The Ebook Reader

The one thing about being in a different country is being able to source new products that aren’t necessarily available to you in your own country, or if they are they are allot more expensive. Last week I got introduced to the Ebook reader and what a fabulous little tool this is. It is still relatively new in the UK and was only introduced in Australia at the very end of 2009, but is huge in the States. Most books now are available in Ebook form and as we pay an extortionate amount of money for books here in Australia the Ebook is a great alternative, and not nearly as heavy.

So what is an Ebook Reader? Well it is a very slim, easy to carry around tool that allows you to read books on the run and not only books, it has inbuilt speakers too which allows you to listen to music and audio books. So excited was I by this wonderful new invention that I rushed out and got one over the weekend – only $250 rather than nearly $500 in Australia. So I am now the proud owner of an Elonex 511EB – 5″ eBook Reader. It stores upto 8000 Ebooks, audiobooks and images and is pocketsize. As it uses very little power it has a huge battery life. It is only turning a page that uses energy, therefore it will allow you up to 8000 page turns between charges (in our language about 3 months of battery life). 

Why is this such a great tool? Well many of our students at the Academy are working full time and have to do the big commute to work. This is alot of wasted time for many people and the idea of the Ebook Reader is that it will allow you to read on the run. So, the girls at the Academy of Wedding and Event Planningare in the process of developing their courses so they are compatible with Ebook Readers. This will allow the students to study whilst commuting. Although they won’t be able to make notes on this gadget they will be able to read all their course materials, listen to their podcasts and tutorials and effectively start to work their way through the course. What a great way to make use of what could otherwise be dead time.

As you can see I am completely sold on it. I also loved the fact that mine came pre-loaded with 100 free Ebooks. What a great start. So for those of you that would like to find out more about what is available in Australia try visiting EbookBop- Australia’s superstore for all things related to the Ebook. For more information on the Ebook Reader I purchased which is currently running at a special offer in the UK and will ship to Australia visit Waterstones Bookshop Online. They have recently taken over stock of the Elonex 511EB which was made for Borders UK who have unfortunately gone into liquidation just before the New Year. This means Waterstones have purchased all their stock and are selling them off cheap – happy days.

Have fun and keep a look out for our courses in Ebook format in the near future.