Some won't be viable unless by land line, copper, if feasible for the provider to maintain upkeep.
Other remote areas will be accessible at a cost much greater than that of delivered print media (which will be dated and one sided). Some rural farm areas will (do) receive subsidies for internet connection.
"Another, not often thought of, use of e-books is their ability to adjust the font size..."
Perhaps. I have not found any one who has taken advantage of this anymore more than they have with large print media or print magnifiers. (an observation, not necessarily a disagreement).
Print to verbal could be a better option and the recognition software is improving (but ever so slow).
Thanks for your additional thoughts about e school books. I wonder if the costs will decrease, or if they will stay high due to the perceived 'value' of content? (once low run printing costs have been eliminated)
Some rural access in the future may become cheaper or more widely available after massive deployment of WiMAX / 4G technologies and/or fixed wireless, though they have been slower in coming due to initial costs, local regulations and delays from spectrum availability and economic crash. So eventually digital coverage will be there, but it will have to compete with print on price, convenience, importance (e.g., local vs national issues) and timeliness.
I have not found any one who has taken advantage of this anymore more than they have with large print media or print magnifiers (an observation, not necessarily a disagreement).
That's probably because many people who need or use larger fonts are generally older and less adept in use of computers or technology. As such, not that many people yet realize this as an advantage (and it is not "sold" to them), though there is a large amount of (often free) books and other material published online and they are more easily accessible than limited number of available large print books or papers.
It may be a matter of personal experience, but I found that when I point out this potential capability to people who could benefit from it but have not considered it and generally didn't think about reading books or newspapers online, they expressed tremendous interest in acquiring such capability and using computers for such purpose alone... I am talking about the people who are older, creatures of habit and who usually think that computers or electronic devices are not for them.
In other words, for many people, this alone is a very powerful selling point for technology, should they become aware of it. Just the thought of having additional costs to publish and distribute in "smaller" / "normal" or "large" font sizes, choice of hardcover or paperback, when it's all a "freebie" in the digital world, is enough to move publishers and buyers into the "virtual reality" of content.
Print to verbal could be a better option and the recognition software is improving (but ever so slow).
Yes, as the popularity of "books on tape" / "books on CD" suggests. To this point, consider that the digital devices (such as MediaBook, for example) could not only have the OCR-to-sound built in (however imperfect at this point, but with constantly improving "soft" algorithms) but also the capacity to download the already prepackaged corresponding MP3/WMA files along the text (books or articles / transcripts), e.g. the distribution of e-book and "book on MP3" to the same device as a package would not require any additional cost.
Man's reach exceeds his imagination! - 'Robert Angier', The Presige (2006)
I wonder if the costs will decrease, or if they will stay high due to the perceived 'value' of content?
Currently, the fights about pricing schemes between the authors and distributors of content as well as the digital formats "standards" are the issues that now mostly hold up the wider deployment of schools / college materials. Some of this, though may be becoming moot due to efforts like MIT putting their course materials library online, free. Also, some efforts by Wolfram and others for education "market". Not to mention the wealth of free information online that can be compiled into "simulation" of course material, and the fact that once content is converted to digital form (however it's done) it's there and changes from year to year are relatively insignificant, i.e., some of the issues in educational market are not dissimilar to the plight of music and newspaper industries going through digital transition. Once distribution / delivery costs approach $0.00, the only issue is price dictated by worth (perceived 'value', as you said) of content. Ay, there is the rub!...
There are some thoughts and ideas on the pricing and other (perceived?) advantages from the publishers' point of view, i.e. they think e-books may eliminate or reduce the market for resale of "used textbooks" which currently denies them income. That remains to be seen but anything that gives them an incentive to speed the transformation to digital, real or imagined, should be welcome.