects of the book reading experience that make reading enjoyable. The first aspect that is an important part of the book reading process is to have some way to see how far into the book a reader may be. Therefore, our design incorporates a 4 LED indicator that allows the user to see how close they are to completion in 25% increments. Next, our design considered the look and feel of a book. Different cases or skins can be attached to the reader to allow for customization. Cases featuring popular characters, such as Harry Potter or Spiderman, would be available for purchase and would attach to the reader via Velcro. The reader will be sent with a default plain leather cover. Finally, the screen for our design would try to emulate a book by being a softer white-yellow color typical of a book page with an anti-glare coating for outdoor use.

Functionality
While developing our design, there were numerous features that we felt were essential to making the investment in a digital reader worthwhile. The functionality is broken up into three categories: social collaboration, internet tools, and display features.
For social collaboration, our reader will feature a Collaboration Dashboard where friends can save their favorite quotes and send them to a friend’s Dashboard. New messages will be sent to the device once it is turned on. Also, the Dashboard can save the reader’s comments about different paragraphs or characters and share them with others. The user can bring up a list of groups that are reading the same book and then ask for permission to join the group or to join the current discussion. The UI will show the number of members and how many are currently active. The collaboration is limited to people with BookPlus digital readers. The network is not accessible from the outside world. There is a soft keyboard similar to the iPhone for typing. Also, the author or publisher can sell a version of the book with embed links to a “hidden features” section containing thoughts from the author, the author’s bio, deleted chapters/text, revisions, or information about the characters and story locations in the book. The user can also buy a special edition of a book series and be able to link between the various books using characters or locations.
Our device would have internet access to enable multiple features. First, the user will have the ability to access the web for book reviews. In addition, our reader would allow for instant word lookup by providing access to an online dictionary and encyclopedia.
Finally, there are several display features that will enhance the reader experience. Here is the list of features:

• Stylus to write notes and highlight text
• One-button page flip
• Toolbar options – Clock, Chapter title, Page number, Estimated time to finish book
• Font options – user control for size, author/publisher to select style
• Bookmarks – allow user to place multiple bookmarks and flip back to them
• Beach-proof case sold separately
• Reader will save last page viewed by user and will restart at that page
• Day and Night settings for the screen to adjust for various light levels
• The text is searchable

The Lexi is a personal assistant that makes the reading process as easy as possible. Some of the features include:
-eye scanning technology to monitor your location in the text
-reads the words as your eye moves upon them
-text enlargement on the area of the text you are reading
-automatic text adjustment to aid your reading (larger font size or more leading when necessary)
-optical correction for sight impaired readers
-slide out page for a full spread view or one side for note taking
-touchscreen for highlighting text and turning pages
-stylus for drawing or note taking
-left-handed usability by flipping device upside down
-solar panel on the back to charge while you are not reading

Various sizes are available for the reader’s preference. Skins for different exteriors. Integrated with various online stores/publishers/magazines. Access to online blogs/e-zines/book reviews. Data base system for accessing libraries. Notifications when within close proximity of other users reading a book that you are also reading/have read/or is on your wish list. Sharing of materials with blue tooth.

Marketed towards:
children learning to read
readers with impaired sight
students (integrated with professors, note taking, and homework)
readers in book stores and libraries



Papyrus by Mike Chien and Will Constable
Our e-reader design is similar in size to the original Amazon Kindle but instead of an E-ink screen, it has a color touch-screen that will enable a more intuitive user interface. In addition, the cover is a flexible display that shows what the reader is currently reading. We focus on a streamlined and rich user experience, combining the advantages of wireless computing technology with the sensual and social aspects of reading physical books.

Home Page
As this device is made for reading books first, the home page for the device when turned on will be the users bookshelf. Images of the users books will be stacked, showing the bindings of their books, which conveys the sense of size, weight and perhaps density of the reading. A user would have the ability to scroll, sort and manage their bookshelf from this view.

Reading
One of the drawbacks to the Kindle reader we examined were the numerous buttons and the somewhat mechanical feeling to reading. We sought to mimic the sensation of turning paper and bookmarking pages through the use of a touchscreen interface.
• Turning pages: A swipe on the lower right or left corners would turn to the next or previous page.
• Bookmarking: A touch-and-drag motion in the upper right corner would create a bookmark for that location, mimicking folding a corner of a page.
Since this will also be a multimedia device, four dedicated buttons are located on the lower half of the screen and can be brought up with a simple tap on the screen. The four buttons are News, Online, Friends and Store.

