The iPad 3 screen is more than suitable for long form reading, and many readers are turning to tablets due to upgraded screen resolution. The iPad, the Nexus 7, the Asus Transformer Infinity, and the new Acer have all focused on developing high resolution displays, and consumers are responding. The retina display has caused a major surge in iPad-as-reader popularity.
I would take E Ink over LCD any day, but if eReaders hope to compete, they should think about making some real improvements in screen resolution. Instead they are focusing all of their energy on outlandish prototypes that never make it to market. Have you seen an eReader sign lately? Or an E Ink power drill? I'm not saying they shouldn't expand and make money, but do you think we could at least get a 2.0 version of the Pearl display?
I believe E Ink's inaction is part of the reason why reader sales have slumped:
E Ink Shows Q1 loss after Amazon adjusts inventory:
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E Ink chairman Scott Liu (劉思誠) attributed the first-quarter loss to lower sales and a deteriorating product mix, both led by its major client’s inventory digestion.
“Our major customer was too optimistic about its sales in the fourth quarter of last year and ordered too much from us,” Liu told an investors’ conference in Taipei. “That made the customer order almost nothing from us in the first quarter.”
The fall-off in orders pushed down first-quarter revenue and also dragged down shipments of e-paper displays, the company’s flagship product with higher gross margins.
That also caused E Ink’s capital utilization to deteriorate, further lowering the company’s gross margin to 0.8 percent in the first quarter, from 28.5 percent in the fourth quarter last year.
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Can eReaders survive the tablet onslaught?:
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eReader shipments are projected to decline from 15 million devices in 2011 to 11 million in 2012 . . . "Regardless of the tremendous historical eReader success, the market tides have already begun to turn. Despite the average tablet selling for more than $465 as a result of Apple's dominant market position, tablets are expected to outsell eReaders 9 to 1 this year," explained Flood.
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Doug from the-ebook-reader.com comments:
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The heyday of E-Ink e-readers is over. Yes, there’ll still be some specialty markets, but I don’t think we’ll be seeing 8-figure annual sales numbers again. That’s why E-Ink is “fooling around with E Ink crosswalks, traffic lights, and air conditioning unit displays.”
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