eBooks + eReaders, What do you use and why?

We are looking at making a stronger move into publishing LDS content for ereaders. A couple of questions have come out of this, such as:

What ereader device do you use and why?

Which LDS content would readers like the most?

When you purchase or look for content, where do you go to find it?

We loved to hear your feedback! Any thoughts or ideas, are welcome.

I have a Kindle and I go to the Amazon bookstore.

Probably not what you meant by eBook, but:

Motorola Droid

Android Market

The standard works is already covered. I'd like to see Church News, Ensign as well as works such as Jesus the Christ.

Why? Because it's always with me

I'm still using a Pocket PC with the YanCEyware reader. Why? Because it's paid for and it still works after almost 7 years! But I'm leaning towards an iPad and I'm really looking forward to taking it to church (and hoping that I don't get dirty looks from people who think electronic devices are a no-no at church). So far I'm satisfied with the wealth of written material available free from lds.org and I like the way that the PDF versions retain the same formatting as the paper books (so that someone can say, "Let's read from page 43 of Gospel Principles").

But I most look forward to having one device with a large screen which can handle everything from church books/manuals to calendars AND allow me to take notes in leadership meetings with a comfortable-enough keyboard. I'd like to think that I'll never need to carry paper to church again.

So, yes... anything that the church publishes on paper would be great in an eBook format (except, I suppose, the Church Handbook of Instructions. Sigh).

My primary device is an iPod Touch 3GS (Soon to be my first iPhone). I use the LDS Scripture app from LDSScipturesApp.com, the Gospel Library from the church, and iSilo.


[The rest of the post was moved HERE.]

I still use the YanCEyWare reader on a Windows Mobile platform for all the reasons previously explained HERE. My options are wide open for another phone/platform later this year. A big part of the platform decision for me will be on the type of reader already available for it and the quantity/quality of LDS content.

I use the Amazon Kindle. I would like to see the scriptures and Church publications such as have already been mentioned. I mainly shop at the Kindle Store on Amazon, as they already have many ebooks published by Deseret Book.

I am still considering jumping into utilizing e-reader devices, however I just wanted to make the comment that I wish the Church would expand their mobile offerings outside of the iPad, iPhone, Apple-centric market. Not everyone is an Apple user. I, for one, don't plan on using Apple anytime in the near future mainly because of my dislike for the hype and cost premium on their devices. So, Kindle/Android/WinMo/Blackberry, etc... would be nice to allow any Church member to utilize the new Gospel Library or other materials without being locked into the Apple ecosystem.

The mobile device space, of which the eReaders such as Kindle, or the smartphones, is changing very rapidly, and so it was likely thought best to start with the iPhone, etc.

That said, I just heard this morning that a new Blackberry device, right now supposedly called 'Blackpad', but which could have a different name when released, is on the way, the same company is to unveil an iPhone 'lookalike' as well,

There are also a host of other devices under development, mainly in the 'slate' category, of which the iPad is the best known so far.

It's more a matter of wait and see what devices fly and which ones die. As a community along with the Church developers, we're going to be hard pressed to keep up with the things that are coming, and decisions on when to develop for what are going to have to be made, priorities set, etc.

JamesAnderson wrote:That said, I just heard this morning that a new Blackberry device, right now supposedly called 'Blackpad', but which could have a different name when released, is on the way, the same company is to unveil an iPhone 'lookalike' as well,

There are also a host of other devices under development, mainly in the 'slate' category, of which the iPad is the best known so far.

I've read where HP has trademarked "PalmPad". I've seen reports that Android-based "pad"s are in in development.

JamesAnderson wrote:The mobile device space, of which the eReaders such as Kindle, or the smartphones, is changing very rapidly, and so it was likely thought best to start with the iPhone, etc.

