Communications and Media

[Name of Organization]Communications and Media

Paper 1

Introduction

The advancements in technology have caused massive changes in the lifestyle of people, a number of traditions have been turned upside down due to the same. There were a number of concepts that have been introduced by the advancements of technology, and within a short period of time, they became commonplace and well inculcated in the lifestyle of the individuals, proving that these were the demand of time and in addition to providing convenience, they are also providing the right solution to the problems of people. One such innovation is the introduction of e-books, which present the new generation of books and have changed the concept f book reading altogether.

A few decades ago, reading a book meant carrying one in hand and reading from the hard copy, however, the concept is not the same today and has been replaced by the introduction of e-books. These e-books provide a number if benefits to the readers and are also in accordance with the demand of these busy times, where every individual is running short of time and is in search of ways to save time. Under such tight schedule, e-books allow the readers to carry the book in their cellular phones or computer/ tablet PCs, and read them whenever they need.

Discussion

E-book is the abbreviation of Electronic Book, and as the name indicates, it is the electronic version of a book. The concept, on one hand, has changed the concept of reading altogether and on the other hand, it has reduced the importance of hardcopies of books by introducing their electronic counterparts. Initially, e-books were produced to provide the costumers with electronic versions of the books already available in hard copy, but these days a number of books are solely available in the form of electronic versions (Marshall, 2010). The major reasons behind popularity and wide use of e-books are: the convenience offered by them and the low prices. In fact, pricing is the most essential factor of e-books and most of the readers now prefer the electronic version because that is available for comparatively cheaper rates.

E-books can also be defined as the book length publication in digital form, which is composed of images or texts, and sometimes both, that can be read on computers and other electronically operated devices (Howard, 2005). The e-books are also published and produced on the same, and these can exist with or without any printed counterpart. A number of smart phones, tablet computers, personal computers, laptops and other devices and mobile phones support e-books, thus making them reachable and readable for readers from all parts of the world. The concept also includes the publishing of E- Textbooks, which open up new doors of opportunity for students in particular.

History

Although the history of e-books is not very clear and there are a number of options and views presented in this regard, the most strong and famous version is presented in the following paragraphs:

The first e-book was published in the late 1940s, ...