The Death of E-Readers Is All Your Fault

[jbcohen]

I wonder if dedicated readers are more popular among us heavy readers?

[xg4bx]

Originally Posted by tdonline

Companies hate me--I buy on sale and keep my gadgets until they die an e-death. My old boob tube style Sharpe that I bought off Craigslist for $50 still works so there's no chance of a newfangled flat screen TV making an appearance in my apartment any time soon.

I've definitely become that way lately. I only have a smart phone because it was free. No need for an mp3 player because my cds still work fine. I was considering buying a Kindle Paperwhite but realized it's a waste of $120 when my K3 keyboard still works perfectly. I do have an HDTV and Bluray player for movie and videogame purposes but other than that I couldn't care less; I think upgrading simply because there's a new version of something out is wasteful. *shrug*

[BeccaPrice]

Originally Posted by xg4bx

I was considering buying a Kindle Paperwhite but realized it's a waste of $120 when my K3 keyboard still works perfectly. I do have an HDTV and Bluray player for movie and videogame purposes but other than that I couldn't care less; I think upgrading simply because there's a new version of something out is wasteful. *shrug*

This was part of my major wafflling on getting a Paperwhite - I don't *need* it, my k3 is still working just fine, so I couldn't justify it to myself. If I hadn't gotten a $50 gift card for Christmas, I probably wouldn't have made the jump.

[Corkobo]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

I wonder if dedicated readers are more popular among us heavy readers?

Without a doubt. I believe a much bigger percentage of heavy readers own dedicated readers than the population at large but that is not surprising, we are after all a self-selected group.

I'm on my 3rd ereader (Nook, Nook Touch and now Kobo Glo) and if a new device comes out with a marked improvement (like the Glo was, at least for me) then I'll buy it.
I'm not rich but I read regularly (probably 12-13 hours a week minimum) and my reading is immersive so if I stare at a screen for a long time then I'd rather have the best I can get for my eyes.

As for the death of ereaders, I think reports of their death are greatly exaggerated.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

I wonder if dedicated readers are more popular among us heavy readers?

If you only read a book or two a year, investing even $50 for a dedicated reading device wouldn't be a high priority, would it?

[rdfry]

I purchased an NST/g for my wife for Christmas.
I still have a perfectly good NE1/3g, so I will wait for a newer version.

[auspex]

Originally Posted by jocampo

Hmmm, interesting... The can opener analogy, lol ...

So why iphones sell like hotcakes? If, like can openers, most people have one already, same or different brand.

Simple - iphones sell like "hotcakes", not like "can openers". They're consumables. They are used for many more purposes, and so more easily broken, so in that sense much more "consumable". But also new phones keep coming out with new features, making the old phone insufficient for your "needs". A dedicated e-reader already does everything it's expected to do. I wonder how many users with Wifi e-readers even use the wifi?

[Cyclops]

iphones sell like hotcakes because when you drop one its screwed!

[forsooth]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

I wonder if dedicated readers are more popular among us heavy readers?

absolutely

[forsooth]

Still on keyboard K3 for latest.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by auspex

Simple - iphones sell like "hotcakes", not like "can openers". They're consumables. They are used for many more purposes, and so more easily broken, so in that sense much more "consumable". But also new phones keep coming out with new features, making the old phone insufficient for your "needs". A dedicated e-reader already does everything it's expected to do. I wonder how many users with Wifi e-readers even use the wifi?

I do use the wifi on my Sony PRS-T1 reader, mainly for downloading books from the public library.

So far, I have not heard of any new ereader features that make me want to rush out and buy a new one. Built-in lighting is a cool idea, but not something I need enough for me to replace a working reader.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by auspex

Simple - iphones sell like "hotcakes", not like "can openers". They're consumables. They are used for many more purposes, and so more easily broken, so in that sense much more "consumable".

We must be doing it all wrong. My old Original iPhone is still in heavy daily use.

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by auspex

I wonder how many users with Wifi e-readers even use the wifi?

I have the unfortunate habit of window shopping for books with my Kindle, when I'm bored I go to the Kindle shop and most of the time I walk away with a little sumthinsumthin.

[Joykins]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Short stories work best because they don't have to throw out stuff the readers might scream about.
(Unless its a Tom Clancy novel, where throwing out 99% of the text leaves a perfectly fine movie.)

_Gone With the Wind_ and _Doctor Zhivago_ also made pretty darn good movies and they were doorstops of books. Of course, they had to cut out one of Scarlett O'Hara's *children* from the movie (but she fell out pretty darn seamlessly!)

[Joykins]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

Yeah I can sympathize with that, its rather difficult to keep your eyes on the page rather than the members of the opposite sex. I tell my wife "I may be married but I'm not blind." I also tell her "What's good for the goose is good for the gander." If she had no interest any more then I would insist on taking her to a psychiatrist.

Maybe this is something wrong with me but I would rather read my book than look at most of the men on the beach. The book is infinitely more interesting and probably sexier.