What exactly is an e-book? Basically, it is a book that has been converted into digital format and can be read on a computer or such-like machine. With built-in dictionaries, search, bookmarking, highlighting, annotating capabilities and multimedia enhancements, e-books promise many features that leave traditional books behind.

However, these days when we talk about an e-book, we are talking about the content that is read by a device called an e-book reader. Often, the word e-book is used for both the content and the device.

In fact, it had recently become fashionable to talk about e-books only in the context of e-book readers, though there is a vast variety and number of electronic texts of various copyright-free books available on the Internet that you can download onto your computer without any problem (see box). Once downloaded, they can, of course, be printed as well as read on-screen.

The rules of the game changed last week when Adobe released its new e-book software, the Adobe Acrobat eBook Reader 2.0. It also showed version 2.0 of the Adobe Content Server, a system that secures and prepares Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files for online distribution and purchase.

This is a format not designed for the hand-held devices like Rocket eBooks that mimic books, but for laptops and other computers. The target here is quite specific— college and university students as well as mobile professionals who would need the time saving capabilities of e-books. In the western world, most college and university students have personal computers or laptops, and e-textbooks are typically cheaper than their print counterparts.

PDF preserves the graphics, fonts and the layout so that the electronic pages appear just as they would on paper. It can be read on both Windows and Macintosh computers and has been a popular format of reproducing published matter on the Internet. Of course, one of the best things about PDF is that it prints very well, and this will give it a certain edge. The server software provides the method to distribute the e-books as well as taking care of the concerns of the publishers.

Publishers will be able to set up Adobe Content Server to determine whether users can print the e-books, copy them, or have them read aloud (most computers have software that allows text to be read out.). Publishers can also define how many copies of a book a user can make, if they can be lent out to other users, or whether books will expire after days, weeks or even a semester. This would, obviously, allow for some creative pricing options, while taking care of the publishers’ requirement of copyright protection and security. At the same time, critics point out that this format would require computers, which are costly, while the e-book readers are cheaper as well as more portable.

Adobe is one of the three leading contenders seeking to become the dominant platform for electronic publishing. Its rivals include Microsoft and Gemstar.

Microsoft’s ClearType font-rendering technology gave its Reader an early edge when it was launched in August 1999. The Reader is a PC software application designed to deliver an on-screen computer reading experience that approaches reading on paper.

ClearType improves font resolution on LCD screens. Microsoft Reader offers a clean, uncluttered display; ample margins; proper spacing, leading and kerning; plus powerful tools for book-marking, highlighting and annotation. It features a flexible copy-protection system that allows publishers to distribute titles with protection from piracy and illegal copying.

Franklin Electronic Publishers and Microsoft are collaborating on a version of Microsoft Reader for all models of Franklin’s new eBookman, a line of hand-held multimedia reading devices that is yet to be released.

Thomson Multimedia’s RCA division’s devices are the only hand-held devices available for reading electronic books in a secure software format. The devices use software from Gemstar-TV Guide International to prevent piracy and to ease reading.

Gemstar, licensing its technology to Thomson, launched the REB1100 and the REB1200 e-book readers, which sold well at various stores, in spite of a price tag of $ 299 and $ 699, respectively. This was against marketing predictions that only devices that have prices less that $ 200 would appeal to the mass market.

The 8-MB REB1100, which comes with a rubberised grip, is ergonomically better than its predecessor, the Rocket eBook. It has a sharp, backlit black-and-white screen, making reading easy in dim light. It can store as many as 8,000 pages and has a battery that allows readers to use it for 20-40 hours without recharging.

The more expensive REB1200 has a larger colour display and a faster modem. It is ideal for displaying graphics-rich content and can store approximately 3,000 colour-intensive magazine pages or 5,000 typical book pages.

Both devices feature a built-in dictionary, word search, and a touch screen for users to navigate, highlight, bookmark, underline and make notes. Users can also adjust the font size, back light, or the page display. Both also have an internal modem, so users can use a standard phone line to directly connect to the Gemstar eBook catalogue, where they can purchase titles without having to connect to a PC.

A major issue that needs to be addressed is that of the lack of standardisation. We have three contenders — Microsoft, Adobe, and Gemstar — and two distinct streams — one towards the PC/laptop targeting the textbooks and reference material and the other a hand-held alternative targeting popular material. However, one thing is quite clear, sooner rather than later, you will have students saying: "Can I get some money to download my textbook?"

In the meantime, we can enjoy the vast repository of books on the Internet that can be downloaded, for free!