RE: The Apple iPad and the future of e-ink ebook readers

I just simply don't understand. Help me out here., why does the iPad "Kill" all ebooks readers? There are many other devices that are a lot less expensive, and have expansion slots, support, and availability of ebooks in several different formats. I agree that the iPad seems more like a small-format tablet computer. Can you help me out here? 

In God We Trust.

--- On Sat, 1/30/10, Richard Seltzer <seltzer-LVbi7B8qMF5Wk0Htik3J/[email protected]> wrote:

From: Richard Seltzer <seltzer-LVbi7B8qMF5Wk0Htik3J/[email protected]>
Subject: RE: [ebook-community] The Apple iPad and the future of e-ink ebook readers
To: [email protected]
Date: Saturday, January 30, 2010, 3:03 PM















 
 



  


    
      
      
      I believe the guy from Forrester is right -- the iPad is likely to increase

demand for ebooks and for dedicated ebook devices.



As I put it in my blog (http:/www.samizdat .com/blog/ ) --



What's you take on the iPad as an ebook reader?



The press seems to consider the iPad as competition to Kindle and Sony ebook

readers.  But it is designed as a general purpose computer, not as an ebook

reader.



While it's possible to read text on it, I see no reason why anyone would

want to read on it any more than they'd want to read on any general purpose

computer.  While it's possible, it's not desirable, because the backlit

screen makes it hard on the eyes.



Also, the form factor matters.  The Kindle and the Sony are about the size

of a paperback, fit in a pocket, can easily be carried around.  The iPad is

too big for book reading comfort.  (I understand that the DX (larger screen

than the original Kindle) did not do very well.)



The free wireless connection of the Kindle also matters.  The Kindle folks

designed their device so there's no need for a computer.  Hence it appeals

to a very wide audience.



The press makes a big deal out of Apple agreements with a few major book

publishers.  It looks like Apple wants to make sure that best sellers will

be available for the iPad -- as a way to sell iPads.  It's hard to tell if

Apple wants to sell tens of thousands of different titles directly.  I doubt

it.



There are apps for the ipod and the iphone that handle Kindle books.  And

all the iPod and iPhone apps will work on the iPad from day one. (I don't

know about the Sony, but I'd be surprised if there weren't apps for that

format as well. Do you know?)



So I'd suspect that Apple would promote the apps and/or try to make deals

wth  with Amazon or Sony or Barnes and Noble to make lots of books available

quickly, rather than start from scratch.



I also see "A spokesman for Amazon did not comment on whether they were

worried the iPad would affect sales of Kindle readers, but said in an e-mail

message that customers would soon be able to sync their Kindle books to the

iPad."



That sounds like a very good idea.



I expect that the iPad will develop into an alternate way of reading the

same books (thanks largely to apps -- making books for Sony, Barnes and

Noble, and Amazon all readable on the iPad).  In other words, many people

would have both rather than one or the other, and do their current reading

on the device that's most convenient, keeping their books in synch; so they

can read chapter one on the one and then pick up another device and continue

reading where they left off.



So while the iPad will compete with Kindle and Sony and Barnes & Noble as a

book reading device, it will probably increase the market for ebooks sold by

those three, in a world in which people read on multiple devices, and, due

to apps, devices are able to display multiple formats.



In general, the press seems to have focused on ebook devices rather than on

ebooks.  For instance, Computer World

http://www.computer world.com/ s/article/ 9149902/iPad_ to_have_big_ impact_on_ e_

reader_market_ ?source=CTWNLE_ nlt_pm_2010- 01-28

"Both Yankee Group and analyst firm In-Stat are still bullish on the

e-reader market. In-Stat said nearly 1 million e-readers shipped in 2008,

and that number will grow to 28 million in 2013. For its part, Yankee Group

said e-reader sales hit about $400 million in 2009 and will explode to $2.5

billion in 2013."



I believe that puts the emphasis in the wrong place.



I believe that Amazon and Barnes & Noble see the devices as a way to sell

books.  They'd both gladly sell books to be read on other companies'

devices.



You could say that the device is the razor and the ebook is the blade, that

the real money is to be made from the ebooks and that eventually the devices

might be priced extremely low or even given away.



But I don't think things will work out that way either.  Yes, the real money

is in the books.  But the books will not be limited for reading on a single

device; and the devices won't be limited to reading books of a single

format.  In other words, the seller of a particular device won't in any

sense "own" the customers who buy that device.



____________ _



Best wishes.



Richard



Richard Seltzer, seltzer@samizdat. com, 617-469-2269

http://www.samizdat .com, http://www.samizdat .com/blog,

http://twitter. com/richardseltz er

Book collections on CD and DVD http://samizdat. stores.yahoo. net/

3700+ ebooks for Amazon's Kindle http://www.samizdat .com/kindle 5000+ for

Sony and 5700+ for Barnes and Noble

As featured in the New York Times

http://www.nytimes. com/2007/ 04/09/arts/ 09conn.html



-----Original Message-----

From: ebook-community@ yahoogroups. com

[mailto:ebook-community@ yahoogroups. com]On Behalf Of jlandahl2003

Sent: Friday, January 29, 2010 3:04 PM

To: ebook-community@ yahoogroups. com

Subject: [ebook-community] The Apple iPad and the future of e-ink ebook

readers



After Wednesday's high-profile announcement of the Apple iPad with epub

support and a base price of $499, the reaction of one initially skeptical

contributor to the MobileRead forums was "At that price point they basically

just killed all e-ink devices, unless they start pumping them out at $50

each, which is highly unlikely. Amazon will probably survive as some kind of

app, maybe, but who knows. Sony's dead in this game now. $499 is a price

point that kills everything else dead, no matter what my initial reactions

were."  Other enthusiastic and well-informed ebook fans chimed in to agree

with this assessment.< br>

<br>

However, a story in BusinessWeek this morning reported, "But after seeing

Apple's expected "Kindle killer," some analysts don't think the iPad will do

much to hurt sales of the Kindle [and] Forrester analyst James McQuivey

agrees, and is even considering raising his estimate on total sales of the

Kindle and other single-purpose e-book readers in 2010 to 7 million, from

his previous estimate of 6 million.<br>

<br>

Those are pretty diametrically opposed viewpoints.  Many members of TeBC

have long followed the twists and turns of the ebook industry (I myself

started with the Rocket eBook over 10 years ago).  Much as I enjoy reading

on my Kindle 2, It's easy for me to see why people think a relatively

inexpensive color multipurpose device would outshine and outsell a

gray-scale single-purpose one.  Anyone have any insight into why a

presumably astute Forrester analyst might reach the counterintuitive

conclusion that the iPad might actually help sales of e-ink readers?



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



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

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





    
     

    
    


 



  











      

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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

------------------------------------------------------
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:
    [email protected] 
    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/