The IDPF show in New York City was May 11&12. That conference has a huge impact on what you email about and want.

I think you SHOULD care about what was discussed as that body represents the combined thinking of all the eBook Reader manufacturers, the publishers, the content providers, and everyone else connected to eBooks.

For the first time, Adam Smith of Google spoke at IDPF and spoke very well. There were actual panel groups of small publishers that tried doing away with DRM and had enormous success. They had a combined voice to do away with DRM! And, some major publishers are listening. It may not be this year, or next year, but the DRM wall is cracking and may come tumbling down.

Women now buy 50% of all eBooks and eBook Readers... yet several women-representing publishers spoke out on how they have tried for three years to get Amazon and Sony to pay attention to "what women want" and it has fallen on deaf ears.

Find out where most eBook reading people actually read eBooks: work, home, travel, bedrooms, planes, living rooms, etc.

Note that last year, 2008, Kindle sold 500,000 devices and Sony sold 400,000! Also learn on the impact of eBooks on the publishing industry!

This amounts to a relative 'UPRISING" for IDPF... a show that represents the major players in the eBook industry. I suggest that you all read my blog at: www.robertbEZ.blogspot.com.

This group consists of representatives from almost ALL of the major companies involved in the eBook Readers and eBooks that you want to make better. Yet,few of you even know that there is such a group and that it is changing things.

There are NO eBook Readers specifically designed for women.

Personally, I doubt I'd ever buy an ebook reader specifically designed for women. Most often, the interface of such devices is so simple that I suspect the designer thinks women all have an IQ below that of a monkey.


(I once saw a phone "specifically deigned for women"... I think my cat wouldn't even have problems understanding how it worked...)

I don't know about "specifically designed" , but I'd like to see a lot more options for our feminine side, LOL.
Like multiple color choices for the reader itself, pretty cases, covers, skins...(yes, I'm repeating myself from another post on another thread).
But as Sweetpea alluded, I'm not going to go buy an ebook reader because it's pink, if it doesn't meet my needs. I might not buy it even if it did, pink isn't my favorite color. But you get the drift, I'm sure.
More important to me than looks, is function and for the unit to be designed well.
I want better pdf rendering (if that's even possible in a six inch screened device), a built in lighting system that doesn't interfere with the unit's ergonomics (not backlight), more font size choices that reflow correctly in all sizes, (that means no cutting off first and last lines of text, and no chopping off words in the margins, either), and a user interface that's both intuitive and nice looking.
I wouldn't think any of this, with exception of pdf rendering, to be all that difficult, but I'm not an engineer, so what do I know?

Women now buy 50% of all eBooks and eBook Readers... yet several women-representing publishers spoke out on how they have tried for three years to get Amazon and Sony to pay attention to "what women want" and it has fallen on deaf ears.

Why should they change? Women are 50% of the population, and they buy 50% of eBooks, it looks like a perfect deal to me. Besides, I don't think women are different from men in this subject.

Personally, I doubt I'd ever buy an ebook reader specifically designed for women. Most often, the interface of such devices is so simple that I suspect the designer thinks women all have an IQ below that of a monkey.


(I once saw a phone "specifically deigned for women"... I think my cat wouldn't even have problems understanding how it worked...)

I remember WAY back and when - when gas stations were converting to self-pump -- and the argument was that women couldn't learn how to pump their own gas - or wouldn't be strong enough, etc. Didn't see any gas pumps made "just for women"

:smack:

Personally, I doubt I'd ever buy an ebook reader specifically designed for women. Most often, the interface of such devices is so simple that I suspect the designer thinks women all have an IQ below that of a monkey.


(I once saw a phone "specifically deigned for women"... I think my cat wouldn't even have problems understanding how it worked...)

And BTW - tell your cat to stop calling me!!
:rofl:

And BTW - tell your cat to stop calling me!!
:rofl:

Ever since I told him it's cheaper to call the States than it is to call my mother, he's constantly on the phone!

I must protest very strongly.
This is discrimination!
Why should women get a reader designed specifically for women when there is NO reader designed specifically for men?

I want a reader that was designed specifically for men.
Period.

I am not going to purchase anything less.

A cover made of chain mail with Harley Davidson and/or Zippo logo, scented with horse sweat, motor oil, burnt gasoline and stale tobacco is bare minimum. And of course a preloaded subscription for Playboy and some of those http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_men%27s_magazines. A camouflage colored case might help as well.

And BTW - tell your cat to stop calling me!!
:rofl:

Ever since I told him it's cheaper to call the States than it is to call my mother, he's constantly on the phone!

I must protest very strongly.
This is discrimination!
Why should women get a reader designed specifically for women when there is NO reader designed specifically for men?

I want a reader that was designed specifically for men.
Period.

I am not going to purchase anything less.

A cover made of chain mail with Harley Davidson and/or Zippo logo, scented with horse sweat, motor oil, burnt gasoline and stale tobacco is bare minimum. And of course a preloaded subscription for Playboy and some of those http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_men%27s_magazines. A camouflage colored case might help as well.

collective :pandalol:

I must protest very strongly.
This is discrimination!
Why should women get a reader designed specifically for women when there is NO reader designed specifically for men?

