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Old 10-03-2009, 05:44 PM   #46
dmaul1114
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I think you are mistaken that only avid readers would be interested in a dedicated reader, as prices of ebooks and hardware fall, awareness increases and usability/covenience increases then they will become more interesting for more people.

.....snip.....

As usual, you have decided to yet again repeat your point about what you think the market actually wants and its true multi-function devices will appeal to plenty of people, but the paper book market is huge and those hardware makers who find ways to tap into that market with products that let people read books as easily as they do now, buy books more easily and regain shelf-space are going to make a lot of money in the process.



1. Maybe I shouldn't have said avid reader. I just mean people that read at least one book every month or two. If you read less than that (most of my friends don't read any books--aside from work related or school required reading period, or maybe 1 or 2 a year) then you're probably never going to buy a dedicated reader. It's just not worth it if you barely read.

2. I'm not saying what the market wants. There is definitely a huge market out there of people buying books--look how many Barnes and Nobles and Borders there are.

I'm just saying the market for e-books can also be expanded through multi-function devices. As well as keeping dedicated readers around. It's not an either/or proposition.

Have dedicated readers for the bookworms (and I mean that affectionately) who just love reading and don't give a crap about other features.

Have multi function devices for those of us that do other things more than read and would rather kill a bunch of birds with one stone with a multi function device vs. carrying a Kindle, PDA, netbook, mp3 player etc. around. And expand the market a big by selling e-books to people on tablets, smart phones, pdas etc. If Amazon wants to kill the other e-book stores, they'll get access to the Kindle store on as many devices as possible as quickly as possible and get people locked into the store.


In short, don't be so damn defensive. I'm not saying dedicated readers are going anywhere. There's a sizable market for them. There's also a sizeable market for multifunction devices as we see from sales of smart phones, net books etc. and they offer a great way to expand the e-book market by just simply adding access to e-books stores on those devices people buy for other reasons. And that's good news for everyone--dedicated e-ink reader fans included--as anything to expand the market means more books available, lower prices etc.
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Old 10-03-2009, 07:12 PM   #47
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Sure. You need to be using calibre instead of the Sony software. Believe me, it's a vast improvement. Download it here
Superlucky, thanks, that's terrific! I thought only the Kindle could do things like that (and we can't get it in Canada)
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Old 10-03-2009, 08:56 PM   #48
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When I need cheering up, there's nothing like going into a book store. I love the smell of new books & paper (a stationary store will do for that too - BTW), I love picking up a book, having a browse, putting it down, meandering to the next cover that catches my eye. However, for the reading experience I actually prefer my e-book reader. I do a lot of reading in bed. I lie on my side and with thick tomes that is very, very annoying and heavy to hold. Besides, I *read* for the story no matter what shape or form.

So I would love to go into a book store with knowledgeable staff I can bother with all my questions and then go home with a pile of e-books. But that's just me, I'm probably weird
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Old 10-03-2009, 10:49 PM   #49
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Ebooks are still at a very early stage. Eventually, they will be to printed books as printed books are to medieval manuscripts or Indian/SE Asian palm-leaf manuscripts. Virtually every book that can be found will be available electronically and material books will be quaint collectibles. The revolution to ebooks or whatever they will be called has not really begun, but it is inevitable. We can't remotely imagine how people will read in 100 years, but it won't be books made out of paper (or, probably, anything very much like the ereaders of our day).
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Old 10-03-2009, 11:37 PM   #50
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I'm one of the people who enjoy a well made book. There are times when the way a book is made - the size, quality of paper, font - impacts whether I buy the book or not. I also like that I can take a book down, show it to a friend, and lend it to him. I like that when a topic of conversation comes up, I can usually find a book or two in my library bearing on the subject, take it down and pretty quickly find the quote or section I am looking for. All these things can't be done with ebooks.

What I like about ebooks is portability. I like that I can take an ebook reader with me on a trip, long or short, without strain (I do put a couple of emergency books in my suitcase, though...) I like that because of Project Gutenberg, the Internet Archives, and Google Books, I have increasing access to tons of older books.

To me, an ebook reader is just another book. It has its own particular physicality, but mainly it has utility. I had my iphone with me this evening when I decided to stop at a place and have a bite to eat - so I had a copy of Dracula readily available (I'm reading it as part of the current Infinite Summer book http://infinitesummer.org/) That would not have happened if I only read physical books.

So I think that there's a kind of spectrum involved with pbooks and ebooks, from a kind of artistic enjoyment on one end to utility on the other, with each person occupying a preferred point on the spectrum. And I don't think that will ever go away. I agree with the poster who said that we really can't know how people will be reading a hundred years from now, but I think that they will not substitute a new way of reading for what we have now. Rather, I think they will add other ways of reading. What I think we are going to see is not a replacement of one technology (pbooks) with a different technology (ebooks), but a kind of expansion of the ways we read and the way we access books.

