Glossary of eBook Terms

Amazon
The worlds largest retailer of eBooks.
Barnes & Noble
A major retailer of eBooks.
Digital book
Another term for an eBook.
DRM (Digital Rights Management)
A form of copyright protection used to protect an eBook from unlawful reproduction.
E Ink (eink, electrophoretic ink)
A technology used on eReader screens, such as Kindle, to give the screen a similar appearnce to printed text.
eBook (e-book)
A digital edition of a book.
EPD (Electronic Paper Display)
A flexible e-reader display made using OLED technologies.
epub
The format of ebook used by Barnes & Noble’s Nook, Sony, Apple and others.
eReader
The generic term for a device used to read an electronic version of a book.
Fixed Layout
A special method of producing an eBook whereby the content is fixed regardless of settings. Especially useful for books with lots of images or diagrams such as children’s books or cook books.
ISBN (International Standard Book Number)
A unique number used to identify a specific edition of a book.
Kindle
eReader developed by Amazon. Currently the market leader.
Kindle Fire
LCD tablet version of Amazon’s Kindle eReader.
Kindle Paperwhite
A back-lit version of Amazon’s Kindle eReader.
mobi
The format of ebook used by Amazon’s Kindle.
Nook
A popular eReader developed by Barnes & Noble.
POD (Print on Demand)
A printing process whereby a copy of a book is only printed after it has been sold.
Public domain
A work whose intellectual property rights have expired or been forfeited. Items in the public domain can be freely used/modified to create new works.