News
This wifi enabled device will be able to pull current newspapers through a subscription service to any of the big multimedia enabled news outlets such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today.

Online
A touch sensitive browser will enable users to access the Internet from wherever they are, allowing an infinite amount of content to be accessible from this device.

Friends
Social networking and the social aspects of reading are accessible through this button on the device. The initial page is a map of the users location along with where their friends are located. Their status, books they are currently reading and some of their favorite books are all listed when their icon is clicked on. In addition, any of the books that a user clicks on will bring the user to the Store where they can purchase it for themselves. Users can lend a book electronically to a friend, giving up access to it while their friend reads, and then later electronically returns it.

Store
The store for the Papyrus enables the user to purchase books through the online system, which will deliver it directly to the device. A short summary, professional reviews and user ratings are all included on the individual book page. One of the aspects of bookstore browsing we also wanted to keep was the ability to scroll through a bookshelf of similar books either by author, topic, genre, bestseller, etc. This will enable the customers to essentially “walk through” the online bookstore in case any titles, covers or authors stand out.

BY Steve Pecoraro, Jack Gold, Michael Pecoraro, Bryan Ricci, and Charlie Borrello
@
Rochester Institute of Technology

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Take a book. Now take away the paper. Add dynamic-ink OLED displays, easy on the eyes and infinitely reusable. Add interactivity. Add social networking apps. Add the freedom to carry a library wherever you go, to turn reading into a group activity or keep it to yourself for a little escapism.

The end result is glyph.

Details are in the following images. Co-designers, if I’ve left anything out (or spelled any of your names wrong), shoot me an email and I’ll amend as necessary.
scan1.jpg


The OmniBook

Product:

The OmniBook itself has a fairly simple appearance, with only a capacitive multi-touch screen on the front for navigation, a headset jack, a power/hold button, a set of speakers, and USB and microUSB ports on the top and bottom. Framing the screen and the speakers on the bottom of the unit is a white plastic that has a slightly resistive texture, mimicking the look and feel of paper. The back of the unit has a battery cover plate that can be swapped out either patterns, pictures, textures or book covers in its place. The screen would be readable in even very bright sunlight, but would be able to display color (a famous example of this technology is the One Laptop Per Child XO-1 screen, developed by Pixel Qi).

Navigation through the OmniBook is entirely touch-based. On the book “level,” a one-finger swipe across the screen will turn a page. A single tap can also be used to select words or paragraphs, allowing the user to explore reference sources relating to that passage with the included dictionary, encyclopedia, and thesaurus. If the user is using a WiFi or WWAN capable model, they may also choose to browse the internet for that term, exploring various online resources for insight.

With two fingers, a swipe from right to left would reveal the “side” of the book the user is reading, with a marker showing where the user is currently. This is called the “ThumbThru Navigator.” By moving your finger up and down the “side” of the book, the user can rapidly traverse large sections of the text in a short amount of time. Like in regular textbooks, the author and user may choose to add their own section markings, and the ThumbThru Navigator would show bookmarks, flags and other annotations.

With a two-finger swipe from left to right would reveal the Annotations Toolbar. This is where the user can manage annotations they make, as well as view the annotations friends or peers make about the book, seeing what they “wrote in the margins.” This is also where the user would manage either personal or professional recordings of the book. The microphones built into the unit can pick up the user’s voice, allowing the user to record a reading, and then allow someone like their child to pick up and read along even when the user isn’t there.

Swiping with two fingers up and down navigates between the three levels: book, bookshelf, and bookstore. Bookshelf is where the user would navigate their book collection – what books they’ve read, what books they have, etc. The bookshelf is also where the user would manage their personal profile and preferences. The bookstore is where the user would purchase and receive new content and where they can connect with other readers and friends.

System:

The online bookstore is where most of the action takes place. In addition to allowing the user to explore, rate and purchase/receive content (books, audio books, newspapers, blogs, etc.), it’s a platform through which the user can interact with other users over the internet. The user can discuss books and topics through the provided forums, chat rooms, comment threads and so on. The user can also see friends’ profiles and bookshelves, see what they’re reading and talking about, and recommend/share books with them. The user can send books to other people, essentially transferring ownership to the other person, with as little as a tap or a mouse click. Another option is to read collaboratively with a group of users, if only one user owns the book itself. Together, the user group can highlight, chat, comment, and annotate the book all in real time; this could be especially useful for class projects or online book discussion groups (maybe even special book preview sessions with the actual author).

