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).
