Quote:
Originally Posted by Mickey330
Heck, get the thing into Wal-Mart (with good displays - Sony’s aren’t that great). Yeah, roll your eyes at the mention of Wal-Mart - but there is a heck of a market there.
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No rolling of eyes here.
If there is *one* retailer that would go out of their way to stick a shiv in Amazon's back it is Wal-Mart. There's been bad blood there for years and years. (A Lawsuit, too.) They'd *love* to carry a major competitor to Kindle. And to Nook. Let's not forget; Wal-Mart sells print books by the ton. Mostly as traffic generators but they'd be loathe to lose that draw.
If you look at their website you'll find a fairly broad assortment of readers online so they are aware of the need to carry something. They are naturals for the ADEPT camp to enlist if only because the big three are already selling ebooks and are competitors of their book business.
So Pocketnook Global? Howzabout it? The 901 would be a great product to lead a charge into Wal-Mart's 8500 stores. The only 10in-class eink reader at retail? People would stop and take notice. Did I mention: one deal, 8500 outlets? And if WalMart goes out and buys one of the ADEPT-based indie retailers at risk because of the Price-Fix scheme, well; there's a flagship ebookstore. You *can* be store agnostic *and* have a flagship partner, especially for something like the 903 or a Wifi 901. Or a 302/602.
There's other large retailer chains already sniffing around the ebook reader business: Sears sells Ectaco, Penney's been selling Pandigital, KMart Augen. Ectacos are pretty nice (I've recommended a few to some of my cousins), the Pandigital is more interesting as a webpad, the Augens are just plain raw, software-wise. Good ideas but not ready for primetime, the latter two. If those newcomers can get into major chains, why isn't Pocketbook out there somewhere?
For that matter, why not get clever and go for the Office Supply chains? OfficeMax, Staples, Office Depot. The 302/602 would be a great fit if you push the note-taking feature. Opportunities abound.
ebooks are becoming mainstream products in NorthAmerica yet there is a big vacuum at retail. *Somebody* is going to fill that shelf-space...
Somebody is going to have the presence of mind to get the retail presence needed to prosper.
