Five Situations In Which You Should Not Use eBooks

eBooks have grown in popularity over the past couple years, largely due to new eBook readers that have become available and more affordable. Many people are giving eBooks a try now that they have become more of a mainstream product. eBooks are excellent for a variety of reasons, but there are some situations in which purchasing an eBook is not the best choice. The following situations are those that I have identified as the five most common.

When You're Not Comfortable With Technology

In order to successfully use an eBook, you must be able to install software, download a file, and open the file in the correct program on your computer. If you want to read the eBook on a mobile phone or e-reader device, then you need to know how to transfer files between your computer and that device. You might also need to install a program or app on your mobile device. If you're not already comfortable with these processes, eBooks might be difficult for you to use.

When You Need a Printed Book

Many eBooks, if not most eBooks, are not printable. Even eBooks in PDF format are often not printable. This is because book publishers are concerned about copyright protection. They disable the printing function so that people can't make illegal copies of the book. Other eBook formats, such as Mobipocket or Microsoft Reader, don't have a printing function at all. In general, eBooks are meant to be read on your computer, e-reader, or other mobile device. Besides the question of whether or not the eBook will be printable, printer paper and ink is not free, so you'd end up paying for the eBook and then paying more to print it yourself. If you need a printed book for any reason you should buy the paperback or hardback version of the book.

When You Want To Give The Book as a Gift

eBooks are often not able to be given as a gift for the same reason that they aren't printable. Book publishers are very concerned about software piracy, so most eBooks are sold with DRM (digital rights management), which ties the eBook to a specific user account. If you email an eBook to someone else, or give it to them on a disk or flash drive, the eBook won't open once it's on their computer because their software is not registered to your user account. If you would like to give an eBook as a gift, look for a gift certificate option instead of buying the eBook yourself.

When You Don't Know What You Need

Before you buy an eBook, it's best to do a little bit of research to find out what type of eBook you need. eBooks come in different formats, and not all work on every operating system or mobile device. If you don't already know, find out which operating system your computer or device uses. From there, you can research eBook formats and determine which format will work on your operating system. Next, you should install any software that's required for that type of eBook. Once you've taken those preliminary steps, you'll be ready to find eBooks that you want to read.

When You Want The Text Read Out Loud

"Text-to-speech" is something that people look for when buying eBooks. Unfortunately, it is often disabled in the eBook (again, because of DRM), and sometimes it's just not available at all. Even when it is available, it's just not very good. Sometimes people even buy eBooks with the intent of putting them onto their iPod to listen to. That is not what eBooks were designed for, and it doesn't work at all because they don't contain an audio track. When you want an audio recording of a book, the best option is to buy the audiobook instead of the eBook. 

The situations I've explained above are not only common situations in which you should not use eBooks; they are also some of the most frequent reasons why people get frustrated with eBooks. When someone buys an eBook with the hope that it will do something that eBooks aren't capable of, they quickly become disappointed.

eBooks aren't meant to replace paper books, and you don't have to use them. It's best to think of eBooks as just one book format that is available. You wouldn't buy an audiobook when you wanted a paper book, and likewise, there is no need to buy an eBook if it's not really the best choice for you. Use eBooks when you want a book in digital format to read on your computer, e-reader, tablet, or mobile phone.

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