03-30-2014, 02:28 PM | #1 | |
Addict
Posts: 386
Karma: 1814548
Join Date: Feb 2009
Device: Kindle 3, Kindle PW2
|
E Ink forecasts loss as ebook device demand falls
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/.../29/2003586752
Quote:
|
|
03-30-2014, 03:15 PM | #2 |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 7,034
Karma: 39379388
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: near Philadelphia USA
Device: Kindle Kids Edition, Fire HD 10 (11th generation)
|
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. Last edited by SteveEisenberg; 03-30-2014 at 03:37 PM. |
Advert | |
|
03-30-2014, 04:05 PM | #3 | |
Nameless Being
|
Quote:
Last edited by jswinden; 03-31-2014 at 10:50 AM. |
|
03-30-2014, 04:41 PM | #4 |
Addict
Posts: 386
Karma: 1814548
Join Date: Feb 2009
Device: Kindle 3, Kindle PW2
|
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. |
03-30-2014, 05:04 PM | #5 |
Addict
Posts: 219
Karma: 1000210
Join Date: Mar 2014
Device: Kobo
|
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.
|
Advert | |
|
03-30-2014, 05:08 PM | #6 |
Wizard
Posts: 2,240
Karma: 5759170
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Near Dallas, Texas, USA
Device: iPad Mini, iPod Touch (5th gen)
|
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. |
03-30-2014, 06:07 PM | #7 | |
Wizard
Posts: 1,531
Karma: 34583358
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Quincy, MA
Device: Samsung 54A, Kobo Libra H2O, Samsung S6 Lite
|
Quote:
|
|
03-30-2014, 06:16 PM | #8 |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 5,013
Karma: 18018738
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: UK
Device: Kobo Forma, Libra2, Clara 2e, Kindle PW SE & Kindle 2022
|
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. |
03-30-2014, 09:26 PM | #9 | |
Wizard
Posts: 1,475
Karma: 14328611
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Device: Aura, Aura H2O, Kindle PW3
|
Quote:
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. |
|
03-30-2014, 11:27 PM | #10 |
Wizard
Posts: 1,262
Karma: 2979086
Join Date: Nov 2010
Device: Kindle 4, iPad Mini/Retina
|
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.
|
03-31-2014, 12:57 AM | #11 |
Guru
Posts: 733
Karma: 3593438
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Australia
Device: Kobo Glo. Galaxy Tab S 8.4
|
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. |
03-31-2014, 03:44 AM | #12 | |
Addict
Posts: 283
Karma: 182106
Join Date: Aug 2010
Device: Icarus8, Kindle DXG
|
Quote:
|
|
03-31-2014, 08:58 AM | #13 |
I am what I am
Posts: 6,625
Karma: 62235665
Join Date: Sep 2011
Device: iPad3, Voyage
|
Front lighting was my #1 request. Now that I have it though, probably only color will tempt me enough to upgrade my ereader.
|
03-31-2014, 09:44 AM | #14 | |
Guru
Posts: 618
Karma: 1526148
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: A place where the sun always shines
Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Mini 2
|
Quote:
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. |
|
03-31-2014, 10:59 AM | #15 |
Nameless Being
|
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.
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
OR Books - print-on-demand device agnostic | kennyc | News | 13 | 04-20-2012 09:52 AM |
DR800 Gray paint on the device falls off.. | bokjeid | iRex | 3 | 07-08-2010 08:03 PM |
PVI to double E Ink panel capacity - will it help to meet Kindle demand? | Alexander Turcic | News | 6 | 04-16-2008 12:35 PM |
A new thin and handy e-ink ebook device STAReBOOK | chieh | Netronix | 15 | 12-05-2006 03:19 AM |
Demand for e-readers with E Ink technology on the rise | Alexander Turcic | News | 5 | 11-29-2006 09:30 AM |