E Ink forecasts loss as ebook device demand falls

[charmian]

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/.../29/2003586752

“E Ink needs to strengthen its non-e-book businesses in order to better its financial performance,” Taipei-based Horizon Securities analyst Stanley Hsu (許家銘) said by telephone.

Hsu said the global ebook device market will no longer be able to achieve high shipment growth due to the rise of tablets, since consumers are able to read ebooks offered by Amazon or Kobo on their tablets.

Citing studies by Horizon Securities, Hsu said shipments of e-book devices reached a peak of 20 million units in 2012 and then fell to 16 million units last year.

The e-ink reader market is not doing too well (double digit percentage decline). This makes me suspect this year we'll see only incremental spec bumps in new e-ink readers (if any).

[SteveEisenberg]

I read the Taipei Times daily on my eInk Kindle Keyboard or PC. But the front page lately is too dramatic for me to have gotten to the business page, as you have. Here is an eInk-friendly link for that paper (does not go directly to the OP story):

http://www.readingthenet.com/mob?ct=...eitimes.com%2F

If typing into your device, this is easier:

http://tinyurl.com/k92ka6p

As for the thread topic, although I like monochrome, I suppose the lesson is that most people do not. As for specs jump, you can't get a much better spec than where they are now, which I consider close to perfection.

Originally Posted by charmian

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/.../29/2003586752



The e-ink reader market is not doing too well (double digit percentage decline). This makes me suspect this year we'll see only incremental spec bumps in new e-ink readers (if any).

IMO, the main reason they are experiencing double digit decline is because they rarely come up with anything other than incremental spec bumps. The world passed by those guys long ago and now they are fading in our rear view mirrors.

[charmian]

I think it's because:

1. A lot of people are fine with reading on tablets, which have fallen in price and weight, while improving screen quality.

2. Existing e-ink readers are "good enough" for many users. Probably many e-reader owners weren't even interested in the frontlighting improvement.

3. Carta is not a huge improvement over Pearl. (This is a really big, and often overlooked one, I believe)

4. Devices are generally subsidized by ebookstores.

[rollei]

That's true because if I have to read on something big, I buy a tablet. If I buy a eReader, I would buy a small device so that it would be easy to carry or fit into the pocket. The Kobo Mini fits well in this sense but it only has 2GB storage of which almost half of the storage is for the operating system, which leaves less storage for books.

[Jessica Lares]

I agree with Jack.

I also have to think that smartphones in the next two to three years, are going to get better technology to let them be usable in the sunlight, which is going to totally crush the whole industry because it is still the primary reason they advertise the technology, along with the battery life. Well, the LCDs are getting better, and the batteries are getting bigger.

[cfrizz]

Originally Posted by charmian

I think it's because:

1. A lot of people are fine with reading on tablets, which have fallen in price and weight, while improving screen quality.

2. Existing e-ink readers are "good enough" for many users. Probably many e-reader owners weren't even interested in the frontlighting improvement.

3. Carta is not a huge improvement over Pearl. (This is a really big, and often overlooked one, I believe)

4. Devices are generally subsidized by ebookstores.

The other big factor is that a lot of people also read on their phones.

[Josieb1]

I've just bought an iPad mini to read on because a) I wanted a small tablet, and b) I'm fed up with the way Amazon are locking down the Kindle software, and whilst my Kobo Aura is nice, it's just easier, quicker and more convienient to get an ebook onto my iPad mini than it is to fluff around with Amazon or Kobo.

It's not just the lack of development of the screens that is e-inks problem it's the devices they go in.

[Canuck_in_Japan]

Originally Posted by jswinden

IMO, the main reason they are experiencing double digit decline is because they rarely come up with anything other than incremental spec bumbs. The world passed by those guys long ago and now they are fading in our rear view mirrors.

I'm not sure I agree that they're in the situation they're in because they rarely upgrade but I do agree that not even doing an incremental update would be the worst solution to the problem.
E-ink's problem has always been two-fold: it isn't a mass market device. How often have we seen these polls that show how little the general populace read? Everyone wants a tablet for TV and games and movies and email but very few want an e-reader. Secondly, an ereader is a single purpose device that does its job really well. Once you've bought a clock for your house how often do you upgrade it? Once every twenty years? Ereaders are in a similar situation. I couldn't go back to a 2009 tablet but I could use my old PRS 650 quite happily for the next 10 years.

[OtterBooks]

This just in: Singer sewing machines fail to meet the sales per-capita achieved the first year they were invented, despite coming out with new models and adding features such as voice control and cupholders. Analysts believe people have stopped sewing. In other news, fabric and thread sales remain strong.

[danskmacabre]

We have 4 ereaders in our family.
The 2 Kobo touches that my wife and I used, we gave to our kids and they are still going strong.

We replaced the Kobo touches with Kobo Glos. That was worth getting because of the backlight, which is a great addition.
However I can't see myself getting anything else for a long time unless the the Glos break down or something.
I'm just happy with what I have.

What WOULD grab me would be a flexible screen ereader, with colour and retaining the backlight (or self illuminating) and a comparable battery life to an eink ereader.

If I had that I'd upgrade, but nothing short of that would get me to.

Like I said, what I have is great (for what I want) and it'd take a lot for me to buy anything else.

[ST-One]

Originally Posted by OtterBooks

This just in: Singer sewing machines fail to meet the sales per-capita achieved the first year they were invented, despite coming out with new models and adding features such as voice control and cupholders. Analysts believe people have stopped sewing. In other news, fabric and thread sales remain strong.

[JoHunt]

Originally Posted by charmian

2. Existing e-ink readers are "good enough" for many users. Probably many e-reader owners weren't even interested in the frontlighting improvement.

Front lighting was my #1 request. Now that I have it though, probably only color will tempt me enough to upgrade my ereader.

[faithbw]

Originally Posted by OtterBooks

This just in: Singer sewing machines fail to meet the sales per-capita achieved the first year they were invented, despite coming out with new models and adding features such as voice control and cupholders. Analysts believe people have stopped sewing. In other news, fabric and thread sales remain strong.

I don't think that's a fair comparison. Ultimately, if someone wants to sew, they have to get a sewing machine. There's not a better machine that can do the same function. Of course, sewing machine sales decreased as more and more people bought their clothes in stores but if you want to sew you get a sewing machine. So Singer will always have some business.

I think a better analogy is what happened to 8track, cassette tapes, VHS, etc. They could all perform their various functions but different technology that could perform the same function came along and eventually made them obsolete. No one uses any of those technologies anymore. Only die hard music enthusiasts listen to vinyl. Smartphones and tablets perform the same function as e-ink readers but do more. Plus, there's not much you can you to improve a machine whose basic function is only to display text. So I think it's only a matter of time before e-ink dies out and join other gadgets in tech heaven.

Originally Posted by joehunt

Front lighting was my #1 request. Now that I have it though, probably only color will tempt me enough to upgrade my ereader.

IMO, no eInk reader has ever gotten a built-in light to work without seriously degrading the text. I know there are a lot of diehard Paperwhite and Glo fans out there who argue against that statement. That is until they pick up a Nexus 7.2 or an iPad mini Retina, then they finally see what clear, sharp, beautiful text really looks like, and thereafter their Paperwhites and Glos sit collecting dust on a shelf.