NPR Marketplace Ebook Feature Full of Crap?

[J. Strnad]

Here's a brief item that appeared on NPR's Marketplace show. Now, I love this show usually, but this item seems woefully wrongheaded.

NPR Marketplace Feature

It mentions how the Kobo Reader and other dedicated ebook readers are no competition for the iPad...you know, the same old b.s. comparing two utterly different devices, like comparing an iPad to a hammer or a Kindle to a sewing machine. And it quotes someone who states that nobody, really, is interested in a dedicated reading device, or very few people are.

The text summary is even worse, confusing Borders with Barnes & Noble and the iPad with the iPod.

Let's flood them with a few more comments from people who actually know what they're talking about!

[Seabound]

Wow, that's a pretty embarrassing blunder.

[dmaul1114]

IDK. Us ebook early adopters want it to be BS. But the fact is the publishing world is dominated by folks that by say 5 or less books a year--people just buying the Harry Potter, Twilight, Stephen King, John Grisham types of books.

Those folk will never buy a dedicated e-reader--they just don't read enough to have any interest in one. But they may buy some kind of Tablet. Not everyone is a heavy reader. But most everyone (especially say the 40 and under crowd) is addicted to e-mail, internet, movies, tv, games etc. etc. as well as doing computing work, reading magazines etc. which tablets are great for.

So while I think dedicated readers are here to stay as there's a sizable niche of bookworms that wants such device as this site shows, I do think tablets like the iPad will sell much better. And in 5-10 years I think the majority of e-books--at least for mainstream bestsellers like those I listed above--will be read on tablets as that's what the casual readers will gravitate to.

In some sense, Steve Jobs was right that people just don't read anymore--at least not like they used to. Hell, I'm a college professor and I know very few people who read even as much as I do in terms of novels and non-fiction book reading. And I only read 1-3 books a month.

Most people are at most reading for work (research articles they're reviewing or are related to something they're writing etc.) with any other reading being newspapers online, blogs etc. With most leisure time spent on TV, sports, movies, video games etc. And that's again in a highly educated set, everyone (outside of family) in my circle of friends/acquaintances I'm still in touch with either has a Ph D or is working on finishing one.

So I do think the future of mainstream e-books will be in tablets that people buy primarily for non-reading purposes, but start reading their couple books a year on. But I don't think that means the death of e-ink either. As long as there are bookworms around that just want simple devices optimized for reading there will be companies putting out e-readers to make money off that niche.

[J. Strnad]

The b.s. aspect of this debate is that these devices are in competition. They aren't. Yes, you might buy one or the other, but it depends on your needs.

If you want a vehicle to drive to school, work, the grocery store, etc., you might very well debate among the various cars that will take you there. But a Bobcat really isn't on your list! Similarly, if you want to work the farm or the ranch or do construction, you aren't really considering if Toyota Corolla will work as a backhoe.

People who want a gadget to do a whole lot of stuff moderately well, will pick an iPad. The display isn't the best for ereading, the "keyboard" isn't as good as a real keyboard that gives you tactile feedback, etc., but it's a general purpose device.

If you're a reader (and I know that most people aren't), you'll want a dedicated reading device. It's like, if you're a graphic artist, you'll want a Mac...but most people aren't graphic artists.

You don't have to be "most people" to command a market! Sure, many more people may buy grocery-store produce filled with pesticides, but there's still a solid market for organic produce for certain people. Whole Foods seems to be doing quite well with that particular market.

The "analysts" may very well say, "Organically grown produce will never replace the regular stuff!" but who the hell cares? Ipads may very well outsell dedicated ebook readers 50-1, but who the hell cares? Hammers will outsell iPads, too. Who the hell cares?

I'm really tired of the way America views everything as a big ol' football game where you have to have a winner and a loser!

[dmaul1114]

Originally Posted by J. Strnad

You don't have to be "most people" to command a market! Sure, many more people may buy grocery-store produce filled with pesticides, but there's still a solid market for organic produce for certain people. Whole Foods seems to be doing quite well with that particular market.

The "analysts" may very well say, "Organically grown produce will never replace the regular stuff!" but who the hell cares? Ipads may very well outsell dedicated ebook readers 50-1, but who the hell cares? Hammers will outsell iPads, too. Who the hell cares?

I'm really tired of the way America views everything as a big ol' football game where you have to have a winner and a loser!

Agree 100%. Like I said, dedicated readers will be here to stay, even if most best seller e-book purchases are read on tablets and other devices besides dedicated readers--are not going anywhere.

So the bookworms/avid readers have nothing to worry about. Your devices will be there regardless of the size of that niche.

