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

My point was the first iPod was $399.99 and offered 5 gigs of storage. 
 
It "revolutionized" the whole MP3 market.
 
Sure there were MP3 players before the iPod but not too many people paid attention to them.
 
Apple comes out with the iPod, which cost more than most other players already on the market and they create a whole industry.
 
It has taken years for them to get down to the $25 - 30 range. In the mean time, Apple was steadily selling iPods like hotcakes.
 
My point is many people say e-books will only take off when the readers themselves are very cheap or free. And I am saying that is not what has happened.
 
How many of us thought about Mp3s before we started hearing about them because of the iPod? I'm not talking to the tech heads, I mean the average Joe or Jane citizen?
 
Honestly, before all the hype about iPods, I was happy with my portable cd player. I thought I was at the pinnacle of tech especially since I was burning my own Cds, with my custom mixes ;)
 
Then all the hoopla about iPods. No, I wasn't going to spend $399.99 on something I didn't (think) I needed at the time and still haven't.
 
But I did learn about Mp3s and starting burning my CDs to that format. And then, when I got my first Pocket PC, I loaded them onto a storage card and have been listening ever since.
 
Now, I transfer my MP3 collection to the micro sd card on my Windows Mobile phone and listen whenever I want. 
And still, my point is, saying e-books will never take off until we have a free or virtually inexpensive e-reader doesn't jive with the closest piece of tech in recent history.
 
People bought the device (the Apple iPod) because it would allow them to listen to music they already had or knew they were going to purchase. Apple's iTunes is the biggest music store in the world behind Wal-Mart. So the argument that people are just burning their own cd collection to listen to on their iPod doesn't fit.
 
In this case, it seems the "killer" device came first, then everyone discovered they couldn't "live" without listening to Mp3s wherever they were.
 
Is listening music more ubiquitous than reading? Probably. 
 
But that doesn't mean people don't love reading just as much as listening to music and will buy a device that appeals to them to enjoy their love of reading long before it has to be free.
 
Aaron J. Walker
Writer/Illustrator
"Good Morning, Friend Moon"Publisher
http://www.walkbroadpublishing.com
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