An article on CNet is titled
CES: E-readers' next chapter might not have happy ending
In part, they say:
Quote:
There were e-readers aplenty at the Consumer Electronics Show, but there's substantial doubt if there are enough interested buyers to go around.
"Just being able to read a book on a device has become totally commoditized," said Gartner analyst Allen Weiner.
Indeed, the special e-book zone on the CES show floor was packed with book readers that looked like Kindle cousins, many sporting a nearly identical-looking electronic ink displays and little else of note.
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I agree, there will (as always) be a "bubble" and a "falling out" as the market develops. I personally think, long term, there will be a blending of the e-book reader and slate-computer markets, but that's been pretty well argued to death in another thread.
One particularly interesting quote from the article:
Quote:
Although most of the attention at CES was on new hardware, executives of Hearst-backed Skiff say their main goal is to build a good periodical platform and shopping experience that could someday power lots of devices, perhaps none of which the company would make itself.
"We want to lead by example with some cool devices and then get the hell out as fast as possible," said Skiff Chief Marketing Officer Kiliaen Van Rensselaer.
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And, of course, a quote sure to stir up the "e-Ink forever" die-hards:
Quote:
Kurzweil, a pioneer in the digital reading arena in addition to being a computer industry luminary, says he just doesn't see that big a market for single purpose readers.
"People want to do everything--they want to watch their movies, they want to do all their computing, their e-mail on one platform," he said in an interview. "They don't want to take another device."
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