RE: Re: a durable, dedicated reader for under $50

On Wed, 28 May 2008, Aaron Walker wrote:

> I don't hear anyone saying MP3's haven't taken off because MP3 
> players are too expensive.

MP3 players have a lead of at least 10 years - and likely much, 
much more than that.

The first MP3 players could hold an album's worth of music, but 
did so while offering advantages of robustness and resistance to 
motion that the cassette player did not offer -- while leaving 
the basic music experience unchanged. That basic mobile 
experience has itself been unchanged since the introduction of 
the Walkman in 1979.

Furthermore, we've had to ability to format-shift from any audio 
source to the portable format since the early 70's -- again 
without substantially changing the experience of music.

Although text of many forms now comes in electronicly -- see this 
'e-letter' that you are reading right now -- books have yet to 
move substantially to an electronic format. By comparison, music 
has been fully electric since about 1950. Furthermore, we still 
have no reasonable way for the average person to move their 
existing book library to ebooks, while the average home music 
library has been moveable for some time - since the days of 
reel-to-reel.

The modern MP3 player offers a listening experience mostly 
unchanged from the stereo LP of fifty years ago. Control is 
better, format-shifting is possible, storage is improved 
astronomically, and prices are incredibly low.

In fact, Prices are so low that you can afford to include an MP3 
player with an audio book.

If we want to apply this model to ebooks, then ...

1) we need a portable format that is widely accepted

2) we need a way to convert your existing library without 
substantially changing the use experience

That (2) is a killer. No matter who does the scanning, if it 
isn't you scanning your own books, then you can bet that you will 
have to pay to re-acquire the works you already own. The 
comparison with music formats is notable - with the exception of 
the vinyl album, almost every format for audio has the option to 
format shift your already-bought content to it.

Anybody have a "scan to HTML" device ready for home use? Didn't 
think so. Even when you do scan at home (which few do) which 
ebook formats can handle the results?

In short, I don't think we can rely on the MP3 player market to 
give us substantial guidance in the ebook reader market.

The only lesson that I think applies - because it has been true 
for every media, every device, not just MP3 - is that media 
format is more important than the device itself. Devices need to 
enable at least the minimum experience necessary on that format. 
Those "minimum devices" also need to cost the minimum amount of 
money.

In addition, I would strongly argue that since format is more 
important than device, your content purchases should not 
subsidize the device. Content pricing is more important than 
device pricing, and it can't be muddied in with particular 
devices. This also means that the price of a brand new low cost 
device must be such that you completely own the device. This 
might be true for the Kindle or the Sony, but lack of 
transparency makes it almost impossible to be certain about this. 
Certainly their business models strongly suggest that this is NOT 
the case.

Until the iPod, the MP3 player market was driven by parties 
completely separate from the existing music market. The iPod may 
have legitimized the market, but it didnt' create it.

Although we keep looking to content companies like Sony and 
Amazon to drive the market, perhaps we should look instead to 
companies with no ebook content available. Those are the ones 
that will actually build a reader that can stand on its own.

:: chris smith ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:: nihil tam munitum quod non expugnari pecuna possit - cicero ::

------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------
Post a message:   ebook-community [[at]] *
Unsubscribe:      ebook-community-unsubscribe [[at]] *
Switch to digest: ebook-community-digest [[at]] *
Switch to normal: ebook-community-normal [[at]] *
Put mail on hold: ebook-community-nomail [[at]] *
Administrator:    ebook-community-owner [[at]] *

(* == yahoogroups.com)
-------------------------------------------------------Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ebook-community/

<*> Your email settings:
    Individual Email | Traditional

<*> To change settings online go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ebook-community/join
    (Yahoo! ID required)

<*> To change settings via email:
    mailto:[email protected] 
    mailto:ebook-community-fullfeatured-hHKSG33TihhbjbujkaE4pw@public.gmane.org

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    ebook-community-unsubscribe-hHKSG33TihhbjbujkaE4pw@public.gmane.org

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/