I understand where the Kindle, Nook, and other dedicated e-readers may be changing rapidly, but I'm not sure why Windows Mobile and Blackberry seemed to be overlooked as potential first candidates. Those platforms have been around for a good long time and while their future products may be in planning, I don't think it's any less predictable or manageable than the iPhone platform. There is a good base of business users and a significant amount of comments on this forum and elsewhere of the headaches had by Church members seeking Church materials on their non-iPhone smartphones and the difficulties of using the archaic resources on LDS.org.

kgthunder wrote:I understand where the Kindle, Nook, and other dedicated e-readers may be changing rapidly, but I'm not sure why Windows Mobile and Blackberry seemed to be overlooked as potential first candidates.

It could just be a lack of applicable experience among Church development resources (and even volunteers) developing on these platforms that holds projects back.

mkmurray wrote:It could just be a lack of applicable experience among Church development resources (and even volunteers) developing on these platforms that holds projects back.

I think this is all "community" development. One issue with that is that the community will create what they are interested in. I'm sure there's a number of factors that can dictate "interest", such as what platform they own, their programing experience in a given platform, the ease of development on that platform (I've heard that some are rather painful), the cost of development tools (they're not going to us company resources), etc.

Added to that is the perception that Apple and Android have a strong future. RIM, Palm and Windows mobile are lagging and the market is not likely to support 5 different ecosystems.

The only thing I can suggest for those who want to see more development in their platform is to find or become a developer. I'm not sure as it's realistic to ask "the church" to fill in where the community efforts fail.

RussellHltn wrote:I think this is all "community" development.

You're right about everything you said. There is only one comment I have about this one statement you made. I got the impression that the iPhone apps started just a bit before community development really got going. I assumed there was a bit more Church employee involvement with the iPhone projects and maybe even a little bit in-house experience on that particular platform.

Thanks. But in revisiting this thread, it seems to have gotten a bit off-track.

Hopefully we can get this back on-topic: "eBooks + eReaders, What do you use and why?"

We'll be at Education Week at BYU (August 16-20) and have our Mormon Channel booth set up. We will be showcasing a lot of new products and future products on TV, Social Media, eReaders and Audiobooks. We'll also be holding a focus group on Wednesday to discuss web-enabled TV and reader devices. Swing by our Mormon Channel booth and we would love to hear your thoughts and feedback!

We're in the process of making available The Book of Mormon, Bible and October 2010 Conference in epub format. We're currently exploring different publication channels to decide on where our ebooks will be distributed from. The triple combination ebook is coming soon as well as other LDS manuals.

As always, we're interested in your feedback to see which distribution channels to move in to. Whether you are on a Nook or use the Kindle app for your iPod Touch, we want to make sure that you have access to our content.

Hedrick-p40 wrote:We're in the process of making available The Book of Mormon, Bible and October 2010 Conference in epub format. We're currently exploring different publication channels to decide on where our ebooks will be distributed from. The triple combination ebook is coming soon as well as other LDS manuals.

As always, we're interested in your feedback to see which distribution channels to move in to. Whether you are on a Nook or use the Kindle app for your iPod Touch, we want to make sure that you have access to our content.

I am researching what ereader to get and I like the Sony digital pocket reader but want to make sure there will be a good triple combo available for that reader. Thanks!

I would love to see more of the manuals available in ebook format. I use a sony ereader, to be able to carry all of my materials around with me helps so much.
Is handbook 2 available somewhere?

sportstats wrote:I would love to see more of the manuals available in ebook format. I use a sony ereader, to be able to carry all of my materials around with me helps so much.
Is handbook 2 available somewhere?

I see it's available for the YanCEyware reader HERE, so it's possible you might find it available in other formats before long.

Mikerowaved wrote:I see it's available for the YanCEyware reader HERE, so it's possible you might find it available in other formats before long.

Because Book 2 is available in YanCEyware, I was able to download it to my Android today using the Reveal app.

RossEvans wrote:Because Book 2 is available in YanCEyware, I was able to download it to my Android today using the Reveal app.

Thanks for the info. Seems like it should be other places, but after a long search I finally found it in built-in eBook download under "New".

I have found there are a lot of LDS Kindle owners who wish there was more access to church-produced content. I have referred people to the handheld site, but the mobipocket editions have fallen a bit behind. I'm excited to see the work done at https://tech.lds.org/wiki/Gospel_Librar ... _Downloads and look forward to new editions. I would love to help to move things along!

