Are apps and digital software overtaking books? (1 Viewer)

[Tiraya]

It recently occurred to me that when it came to designing a wildlife guide, the first thing I thought of was how to develop it for portable, phone use. That surprised me, because not too long ago that would never cross my mind, and I treasured the libraries and bookcases in my house. Now that my guide actually came out on the phone the idea that I prioritized a phone release instead of an actual physical book really struck me.

When I started living in California the first thing I was introduced to was Sibley. That is, the digital version available on devices. The same happened for local plants. I soon realized that I had lived 3 years in California without buying a single physical book. When I was younger, it was all books. Thus my experience with the distribution of field guides had changed in less than a decade.

So what do you all think? Are physical books better than apps or vice versa? Is one side dominating? Where will we be in a few years? Are all future wildlife guides destined to be portable and not one of a few large dusty books filling up the boot of your car? Certainly there is a convenience is just opening your phone, a device you already have on you (probably), and checking what species look like at the moment. No more regretting not bringing a field guide with you, or cursing that you left it in the car.

 

[njlarsen]

I think the strict field guide with many species is much better on a portable device if the guide also includes sound. I still have a big Sibley that I use when in my room at home, but mostly I like using an electronic version when in the field. Disclaimer: I have not tried traveling to a spot where I really do not know the birds using only an electronic version. In that scenario, I would imagine every once in a while needing to go page by page through a book to find a similar species, and that is much easier in a printed book.

A different kind of book is exemplified by the Howell book on tubenoses: those I would not want in an app, but as minimum as a kindle type book and it works great as an old fashioned book. It does not, however, accompany me into the field.

Niels

 

[Jim M.]

So what do you all think? Are physical books better than apps or vice versa?

Assuming we are talking about field guides only, I think both books and apps still have their place and will for some time to come.

Paper books are much superior if you want to learn the birds of a region because it is much easier and faster to flip through pages to search for or compare similar species, or get an overview of what species are in an area; also easier to read in bright sunlight and you never have to worry about dead batteries; finally, the illustrations will be larger than what you will get on a phone.

If you already know the birds well and just want something along as a reference to check a specific species on occasion, then you may find an app more convenient. And if you need calls then obviously an app (or at least an electronic device) is necessary.

When I'm in a new country, I usually carry both.

 

[Andy Adcock]

No tech issues with books either, I wouldn't trust tech as my only resource on a trip!

Andy

 

[John Cantelo]

I find I can sit down and browse a book in a way I cannot browse an app.

 

[Andy Adcock]

I find I can sit down and browse a book in a way I cannot browse an app.

Agree John.

Andy

 

[jurek]

No tech issues with books either, I wouldn't trust tech as my only resource on a trip!

Definitely. Outdoors are not kind to electronics. Once birding in Danum, rain flooded my mobile phone destroying calls, navigation, copies of air tickets etc.

I met a birder who said that he saves everything online, and would just buy new piece of electronics and download everything. But imagine the time and effort traveling back to civilization, finding a shop, than setting up and downloading everything online...

 

[MJB]

Definitely. Outdoors are not kind to electronics. Once birding in Danum, rain flooded my mobile phone destroying calls, navigation, copies of air tickets etc.

I met a birder who said that he saves everything online, and would just buy new piece of electronics and download everything. But imagine the time and effort traveling back to civilization, finding a shop, than setting up and downloading everything online...

I understand that many people travelling to high humidity areas put their phones and iPads in sealable plastic bags with silica gel sachets. They use their devices without taking them out of the plastic bags. In the 1980s, in Borneo, I kept my film, camera bodies and lenses in separate bags, taking them out only to use them and returning them immediately. I was fortunate in not experiencing any difficulty, because this method was far from foolproof.

On the other hand, when I was doing a bird survey on Ascension Island in 1987, I was asked by a couple of camera manufacturers to take two new models to Ascension. In the correspondence beforehand, I mentioned how I attempted to protect cameras in humid conditions, but was told that both cameras had been 'fully weatherproofed'. It turned out that the far more expensive camera failed almost immediately due to the salty humidity finding the electrical camera-lens contacts to its liking - each time I cleaned it and dried it out it would fail quickly - but the second camera worked perfectly, even surviving near-immersion in the bilges of a small boat!

However, to return to the point of this thread, one aspect that does not seem to have been considered is that apps and digital software have the potential to minimise the perceived problem of taxonomic stability through the inherent ability of near-immediate updating amendments, TomTom style, whereas hard copy always requires complete replacement.
MJB

 

[njlarsen]

I live in a high humidity area, and have traveled to other high humidity areas with my stuff (ipad, panasonic camera with exchangable lenses, etc) and things usually hold up pretty well with a little thought.

But it is true, you either need external battery packs or solar recharging equipment if not returning to electrical outlets on a daily basis.

Niels

Edit: I should add, our home does not have an AC. Going from cooled areas to humid outdoors and back several times a day might be where most of the problems arise with humid areas.

 

[dalat]

Well, books are also not really indestructible. Rain soaking a backpack can easily render the field guide useless. And finding a quick replacement in remote areas is indefinitely more easy with mobile phones than it is with printed field guides.

Myself, so far I use books only, simply because no decent apps are available for the regions I go or went. As for instance Europe, where Svensson still did not make it into an Android app.

 

[Tiraya]

Thanks guys for the thoughts! Clearly there are benefits of either side...

I agree books are better to sit down to. But they do weigh down the backpack if its any extensive thing. Not great for long hikes. But I guess if you have the right device anyway, might as well put the guide on it too.

 

[jurek]

The luckless phone was in a plastic bag, unfortunately the bag developed a hole unnoticed...

Another thing is that apps are ephemeral. Properly cared, book can last for decades. App is useless after few years, with all upgrades, system changes etc. I still have CDs with wildlife-related software which does not work anymore because it is on wrong version of Windows.

 

[Captain_of_Crunch]

Another thing is that apps are ephemeral. Properly cared, book can last for decades. App is useless after few years, with all upgrades, system changes etc. I still have CDs with wildlife-related software which does not work anymore because it is on wrong version of Windows.

Not necessarily. You can use Virtual Machines or Compatibility Mode in Windows to run older software.

I probably would use e-books/ Apps a lot more but for whatever reason, wildlife App developers have decided to solely release Apps for iOS. Which is pure laziness. At least books are not browser dependant :-O

 

[Tiraya]

It is expensive to develop on multiple platforms. Not necessarily because of the logistics, but because of the fee for even creating any software on the devices. For instance it cost me $200 to get even a proposition for an app on iOS.

CDs are always cursed by changing computers. Apps are actually quite stable although I don't know what would happen 15 years down the line.

 

[CalvinFold]

It is expensive to develop on multiple platforms. Not necessarily because of the logistics, but because of the fee for even creating any software on the devices. For instance it cost me $200 to get even a proposition for an app on iOS.

CDs are always cursed by changing computers. Apps are actually quite stable although I don't know what would happen 15 years down the line.

Instead of developing an app, wouldn't a simpler dynamic-content epub work?

Granted, that take a little expertise and it doesn't hurt to have a copy of InDesign, but it would be more DIY and automatically cross-platform (with varying levels of interactivity but the basic content should still survive).

 

[Bobby Marlene]

I have the collins on my iphone and it´s ok and helps if need the bird songs or videos that are on it but for quickly finding a species the printed version is a lot easier to use in my opnion. So I carry both, the printed guide and the iphone.