miBook: The niche eBook reader that might get me to cook (finally)

Although I’m usually one to drool over new gadgets, I’ve never really understood the appeal of eBooks and eBook readers. Knowing eBook readers can improve the user experience in many ways: they take up virtually no space – the readers are usually slim and sexy and can store hundreds of eBooks, they allow users to control font size and face – especially good for people with visual impairments, and they make it much easier to read books with one hand (which I would have appreciated this morning on the Tube when clumsily losing my place in a real book, turning a real page.)

I actually tried one out for the first time last week while doing my Christmas shopping. It was an unexpected encounter. I have to admit that the Sony Reader was gorgeous and the E Ink technology was similar enough to printed text to convince me that I wouldn’t have to worry about eye strain. However, even if the industry solved problems like the limited supply of new eBooks (sometimes I just don’t want to read Jane Austen) and proprietary file formats, I would still hesitate to jump on the bandwagon because I like the tangible experience of interacting with real books, and most eBook readers are too expensive (£190 to £350) for me to buy one out of (geeky) curiosity.

At first when I read about the miBook, I was even more sceptical. Yes it was much less expensive, but it was so niche: it was designed not for reading traditional text-based eBooks on the go, but rather for following step-by-step instructional multimedia ‘books’ (specifically produced for the miBook on topics like cooking and DIY) in the home. For instance, if I selected one of the many recipes from its ‘Amazing Party Food’ cookbook, it would play video with audio instructions for each step and, importantly, would wait until I pushed a button to play the next step.

Would consumers really buy such a limited device from an unknown brand in an increasingly crowded market when they could buy the Sony Reader, Amazon Kindle, or iRex iLiad?

I think maybe they would. Although I originally discounted the miBook for being too niche, reviews have convinced me that my own bad experiences when attempting to follow new recipes, such as uninspiring text without visuals, losing my place in the recipe, precarious positioning of my laptop on the kitchen worktop, and my inability to cook as fast as a TV chef, were
1. not unique, and
2. could be dramatically improved by the miBook.

The makers of the miBook have identified an activity where there could be better user experience (books are not illustrative enough and videos require fiddly pausing and playing) and created a relatively inexpensive device that makes it simpler and more fun. The miBook’s LCD screen, although not good enough for reading eBooks, allows it to show colourful videos that provide more engaging cooking and DIY instructions. Its success will depend, among other things, on the quality and quantity of the content provided by miBook’s well-known media partners such as the Food Network. However, I think the miBook is off to a good start with its user-centred concept.