Kind of a mix between a library and Netflix, another option that an online platform could allow is an “all-access” pass to the online store’s collection. For a monthly or yearly fee, the user could download and read a certain number of books from the entire library every month. The user wouldn’t be able to transfer those books to other people, but they can certainly still recommend it to others, and the user could show others through connections with other mediums. For instance, the user could connect the OmniBook to a TV, creating a giant virtual bookshelf and e-reader, or the user could put it up on the computer screen to give their partner a clearer view.

This system could also work well in real bookstores, where people often use as up-to-date libraries (to the dismay of many bookstore managers). But imagine being able to walk into a Borders, “renting out” an OmniBook, and enjoying the ability to access the entirety of the Borders collection while sipping coffee in a giant bean-bag chair. This not only prevents the actual books from being damaged before being bought, it allows the user to try out the OmniBook before committing to own one.

Other ideas:

One of the main benefits of the OmniBook is that it is customizable and scalable. If the user doesn’t want an expensive, hyper-connected e-book reader, they could simply get the basic model of the OmniBook, nothing more than a portable reading device. If they want something that’s smaller or larger, models can be made to accommodate that as well. If they desire something that’s more technologically capable and interactive, however, they could go as far as getting a special folio/cover, that allows for two OmniBooks to be connected together at once. The folio could be made out of a variety of material, anywhere from leather to something more akin to an actual book (possibly even bringing the smell of books along with it). Not only does this mimic a book more accurately, it increases the reading area (they can sense when they are attached to the device), and allows for a higher level of interactivity and capability. For instance, the two units could interact to increase wireless signal strength or improve computing power. In a more physical way, the two units could provide a screen/keyboard setup for annotations and bookstore navigation, or the two units could fold over back-to-back to form a reading surface and cover, allowing other people to see what the person is reading (the cover could also change depending on the user’s progress through the book, e.g. different covers images at different events in the book; cover getting more worn over time). Even with this, there are still plenty of possibilities for accessories for the OmniBook units (a capacitive-touch-screen-capable stylus would be nice for highlighting and annotations for instance).

I think the right size book is sized like a mobile phone/iphone - possibly somewhat larger. It would slide out from underneath the phone and can be it’s own individual mobile book piece. I think a single column width of the newspaper on the iphone is a fairly comfortable viewing size for a book as well. It will have the touch screen where instead of flipping, it pages down and pages across depending on settings that an individual set to the piece. The detachable mobile book can go where the phone goes or be detached when at home for reading in bed.

Lillian


I just saw this competition thing 10min ago - sorry about the poor quality but I thought I’d add this real quick:

The ebook (on the side table) has a built in projector. The projector can be focused on any surface (e.g. the ceiling), and the projection area can be fixed in space by pressing a touch screen button. After that, the projection area stays fixed if the book itself moves as long as it is within viewing area of the book.

That way books and other reading materials can be read lying on the bed without having to adjust the body every 10minutes because limbs keep falling asleep. Book can be read together and discussed, annotations can be made by writing with gestures.
(the (non) ability to write notations seems to be the #1 lacking feature of the kindle for students).

The ebook also has solar cells to charge it.

Reading in bed is (by our brief and admittedly semi-formal survey) the most popular form of reading, but is uncomfortable to do for long. You want to lie down, with your head on your pillow. But then your book or document must be lifted continuously, or balanced up on its edge and supported. Or, you can lie on your stomach and prop up on your elbows. In either case, your arms often fall asleep or get tired. You can sit up, but that is not nearly as comfortable, especially over time.

How can the form of the book be improved by the digital age to make it more comfortable in the bed environment?

We suggest the Scroll, a book that curves, rolls over, props up, cuddles, and cushions the way regular people do.

The screen is flexible and thin, and can be curved for easy holding in reading in one hand. Or, it can be snapped on to its pillow base to support your page at just the right angle. The scroll becomes a comfortable, soothing accessory in your bed that enables the main goal of before-bed reading: leaving the cares of your world behind, and engaging in a story. You can fully relax and forget about shifting the book from hand to hand, or having your arms fall asleep before you do. Digital technology allows a for thin flexible screen, wireless sharing of books and comments, and more. Take a look at the attached prototype pictures and specifications.