I want a reader that was designed specifically for men.
Period.

I am not going to purchase anything less.

A cover made of chain mail with Harley Davidson and/or Zippo logo, scented with horse sweat, motor oil, burnt gasoline and stale tobacco is bare minimum. And of course a preloaded subscription for Playboy and some of those http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_men%27s_magazines. A camouflage colored case might help as well.



Don't forget the built-in beer can holder!
:D

When they say "what women want" they really mean "what will make women buy more stuff" and that leads to massive fail (http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10241299-1.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=Crave) like Dell's "Della" web site.

What women want is stuff that works, has value for the money, and fits into our lives. (That doesn't mean we must have it in pink or to match our kitchens, oh marketing geniuses.)

I don't see why an eBook reader has to be for women and for men.. wh can't they be for everyone?

I don't see why an eBook reader has to be for women and for men.. wh can't they be for everyone?

I think this forum shows that ebooks are for everyone.
:2thumbsup

I don't see why an eBook reader has to be for women and for men.. wh can't they be for everyone?

They can and should be.

When marketers, especially tech marketers, try to market to women as a niche, they almost inevitably end up being condescending and stupid, treating women as if they care about how things look more than how they work.

When they say "what women want" they really mean "what will make women buy more stuff" and that leads to massive fail (http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10241299-1.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=Crave) like Dell's "Della" web site.

What women want is stuff that works, has value for the money, and fits into our lives. (That doesn't mean we must have it in pink or to match our kitchens, oh marketing geniuses.)

I don't see why an eBook reader has to be for women and for men.. why can't they be for everyone?

Exactly! I don't care that my Sony is black, although I wish they would have left off the chrome (it catches the light and causes glare). I am perfectly capable of personalizing the thing myself. I have already purchased a couple of different covers to to do that.

I just wish they would listen to what we want it to do! If the companies would start perusing the threads here, they would realize that the changes for which we are asking are nominal, but would make purchasing a device much more attractive. It makes you wonder who is doing the pre-market analysis! Didn't they talk to previous and potential reader buyers? I still can't believe Sony did add a dictionary look-up. :angry: For $400, that should have been included.

Kaz :)

PS. Women are not the feather-brains Madison Avenue seems to think we are.

They can and should be.

When marketers, especially tech marketers, try to market to women as a niche, they almost inevitably end up being condescending and stupid, treating women as if they care about how things look more than how they work.
So that explains the iPhone & iPod Touch.. Apple's marketing them to Women. :eek:

But seriously, my wife has a Reader and my mother-in-law has a Reader. Both of them do not find they need a version made for women. This made for women nonsense is sexist and stupid. What is it they think women want/need that men would not? Just make a good device with good software and it'll work for all. The only thing I can think of is that women may want colors that men would not. And that's been taken care of by Cool-er.

So
(snip) What is it they think women want/need that men would not? Just make a good device with good software and it'll work for all. The only thing I can think of is that women may want colors that men would not. And that's been taken care of by Cool-er.

Yeah. What JSWolf (and many posters before) said!

BTW--I can think of *one* practical issue for women using e-book readers; we tend to have less hand strength than men. So the buttons need to be easy to push. I've deliberately avoided e-book readers that have been described as having stiff buttons. But that's *it.* Men don't read with their whiskers. Women don't read with our lower centers of gravity. E-book readers don't need to be made for a particular gender.

BTW--I can think of *one* practical issue for women using e-book readers; we tend to have less hand strength than men.

I can think of another aspect--hand size. My hands are much smaller than most men's; designing a reader I can comfortably hold in one hand is different from what my husband could hold.

If I really thought about it, I could possibly come up with one or two other minor aspects that are affected by gender. But they'd be very minor, and they'd be, like size of the Reader, not something we expect the companies to address.

I expect "gendered" ebook readers to have different colors and different pre-loaded ebooks.

I can think of another aspect--hand size. My hands are much smaller than most men's; designing a reader I can comfortably hold in one hand is different from what my husband could hold.

If I really thought about it, I could possibly come up with one or two other minor aspects that are affected by gender. But they'd be very minor, and they'd be, like size of the Reader, not something we expect the companies to address.

I expect "gendered" ebook readers to have different colors and different pre-loaded ebooks.

I liked the different colors of the cool-er devices, but I wouldn't choose it over something else only because of the color. It's all about functionality. I also am not sure pre-loaded ebooks would help, either. Sure, I like to read romances, but there are a lot of women here on MR who don't. :)

Kaz :)

I liked the different colors of the cool-er devices, but I wouldn't choose it over something else only because of the color. It's all about functionality. I also am not sure pre-loaded ebooks would help, either. Sure, I like to read romances, but there are a lot of women here on MR who don't. :)

Kaz :)

I totally would, and I'm all dude *belch*