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ePub reader widget for Opera: Browsers to do e-books in a big way in time? New Web-based ePub reader debuts separately
July 21, 2008 | 6:22 pm
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By David Rothman
An ePub widget for Opera is now downloadable for an Opera build with File F/O support.
This is just a beta, apparently—you need to use the .zip extension rather than .epub, for example—but it’s still a step forward.
"One of the best widgets designed for Opera to date," says a commenter in the widget area.
Feedbooks’ Hadrien Gardeur, who discovered the widget while Googling around, believes that the widget is from Opera itself rather than a third-party. Cool. Remember, Opera is aiming big for the mobile phone market.
As I see it, browsers are destined to be popular for reading e-books. Let’s hope that Firefox is next—in an official way. There is already the third-party OpenBerg Lector plug-in for Firefox.
Meanwhile TeleBlog contributor Liza Daley has released the Web-based Bookworm ePub reader, which handles stylesheets and images—handy for technical books. What’s more, she’s adapted her reader for mobile devices. Congrats’, Liza! On my desktop I tested the reader on The Picture of Dorian Gray and it worked fine. What’s more, Bookworm will be be a way for people with Palm PDAs to enjoy ePub books online even though no Palm-compatible software exists yet for that OS. E-book fans can upload their finds to private areas of Liza’s Web site and be able to enjoy the books from anywhere.
Related: ePub Books item on BookWorm.
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Comments:
“As I see it, browsers are destined to be popular for reading e-books”
Methinks they already are. I’d bet more ebooks are currently read via a browser on a range of platforms than dedicated ebook readers or specialized ebook apps on handheld devices.
I think despite the hoopla over handheld portable ereaders that in a few years the most popular ebook reader will turn out to be the TV either via a gaming console using a browser or via a set top box running a browser. Actually, I think I read somewhwere recently that Sony is going to include a browser built-in to some of their TV’s in the future.
I have a Wii and it includes the Opera browser and it is very useable to read most websites. Scrolling via the wiimote is very easy and you can change the font size as needed.
Years ago when WebTV came out I would have scoffed at the idea of doing a lot of web stuff via your TV. The original WebTV was quite usable but as websites became more complicated it was difficult for them to render legibly on tube TV’s.
However, now that tubes are essentially gone and the future is high resolution displays (that are essentially computer monitors) I think use of the web via your TV is bound to become a much more widely used activity. A lot of that activity will likely be ebooks.
Perhaps just like VOD (video on demand) you’ll soon see BOD (books on demand) via your TV – rent the latest Grisham novel for $3.99 at the push of a button.
Well, HeavyG, if an iPod Touch, etc., can be a genuine TV, which it probably can in time—then, sure. I don’t know about the future of 50 inch screens as e-book displays. Whatever the screen size, the magic word is indeed convergence. Thanks. David
Well, I was generally thinking about room sized TV’s.
After I left your site I went to amazon to check on a cookbook that I thought I had but wasn’t positive (and was too lazy to trod upstairs and go thru my stacks). Turns out I had bought it a few years ago but one thing that caught my eye near the 1-Click button was this:
http://tinyurl.com/67e7w8
I hadn’t seen this before at amazon (and I hit amazon several times a day). I have the option to “upgrade” my book for $4.99 so I could read it online. It said I had about 50 books that I had purchased over the years that were eligible for this service. Cool. So now when I’m in my kitchen I can call up that cookbook on my large screen in the family room.
Hmmmm … there’s an intriguing convergence that at first blush sounds nightmarish: TVs and ebooks.