Further, the pillow docking/charging station allows for a braod array of product accessories to go with any decor.

BOOKSTONE CONCEPT

The Bookstone concept embraces the now with a weather eye on the future. It provides a cultural bridge between the love of a good paper book and the speed and utility of digital data transfer. Much of the old tactile experience is present, with new and engaging additions that clearly signify this as the next logical step. Bookstones allow us access to the world’s library and the freedom to share not only our favorite books but our thoughts, as well.
FORM

The Bookstone concept is comprised of five distinct facets:

  1. Traditional hardcopy books, as we know and love them.
  2. Digital books (e-books), existing solely as data in the electronic medium.
  3. Digital reader unit (DRU), fully connected to the internet, cloud, and personal data devices. Capable of much more than simple reproduction of text. Designed to display e-books, bookstone content, web content, etc. Contains modest memory and computing capacity for basic features.
  4. Personal archive unit (PAU), a module designed to work with any digital reader. This unit expands the functionality of the base reader unit by adding iPod-like, open-ended capability. Enables use of apps and further leveraging of reader unit technology beyond the simple “book experience.”
  5. Bookstones, discrete units containing both read-only content (i.e. the book) and flash memory for user-interactive content (i.e. notes, highlights, hypertext links, audio/visual content, etc.). Content may only be accessed by plugging bookstone into reader unit or adapter dongle for other devices (such as a personal computer or netbook).

So how does this “bookstone” work, exactly?

People read all manner of different things: paperback novels, hardcover books, periodicals, textbooks – the list is nearly endless. Therefore, it would be impractical to assume that one DRU form factor would suit all reading experiences. Therefore, the bookstone concept integrates total freedom to choose your own DRU(s) to suit your own preferences. DRU’s could be the size of a pocket novel, bound in leather and attractive brass. They could be magazine- or newspaper-sized, shaped like a textbook, or even a small tablet as in the Kindle. They could be manufactured by any company, from any material, to suit any taste.

The DRU are designed to interface with both bookstones and personal archive units. The interface, much like USB or IDE connectors, would be standardized worldwide, thus allowing any bookstone or personal archive to be used with any DRU.

The PAU is a small device, designed to slip into a pocket. It may have a screen and/or controls to allow access to some basic functions, but the form factor must remain very small. Think of this as the “brain” of the bookstone concept. It contains all of your personal data, apps, digital books, notes, etc. It would be plugged into the DRU, via the appropriate dock, or into any other device with a suitable dongle. Any company may produce the PAU, thus opening up the field for innovation and consumer choice. The only constant would be the standardized data interface format. Publisher-provided e-book content would be sequestered from other data, preventing transfer, copying, or redistribution of the e-book.

Bookstones are small, durable units that contain fully-formatted digital books, likely along with other associated metadata such as reference links, video, study guides – the possibilities are endless. The bookstone also contains flash memory to enable users to store their own content on a given bookstone, such as layers of margin notes, highlights of book text, hypertext links to external content, etc. Thus each bookstone develops its own discrete history as it is used, sold, traded, and shared.

SENSUAL

When the paper book was invented, it quickly surpassed the scroll as the medium of choice for storing and disseminating text around the world. It is likely that some scholars and other users of scrolls preferred the “old way of doing things” and, perhaps, continued using and collecting scrolls for the rest of their natural lives. This in no way devalues the book as a technology, but does illuminate our current shift from the hardcopy book to a digital medium.

Some tactile changes are to be expected, and where we may lose many of the old tactile and sensual experiences we associate with books, the new paradigm will bring with it a host of other experiences that will, in time, hold the same associations for us with the pleasure of reading. Whereas before we may have loved the smell of paper pages, the crisp turn of the page, or the heavy solidity of a real book in our hands, we as a culture will in time come to love the haptic experiences of the bookstone concept as the old associations find new expression.

The vast variety of DRU form factors available enables users to completely personalize their reading experience. If the user is an “old-school” book lover, they may favor a personal DRU that closely resembles a book, with “bound” cover and screens with textured nano-coating resembling paper. Forward-looking users might embrace stainless steel tablets, or totally new form factors such as head-mounted laser displays or AR interfaces.

