Quote:
Originally Posted by fjtorres
Part of it is form factor, part of it is the target market. The bulk of the large format market is obsessed with PDF which isn't really an ebook format and really need a full computer and *color* display behind it for proper use.
With the iPad, Android Tablet/webpads, the coming slate netbooks, and the Core-based Win7 Tablets coming in the next year, the pricing differential is going to have to be significant for pure reader devices to survive. Like, from $149 to $499. That's better than a 300% spread.
A $399 reader only has a 25% price advantage over the iPad, zero over the slate netbooks, and is actually more expensive than the android webpads.
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Exactly, myself and everyone I know who wants a big screen reader wants it for PDFs (scholarly journal articles), Word documents and textbooks. None of which are suitable to e-ink.
And most of us want something more than a dedicated device that we only use to read those things as we'd get a lot more use out of a full on tablet that can do internet, e-mail, calendar and contacts, videos, etc. etc.
There are definitely people out there who want a 9-12" dedicated reader--but like you I'm not sure it's a big enough niche to survive.