Excellent thread! This reminds me of the old console wars from Nintendo and Sega. The manufacturer would lose or break even on hardware and recoup their money via software sales. I think this is where we are going with the ereader "wars". With the ereaders not having customized microprocessors and components like gaming consoles I assume they're using off the shelf hardware so the costs would continue to go lower unless they start adding more features into the ereaders. Personally I prefer basic functionality as it was designed for, ie my cell phone, no internet, mp3 or anything other than a basic phone. I know I'm in the minority as society is becoming more wired and into multitasking. I recently read somewhere that the price of e-ink screens will come down significantly soon as a major manufacturer has made some inroads to cheaper production. I think it was like $30 per screen now as opposed to $90 or more? I'll have to try to find this article for clarification.
I think eventually the ereaders will dwindle down to 2 or 3 large brands, Kindle, Nook and Sony. They'll always have the third party brands out there that more tech savvy people will want more options. It's just a matter or marketing, pricing, availability and options available for the third party manufacturers to hold on a little longer in the market place. Unless someone comes out of the blue with something that the others have missed and make some significant inroads into the market.
The thing that boggles my mind is why I only see ads for the Kindle, and that's not that often. If B&N were smart I'd like to see them bombard the airwaves with ads for their Nook. Not that I'm against the Kindle at all. It seems to make sense that B&N would put an ad out saying that they have brick and mortar stores where you can go to download ebooks to purchase and preview. Use this advantage over Amazon to say you can actually go here if you have problems or want to see the Nook in action! They should show the differences between the Nook and Kindle as far as features. Highlight that Kindle is pretty much closed development only Amazon purchases, where you have more features and options on the Nook as far as formats and mp3 capability. ( sorry I'm not updated on the features of the Kindle 3 ) Bring to the attention of the shopper that Best Buy carries the Nook.
I'd also eliminate or greatly reduce the area where they have music and movies. I know they do sell a good amount of music here as it is a money maker for them. I honestly think they'd make more money if they converted this area to a Nook area, similar in style to an Apple store or Genius Bar. This way you can go to the cafe get something to drink and then go sit in the designated Nook area without taking up space in the cafe for coffee drinkers. Have live demonstrations, special events and release parties for ebooks/Nook as they do printed books. Make the area modern and sleek to set it slightly apart from the ambiance of the rest of the B&N.
I've long thought that the first ereader that markets directly to college students and inks a deal with major college textbook publisher can make significant leaps in the market. College students can give you feedback that you need for trends and features they want in an ereader. If you can eliminate carrying a load of textbooks around the college campus by having an ereader, and if you're smart you can lower the price of the electronic version of textbooks this is a bonus for cash strapped college students.
Another idea would be to get exclusive agreements with colleges and universities. To sell your ereader and gradually eliminate paper textbooks. I know colleges and universities make money reselling used textbooks and the mark up is high. I would think saving space in a college store with less inventory for books, reducing the prices of e-textbooks and having more space for university themed apparel and other university related items geared towards the students would be wise. The profit a university could make off of ebooks could counter the loss of carrying printed text books? B&N currently has Nook Study software for the computer if they integrated this capability into an ereader for geared for the college student this would give them an advantage other ereaders don't have. But then this would be more expensive than a basic ereader.
As a side note, with the height of Manga I would think a ereader dedicated to Manga as a niche product would do well if marketed correctly. I'd also love to see some Marvel Essentials and DC Showcase Presents omnibus' comics in electronic format.
Just some random thoughts that came to me while reading this thread. I know ... I know ramble ramble ramble .....