The bookstone itself might be thought of as the primary new addition to the sensual reading experience. For the purposes of this concept challenge it is assumed that the bookstone would be a small rounded stone, with pleasing weight and surface texture. It could just as easily be a stick, wedge, tab, or button – final standardization of the data interface architecture would ultimately dictate form factor constraints, but one need only look to the current market of USB “thumb drives” to see that endless variation is possible. Imagine lending a friend a handful of bookstones, or carrying a reading selection as a pocket of slick pebbles. Each book might have its own bookstone design, much like traditional books have cover art or are made with different materials. Distinct design allows for easy identification and selection of a particular bookstone from a collection. It would follow that collectors might have an array of different options, from the cheapest plastic disposables to fine editions made from high-end materials.

ECOSYSTEM

There will always be a market for the traditional printed word. Readers love books, and low-tech is sometimes the best for certain uses and situations. This said, the business of the bound book is changing swiftly. It is now possible to order, print, and ship books-on-demand, as opposed to the traditional publishing paradigm of large scale production runs. Brick-and-mortar booksellers are suffering as more and more readers turn to online sources for their reading materials.

The bookstone concept seeks to revitalize the ecosystem of the bookseller and provide comfortable niches in the market for online sellers, franchise sellers, and mom-and-pop stores. A typical book purchase might consist of any or all of the following:
• Traditional paper book – Buy a book, get the e-book free as an optional instant point-of-purchase download to your PAU. This allows a user to have the hard copy book and the electronic version, thus allowing the reader to annotate their copy within the bookstone system while keeping their hard copy pristine (or, of course, annotate and share the hard copy as is their preference).
• Bookstone – Buy a bookstone, get the e-book for free as an optional instant point-of-purchase download to their PAU. Since users are not able to redistribute or copy e-book content from the PAU, publishers do not lose revenue by providing the free e-book. Some bookstones might even contain entire collections or series of books for a higher price.
• E-book – The digital version of the book would be less expensive than the hard copy or the bookstone, could be purchased and downloaded online, and would automatically pre-qualify the user to purchase the hard copy and/or bookstone version later at a discounted price, should they change their mind. Users are able to delete e-books from their PAU when they are done reading them, if they choose to do so. This would generate further revenue from favorite titles and also provide a very distinct, real-world indicator of a title’s true popularity amongst the reading public.
• Full package – includes hard copy, bookstone, and e-book for a premium price. The ultimate collector experience! Allows total freedom to collect, annotate, share, and gift books.

By introducing modern, attractive products (bookstone, PAU, DRU) into the ecosystem of the book, consumers are driven back to the brick-and-mortar seller. Users will want to get a feel for DRU’s from different manufacturers, browse through books (hard copy or bookstone), and generally partake of the “bookstore experience” that the current e-book selling model does not facilitate.

SOCIAL

Readers of books often find ways to enhance their enjoyment or understanding of a book by discussing and sharing it with other readers. Some people collect books as a hobby, reference library, or in the course of their learning or business. Book clubs turn the act of reading into a directly social event, formalizing their discussions and enjoyment of their hobby. Many have incorporated modern technologies into this practice with blogs, forums, mailing lists, and social networking. Many readers simply share their books with friends or with other students, in the case of textbooks and reference materials. The bookstone concept not only encourages these practices to continue, but in fact adds infinite layers of meaning to all social interactions around the written word.

The bookstone concept enables users to annotate their own copies of a book (any format) and save/copy this “user-generated content” to a DRU. This saved content can then be shared, posted online, or otherwise disseminated. Multiple users can add content to a single bookstone, for example a textbook that passes through a number of students’ hands. Furthermore, user content could be shared and layered, so groups of readers might have running commentary and content accessible by the group while they are reading their own copies of a given title.

RITUAL

Variety in the DRU and PAU markets would allow consumers to tailor their reading experience to suit their own personal reading rituals. A typical reader might use small tablet-style DRU’s for interstitial reading during the workday or their commutes; a larger, periodical format DRU for at-home reading of magazines or newspapers, and a leather-bound DRU for their nightly before-bed reading. Children might use large-format, durable-design DRU’s for reading and learning. College students might have larger, multi-purpose DRU’s for homework and reference reading.

The bookstone plays a large part in the ritual of reading and book collection. Small, durable bookstones develop their own unique patina of age over time, and the user content stored within becomes a living legacy of the book’s path from hand to hand. User content available on the web would allow celebrities, authors, or prominent personalities to post their own notes and associated content, thus enriching the everyday reader’s appreciation of a book. Bookstones act as a connector between the static text of the book and the infinite universe of context surrounding that title.