Consumers embrace e-books at an ever-increasing rate

Spending an afternoon with a good book has long been a favorite way to relax, but technology is changing how consumers approach their reading time.

A 2014 consumer survey conducted by Pew Research Center found that, while 76 percent of respondents had read a print book during the previous year, electronic books were making inroads with 57 percent utilizing an e-reader device and 32 percent accessing via a smartphone.

Traditional paper books are still holding sway, but e-books are claiming a significant niche in the publishing market. After all, e-reader devices offer easy access to a plethora of titles, convenient features and on-the-go portability.

The market for digital publishing has also extended to business-based books. Access to leading-edge industry-specific information, reference materials and other “how-to” resources are at your fingertips anywhere, anytime. The latest downloadable e-titles are also small-biz budget-friendly, usually carrying significantly lower price tags than their bulky print counterparts.

Most e-book products have very similar functions, such as fast page turns, high-contrast “e-ink” screens, built-in Wi-Fi when paired with a compatible Internet connection, touch screen keyboard for adding notes or searching terms and memory card slots for loading additional files. Higher-end e-book readers are equipped with backlit color displays, ideal for reading periodicals, enjoying graphically intense presentations (such as comic books) or browsing the Internet. However, this feature comes with the tradeoff of diminished battery life and more strain on the eyes than from e-ink screens.

Advances in apps have also made it easy for leisure and business readers to access e-books through smartphones or tablets, such as the Polaroid Tablet or the Samsung Galaxy Note, available at Frontier Communications. The Google Play Books app (available free for Android/iOS) has been rated at or near the top in this category for the following reasons:

• Advanced research tools
• Ability to upload your own collections of books (in ePUB or PDF formats)
• Access to the world’s largest bookstore of more than 4 million titles targeted for both business and pleasure reading, from literary classics to digitalHarvard Business Review books
• Easy cloud sync
• Cross-device syncing, allowing books – and related bookmarks and notes – to be closed and saved in place from within the app, and re-opened in progress on another e-reader or tablet
• Ability to highlight words for dictionary definitions and select geographical names for location information
• Progressive translator, translating text to other languages and having it read aloud (if enabled by the publisher)

Other notable apps for accessing e-books include Aldiko (free for Android), known for its features to organize, sort and display a library of titles, and Moon+ (free for Android), which enables conversion from many other formats beyond ePUB and PDF.

The world of great literature is at your fingertips. You can now, more easily and more affordably, broaden your literary and learning horizons through the convenience and portability of e-books and a corresponding High-Speed Internet connection.

To learn more about Frontier Symmetrical High-speed Internet and Wi-Fi capabilities, please visit west.frontier.com/fios/internet