Is there anywhere to find the Childrens song book in EPub format? Not just the words. Either that or in PDF?

mrwizard96 wrote:Is there anywhere to find the Childrens song book in EPub format? Not just the words. Either that or in PDF?

I'm not sure about finding the whole Children's Songbook in PDF, but you can find a ZIP file containing each song in an individual PDF file at http://lds.org/cm/display/0,17631,7572-1,00.html#3 (use the Sheet Music links).

Hedrick-p40 wrote:We're in the process of making available The Book of Mormon, Bible and October 2010 Conference in epub format. We're currently exploring different publication channels to decide on where our ebooks will be distributed from. The triple combination ebook is coming soon as well as other LDS manuals.

As always, we're interested in your feedback to see which distribution channels to move in to. Whether you are on a Nook or use the Kindle app for your iPod Touch, we want to make sure that you have access to our content.

I'm using an old Palm PilotM515 that contains all of the standard works, and is searchable.

I'm considering getting the newest Kindle. However, one "deal breaker" for me is the ongoing problem many are having with the verious versions of the LDS scriptures.

I'm hoping at some point that the Kendle version of the Quad. would have the same search functions, etc., that I'm currently able to use with my Palm.

I like what I've seen so far with the Kindle specifically the ability to carry what I would consider an "essential" library with me at a comparitvely low cost.

Are there any plans to produce a "workable" set of scriptures?

Hedrick-p40 wrote:We are looking at making a stronger move into publishing LDS content for ereaders. A couple of questions have come out of this, such as:

What ereader device do you use and why?

Which LDS content would readers like the most?

When you purchase or look for content, where do you go to find it?

We loved to hear your feedback! Any thoughts or ideas, are welcome.

I have always used Sony devices in the past. I have a Touch ereader now. The problem is: like the nook or kindle they seem to only read ebooks from their own estores. Therefore the Nook seems to be more LDS friendly than the Sony. There are 0 LDS ebook for the Sony in their Estore. Instead I found book after book of free anti-christian and Islam epubs - books that as a Mormon have no application in my life. The Sony is very nicely put together, but I am going to sell it and get a Nook.

Hedrick-p40 wrote:We are looking at making a stronger move into publishing LDS content for ereaders. A couple of questions have come out of this, such as:

What ereader device do you use and why?

Up until last month I stuck with my old Palm Pilot M515. I've since joined the 21st century and have a Kindle 3g-WiFi.

Which LDS content would readers like the most?

I'd like a dedicated set of scriptures that are interlinked with each other, as well as the manuals of the Church. At the moment I'm using the Blackberry Quad. I used it on the Palm and find that it's better than what is currently being offered. I've downloaded all the current scripture offerings that are on sale for the Kindle, and find that none of them have what the Blackberry set has to offer.

I think that the number of LDS books that are available on either Amazon or via the Deseretbook site is rather excellent; I must confess however to wondering about the cost setting, an age old argument I know.

I'd like to be able to subscribe to the Ensign/New Era/Church News via Kindle. I've been able to cut and paste material from the Ensign to upload onto the Kindle.

I'd really like to be able to load the General Conference talks or have access to them via the LDS.Org website for downloading all at once.

When you purchase or look for content, where do you go to find it?

Amazon.com for Kindle. When I want a hard copy I'll usually head to the bookstore, or wait until I visit Utah.

My wife has a Kindle 3 she uses often. Shoping at Amozon is the easiest. A gosple library type app would be very useful

- Each month I produce the Ensign and New Era in the Kindle format. If you’re interested in getting a copy send me an email at zippitydoda@gmail.com.
- Starting in October I will also be producing Ensign and New Era in the EPUB format.

mrrad wrote: So, yes... anything that the church publishes on paper would be great in an eBook format (except, I suppose, the Church Handbook of Instructions. Sigh).

The Handbook is available at LDS.org if you are in the bishopric or ward clerk.