Kassia Krozser over at Booksquare posted a piece called “The eBook Problem and the eBook Solution,” which we read with a great deal of interest. Because, for various reasons, we’ve been quite interested in the whole eBook issue. In that post, Krozser says, “I am intrigued by the fact that the discussion about ebook standards and devices is taking place without the input of the key constituency: readers. Anyone ever ask them what they want?”

We’ve never been asked what we want; this hasn’t stopped us from talking about it. But, it occurs to us that our position has been outlined in rather a piecemeal sort of way — usually in posts that have very little to do with eBooks as a whole. So, we figure, in case anyone asks, we’re going to reiterate some of our opinions on the subject. If we seem to be repeating ourselves (or restating several points that other people have made), we apologize. But here we are, anyway.

We were going to write some bloody huge thing, but we’ve managed to restrain ourselves. There are two things that need to come together in order for ebooks to truly be great.

Hardware: What would the best ebook reader look like? Here’s what we’d like to see.
- ePaper/eInk
- trade paperback sized, or smaller
- displays almost any digital format (txt, rtf, pdf, whatever)
- connects to a PC with a standard USB cable, shows up as a hard drive, lets you drag and drop files into it
- expandable storage (SD cards, etc.)
- costs $149 or less

Software: This is the important bit. Because good software can make up for bad hardware.
- digital books come free (or discounted) when you purchase a hard-copy
- cheaper than the hard-copy if bought separately
- published in a standard format (txt, rtf, pdf, doc, whatever)
- no DRM
- NO DRM!
- discounts on hard-copies, if you’ve already got the digital version (and you love it so much you decide you want the fancy, leather-bound edition to sit on your bookshelf)
- device independence: You want to read it on your PC, laptop, cell phone, ebook reader, or pda? You should be able to do exactly that.

These requirements are not — we repeat, not — the only way that ebooks could succeed. They are the future, they’re going to happen, and they will eventually constitute a large portion of the total number of books sold. Nobody has to take our points seriously, it’s going to happen either way.

All we’re suggesting is how ebooks could be wonderful. Very, very, wonderful.