It's not some zero sum end game where only dedicated readers or multifunction devices has to win. Both can, and will, co-exist in the market.

[Ravensknight]

Eh, NPR is full of **** anyway, always has been, always will be. I'm not surprised :-D

[leebase]

They obviously are in competition with each other. Whether you personally like one type or the other, they do compete.

I wanted a kindle...not quite enough to pay for one. Then I tried reading a free kindle book on my iPhone and became hooked. I stopped even wanting a kindle at that point.

Now I have an iPad and you can be sure at I won't be buying an ink reader. If all there were to read were kindles and nooks, I might have eventually bought one.

Other people can not see wending $500 and more on a tablet when they can get an ink reader for less than half the price.

Tablets and cell phones are indeed competition for dedicated readers in that they reduce the desire of their owners to buy an eink device.

Where I'd part ways would be with the notion than ink readers will go away. They will keep a nice niche for themselves because of price, and the eink screen. Some folks are going to prefer them. They are much cheaper, lighter, smaller (than the iPad), have much longer battery life and can be read in full sunlight.

Lee

[Trebro]

Not surprised Marketplace messed up, they don't seem to be very good on anything that does not involve banks or tradable products, like oil.

As far as it goes, I am saddened that most folk only read less than 5 books a year, given I can do that in a good week. So yeah, it would really stupid for them to buy an e-reader. But then again, it's stupid to make 1,000,000 DTB copies of most books, so just like how the only print maybe several thousand of a lesser-known work, there's going to be companies making e-readers for people who want 'em.

The thing is, I think it's only going to be maybe 5 companies doing it (probably Amazon and B&N, maybe Sony, and then 2 or 3 smaller operations like Pocketbook), not the dozens we have now. Kinda like how most other businesses have shrunk to a few main companies.

But I have to say, no matter how I tried, I never read more than the newspaper on the computer and now that I have the e-ink screen, I can only breathe a sigh of relief I didn't try to be a hard-core reader on an over-sized cell phone. I simply read too much, as do probably 99% of the people and 50% of the folks with e-readers. (Now I may get an android phone that can do an e-reading app for when I don't want to carry my nook in the bag I've dedicated to it, but I'd never use it all the time.)

I can easily see myself getting a tablet to read comics on, however, and not feeling like that means I have to read books on it, too. (Or, in an ideal world, maybe a Kindle DX-sized color e-ink reader! Dream, Rob, Dream!)

At the end of the day, as long as they keep making an e-reader and it reads epub, I'll be happy. And I'm betting all the $$ they get from the latest Twilight/HarryPotter fad being read on the Ipads of the world will let me do that. So in the end, despite what people who are writing lazy "news" stories say, we all win!

[L.J. Sellers]

And then there's this article that says you shouldn't buy a Kindle because the iPad will do so much more for only "another $250 or so." But the article also says to wait and not buy an iPad until you see what the other slate tablet makers come up with. It also mentions the color Panadigital reader for $199, which I had never heard of.

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/0...here_copyright

[J. Strnad]

A lot of these reviewers seem to live in a world where money flows like water. How could any reasonable person say, essentially, "This device only costs twice as much?"

We really need to learn or relearn the meaning of the word "value." For instance, using less gasoline is a value to me. I'll pay more for a car that uses less gasoline without sacrificing performance, e.g. a hybrid. So when people ask me how long it'll take for that hybrid stuff to pay for itself in gasoline savings, I have to explain to them that that doesn't matter to me. I'll pay more just to consume less oil.

"More features" is not necessarily a value. It could be, but so could "fewer features." I don't want a canoe paddle on the end of my baseball bat. Just give me a device that does what I want it to do, well! Adding all that iPad stuff to an ereader is, to me, like grafting on a Pocket Fisherman. No thanks!

I'm not anti-iPad by any means, but I'm also not going to say that it's "better" than a dedicated ereader just because it does more stuff!

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by J. Strnad

Adding all that iPad stuff to an ereader is, to me, like grafting on a Pocket Fisherman. No thanks!

On the other hand, for all those people (the majority, I suspect) who've bought an iPad for something other than reading, it may well introduce them to eBooks when they would not have bought a dedicated reader; and the "iBooks" app is a very, very reading app indeed. This can only be a good thing for the eBook market.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by HarryT

On the other hand, for all those people (the majority, I suspect) who've bought an iPad for something other than reading, it may well introduce them to eBooks when they would not have bought a dedicated reader; and the "iBooks" app is a very, very reading app indeed. This can only be a good thing for the eBook market.

Yep, for ebooks to go mainstream they have to be accessible and attractive to the casual reader.