Last edited by Harmon; 10-03-2009 at 11:46 PM.
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Old 10-04-2009, 05:34 AM   #51
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Originally Posted by dmaul1114 View Post
In short, don't be so damn defensive. I'm not saying dedicated readers are going anywhere. There's a sizable market for them. There's also a sizeable market for multifunction devices as we see from sales of smart phones, net books etc. and they offer a great way to expand the e-book market by just simply adding access to e-books stores on those devices people buy for other reasons. And that's good news for everyone--dedicated e-ink reader fans included--as anything to expand the market means more books available, lower prices etc.
I think you are confused, I'm not being defensive, I'm merely bored of the way you seem to want to shoehorn in your idea of what an ideal device should be regardless of the topic and indeed this time you were seemingly so desperate to do you chose to ignore the majority of my post that was about cost and ease of use since those are very clearly not things that a multifunction device has a hope of hell of competing on.
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Old 10-04-2009, 06:24 AM   #52
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I think you are confused, I'm not being defensive, I'm merely bored of the way you seem to want to shoehorn in your idea of what an ideal device should be regardless of the topic and indeed this time you were seemingly so desperate to do you chose to ignore the majority of my post that was about cost and ease of use since those are very clearly not things that a multifunction device has a hope of hell of competing on.
Well the specialized devices right now also suck for cost and ease of use. Hopefully it's not always the case, but it depends on how much more money is funneled into them and how much is invested in inventing the wheel (I won't say reinventing, since dedicated readers are a pretty crappy makeshift wheel as it is).
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Old 10-04-2009, 06:27 AM   #53
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To me, an ebook reader is just another book. It has its own particular physicality, but mainly it has utility. I had my iphone with me this evening when I decided to stop at a place and have a bite to eat - so I had a copy of Dracula readily available (I'm reading it as part of the current Infinite Summer book http://infinitesummer.org/) That would not have happened if I only read physical books.
I agree that ebook readers can give more functionality but your example is not an added functionality for me since I never leave home without bringing a book with me.
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Old 10-04-2009, 06:36 AM   #54
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Well the specialized devices right now also suck for cost and ease of use. Hopefully it's not always the case, but it depends on how much more money is funneled into them and how much is invested in inventing the wheel (I won't say reinventing, since dedicated readers are a pretty crappy makeshift wheel as it is).
Looking at their demographics, it does seem like the kindle isn't doing too badly when it comes to ease of use since you wouldn't expect such a high average age in the early adopter stage of a new technology.

As far as costs, they are still high but do seem to be steadily reducing at this time, but until theres more competition with regards to screen supplies then that's going to be the limiting factor.
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Old 10-04-2009, 06:44 AM   #55
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I agree that ebook readers can give more functionality but your example is not an added functionality for me since I never leave home without bringing a book with me.
I guess it varies from person to person, for me I tended to play a game on my ds or phone when I was filling a bit of time because those were more portable options than a book, but now I usually read my ebook instead.

I guess my tendency to knock bookmarks out of my books and thus lose my place also tended to hamper the viability, for me, of reading a few pages of my books at a time, which is something I can readily do now.
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Old 10-04-2009, 06:50 AM   #56
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While I agree that there is pleasure in the physical feel of pbooks, I think that the point is being missed if that is used as an argument against ebook readers. I first "went ebook" because I'm a confirmed technophile and liked the idea, but I now find that I get more of the physical pleasure from ebooks than I do from p. I have a leather cover for my 505, which is now interestingly ageing. The feel of the reader in my hand is very comfortable, the weight is just right, the different ways of turning the page help as I change reading position (I have issues with my back, so I have to shift around a lot to minimise pain). Just the sight of the reader, and the knowledge of what it contains, makes me happy.

Just because it's electronic doesn't mean it's got less soul than a pbook - I've become very attached to my 505!

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Old 10-04-2009, 06:52 AM   #57
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As far as costs, they are still high but do seem to be steadily reducing at this time, but until theres more competition with regards to screen supplies then that's going to be the limiting factor.
The price of most eBook readers is on a par with that of, say, high-end Apple iPods. As such, I think they are well within an "acceptable" price range for many people.
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Old 10-04-2009, 09:50 AM   #58
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The price of most eBook readers is on a par with that of, say, high-end Apple iPods. As such, I think they are well within an "acceptable" price range for many people.
Good point: When a gadget is desirable enough, people will save up if they have to, to buy it. This especially applies to the younger set, who usually don't have much money or credit, but somehow manage to get all kinds of expensive toys. The only thing preventing more people from buying e-book readers, therefore, must be desirability.
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Old 10-04-2009, 02:39 PM   #59
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For early adopters etc, price isn't that big a deal, but price is definitely a relevant consideration when it comes to mainstream acceptance though, just look at the way hardware sales jump on things like games consoles when they hit certain price thresholds.
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Old 10-04-2009, 03:17 PM   #60
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I think you are confused, I'm not being defensive, I'm merely bored of the way you seem to want to shoehorn in your idea of what an ideal device should be regardless of the topic and indeed this time you were seemingly so desperate to do you chose to ignore the majority of my post that was about cost and ease of use since those are very clearly not things that a multifunction device has a hope of hell of competing on.
I'm only saying what I want....and that I think there is a market for it.

Not that it is what everyone needs or wants, or that it will completely replace dedicated readers. I'd probably keep a dedicated reader around just because they are smaller and easier to read in bed etc. and perfectly adequate for reading a novel for pleasure.

But they're completely useless for reading academic books, scholarly journal articles that I must be able to quickly and easily highlight and right notes on. And they're a pain for travel since I also need something with full internet access, full e-mail, pda functions etc., need something that plays MP3s, something that I can watch video on etc. So I'd love a multi function tablet that can do all that, while keeping something like a Kindle for reading novels around the house or in waiting rooms etc.

Others have no need for that stuff as they're older, don't need such a device for work and are just into reading and not much into music, video etc.

Thus there's plenty of room in the market for dedicated readers and multifunction devices that also can access say the Kindle store etc. Gives people options and gives e-books stores access to more customers. Seems like a no-brainer win-win situation to me. I think some are just overly worried about dedicated readers vanishing--but I don't see that happening. There we always at the least be a sizable niche for them. Just like there's a sizeable niche of academics/professionals who would buy a good tablet device.
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