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Old 09-03-2009, 12:10 PM   #1
poohbear_nc
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Everyone Wants a Kindle - For $50

Interesting article predicting the consumer's price point before an ereader can reach the market saturation like the iPod has.

http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/2009...kindle-for-50/
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Old 09-03-2009, 12:16 PM   #2
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Hmm, sure but what kind of features would a $50 reader have?

I think when they get down to about a $150 we'll start seeing much wider spread adoption.
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Old 09-03-2009, 12:35 PM   #3
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Yeah, I think it'll get more widespread, almost mainstream, if they just shave $50 or $100 off the price, not $150-200. Especially if better PDF support comes about.
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Old 09-03-2009, 02:56 PM   #4
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Forrester's blog on this is here.

In a nutshell : "What we found was that the price points for how most consumers value eReaders is shockingly low--for most segments, between $50 and $99."

Last edited by akira28; 09-03-2009 at 03:04 PM.
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Old 09-03-2009, 04:03 PM   #5
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Features won't matter. Wired magazine had a great article about "Good Enough" tech. http://www.wired.com/gadgets/miscell.../ff_goodenough

From MP3's to Flip Video to cloud computing and netbooks, what people want is accessibility. Accessible price, accessible content, accessible use. The first company that puts out a reader that meets those will flood the market.

It won't be wi-fi or resolution or page speed - it'll be accessibility (especially price) that drives the market.
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Old 09-03-2009, 04:03 PM   #6
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But then again, how many people on average actually read books?
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Old 09-03-2009, 04:22 PM   #7
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Plenty of people read books and magazines and newspapers. Nothing to think oneself elite about in any case.

I would agree with a $50-100 price range for the kind of ebook reader presently available too. For more than $150, I'd expect a whole lot more a) quality or b) functionality.
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Old 09-03-2009, 04:30 PM   #8
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Plenty of people read books and magazines and newspapers. Nothing to think oneself elite about in any case.

I would agree with a $50-100 price range for the kind of ebook reader presently available too. For more than $150, I'd expect a whole lot more a) quality or b) functionality.
Hmm, this has probably been talked to death but I find myself wondering why exactly ebook readers are so expensive. Are e-ink displays really so expensive to manufacture?

What would it take to produce a reader in the $100 range?
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Old 09-03-2009, 04:58 PM   #9
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Hmm, this has probably been talked to death but I find myself wondering why exactly ebook readers are so expensive. Are e-ink displays really so expensive to manufacture?

What would it take to produce a reader in the $100 range?
It has already been done. Who needs e-Ink?
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Old 09-03-2009, 06:07 PM   #10
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Yes, eink displays aren't cheap. Right now they are about half of the cost. $70 is the lowest i've seen quote I've seen for manufacturer cost on a eink display, and more are closer to $90.

Also, as things stand, magazines on readers *****. The format that the few digital magazines support do not lend itself well to an ereader. Plus ereaders currently lack color, which would be a big turn off.

Last edited by Elsi; 09-03-2009 at 07:47 PM. Reason: removed foul language
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Old 09-03-2009, 06:20 PM   #11
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Old 09-03-2009, 06:29 PM   #12
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Give 'em the razor and sell 'em the blade.
I really doubt that strategy would work with ebooks seeing as they'd probably have to charge prices for ebooks that many of us here, let alone the public at large, would have issues with. Probably something like full hardcover MSRP maybe higher, I'd imagine.
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Old 09-03-2009, 07:24 PM   #13
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It has already been done. Who needs e-Ink?
And it throws away the advantages e-ink screens have. Reflective TFT maybe, but they have their own price tag.
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Old 09-03-2009, 10:27 PM   #14
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Yes, eink displays aren't cheap. Right now they are about half of the cost. $70 is the lowest i've seen quote I've seen for manufacturer cost on a eink display, and more are closer to $90.

Also, as things stand, magazines on readers *****. The format that the few digital magazines support do not lend itself well to an ereader. Plus ereaders currently lack color, which would be a big turn off.
But given that e-ink, the actual display, has been stable for some time now, that cost to a reader manufacturer is more reflective of a desire to generate higher profits - AND that e-ink displays themselves are 'single-source' - than it reflects true e-ink manufacturing costs. By now, were e-ink screens being made by several manufacturers, you'd see the cost to an ebook-reader manufacturer hovering closer to about $40. And then there's the cost of the main CPU boards. Let us face facts. Until e-ink displays (and their controllers) can handle 256-or better-color and 30-60 frames-per-second refresh rates, it doesn't behoove manufacturers to add too many 'kitchen-sink' features. I can see where a 'Buy-the-books-wirelessly' function goes well, but how many people, as a percentage of total e-ink-readership actually uses the average e-ink reader to play music? Don't need that 'feature'. And there's no need for a simple 'book *READER*' to have a full keyboard - especially not with a touch-screen - that reduces the cost of a basic reader even more.

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Old 09-03-2009, 10:50 PM   #15
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this is very true! Apple has successfully and strategically priced its products so as to reach a majority of the market. they have even captured the third-world countries because of this strategy.

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