Re: The right device at last?

Aaron Walker wrote:

> <snip>
>

> So why do e-reading devices have to fall into the category of throw 
> away devices when no other consumer electronic device is looked at the 
> same way? Nobody likes to lose anything.
>
> <snip>
>
> The correlation here is what keeps getting missed, the iPod is 
> essentially a single use device, it plays music. An e-reader is 
> essentially a single use device, you read books on it.
>
> Why must an e-reader have to be so cheap people "don't mind" losing it 
> but no other device is looked at the same way?
>
> So, since
> But if they do
>
> Aaron J. Walker
> Writer/Illustrator
> "Good Morning, Friend Moon"Publisher
> http://www.walkbroadpublishing.com <http://www.walkbroadpublishing.com>


I don't believe I've commented on this in the past but my own personal 
opinion is that, while dedicated e-book reading devices can clearly 
attract PR attention and even seem to boost sales, they're a commercial 
dead-end at present because they are still luxury items aimed at a very 
small market of truly committed readers. That includes the Kindle and 
the Sony reader as far as I'm concerned.

Most people, if they're going to read books online  or on-screen at all 
(and that's a reasonably big "if") are more likely going to end up doing 
it on a device that does at least a few, and probably many, other things 
besides let someone read a book. I use a Treo 700p (Palm-based) phone 
for a fair amount of my reading and I'm disinclined to invest in another 
gadget for dedicated book reading. The experience might be more 
attractive than the one I get from the phone but I don't want to have to 
worry about carrying yet another piece of breakable technology plus a 
power adapter and other peripherals to go with it. I can load a dozen or 
two books, carry my database of contacts and appointments and make phone 
calls, check email, browse the web and even listen to audio, take photos 
and do other things as well, all with a single, highly portable device. 
I'm as committed a reader as there is but I still don't want to have to 
carry a bag full of gadgets when I can do most everything I would want 
to do with a single one so I find it hard to imagine people who are more 
likely to have only an incidental interest in reading electronic texts 
investing time, energy and money on a single-use device. Of course, I 
still have some difficulty imagining that tens of millions of people 
would invest in a moderately expensive gadget "just" to listen to 
digital music and that's clearly the case so my perception of the gadget 
market is clearly at least a little skewed.

Maybe there would be a very large market for a dedicated book-reading 
device priced under $150 or under $100 but I'm still skeptical even at 
that price unless it's phenomenally handy and irresistibly cool. I love 
books a lot but I don't think there's a large segment of the population 
that has ever seen books as "cool." Books have always been and will 
probably always remain a minority interest at best as far as the general 
population  is concerned.

John Douglas
www.ereads.com
-- 

John R. Douglas
johnd16555_at_gmail dot com



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