Quote:
Originally Posted by Kris777
I can't agree. The good example is calculators. PC, cell phones and other devices have embedded calculators but customers still buy calculators as separate hardware because it is HANDY and easy-to-use. Another example is MP3 players. Almost each cell phone has MP3 player but customers buy MP3players... If I need ebook reader (not notebook or video pleayer) I will buy it even if the screen will be the same as on many other devices.
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When I last bought an MP3 player, I ended up getting an ipod touch because I wanted the maximum solid state storage that I could get, and ended up with a much more general purpose device than I was really after. If I could get an iphone with enough storage on it (which is surely only a matter of time), I would get one and replace both phone and mp3 player with one device. My point is that I think dedicated MP3 players are already reducing in market share as more and more people use their phones (primarily) to listen to music. Calculators are also much less prevalent - I own one, but don't bother to carry it around, because I could use another device if necessary.
Will there be nowhere to purchase a dedicated reader in 5 years? I'm sure that you're right that the category will survive if only as a niche market. My point really was that the market to sell millions of Kindles is a time-limited one which will disappear once, for most, reading is not a function that merits a dedicated device. I think that Amazon are doing the right thing in marketing a reader at the same time as making their software available on other devices, so that this transition will be as painless for them (and their customers) as possible.
For me, and I suspect most people, I like to read on the best (i.e. most comfortable for reading) screen that I have, and I suspect that this screen will be on a general-purpose device. The market for putting an expensive state-of-the-art screen on to a dedicated reader will be limited. Right now, there is a market because screen technology is such that the best reading screen is not the best web/video/gaming screen, but I can't see that situation lasting long.