Quote:
Originally Posted by tomsem
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By contrast, 9" eink devices, which have been available almost as long, remain costly, and things like iPad have soaked up what little demand there was for them, ensuring that economies of scale cannot be easily reached that would allow more significant price reduction. The Kindle DX and Entourage EDGE linger on, but it remains to be seen for how long.
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I have to strongly disagree. The iPad may have soaked demand for infrequent readers and netbook buyers, but not for many heavy readers or those who need a real laptop.
Less than two months ago I got an iPad, and I read 2-4 hours every day on it. Last night I placed an order for a Kindle DXG.
I found that after several weeks of reading on the iPad, my eyes started to be affected -- since I'd rather spend $400 on a Kindle than on glasses, I got a DXG.
Now, I have a K2, but I really do not find reading on a 6" screen enjoyable or immersive. Maybe because I have always preferred hardcovers to paperbacks. My wife has a DX and refuses to read on the K2.
The reality is that even 9.7 is smaller than a regular hardcover book, and it is far from sufficient for periodicals or regular PDFs.
A larger size reflective screen in good color will certainly have a market, as well as higher profit margins than the cheap 6" readers. Periodicals are always a big draw, as are textbooks and PDFs.
I also have to disagree with TomF. Apple does great marketing, but it also does great design and it provides great user experience. And if you compare similar products, it is hardly overpriced - and almost always delivers better quality and workmanship than competing products.
For what it's worth, I waited for months for a comparable Android tablet, even if the OS isn't yet exactly as smooth as iOS. But at the end, I realized that there is nothing good enough coming out in the next six months or so.