MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Rumored Sony Layoffs: Ebook Readers Affected?

ProfCrash · 04-09-2012, 03:50 PM

Yup, 6% of their labor force.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/busine...Y5S_story.html

I will point out that the T1 has been on sale at the bigger box stores in the US for a while now. I take that as a more clear indication that they might be ending their e-reader program than the layoffs.

I wish Sony had figured out how to make their ecosystem more user friendly and work better. We all have a lot to think Sony for. Their original e-readers are probably a large part of what made todays e-readers possible. They were well built and had great features on them. The 350, 650, and 950 have some of the most loyal users I have seen on these boards.

Sony failed to market their devices well. I know that the first e-reader I saw was a Sony but I could not remember the brand after seeing it in a bookstore. When I told my Hubby about thinking I wanted an e-reader, he got me a Kindle because Amazon had it plastered across its webpage. Knowing my Hubby, he read up on the Sony and decided that Amazon had a better bookstore and that would make me happier.

Their devices, while excellent, were priced way too high and were not competitive with the Kindle, Nook, or Kobo. By the time Sony built the T1 many e-reader users were using other devices and the Sony became less of an option. Not to mention, it was still oorly marketed even after it dropped in price and is not priced competitivly outside of the US.

I hope that I am wrong and that Sony is staying in the e-book market but I have difficulty seeing it being profitable for them and an easy cut.

04-09-2012, 03:50 PM	#2
ProfCrash Tea Enthusiast Posts: 8,554 Karma: 75384937 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Somewhere in the USA Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3, PW2	Yup, 6% of their labor force. http://www.washingtonpost.com/busine...Y5S_story.html I will point out that the T1 has been on sale at the bigger box stores in the US for a while now. I take that as a more clear indication that they might be ending their e-reader program than the layoffs. I wish Sony had figured out how to make their ecosystem more user friendly and work better. We all have a lot to think Sony for. Their original e-readers are probably a large part of what made todays e-readers possible. They were well built and had great features on them. The 350, 650, and 950 have some of the most loyal users I have seen on these boards. Sony failed to market their devices well. I know that the first e-reader I saw was a Sony but I could not remember the brand after seeing it in a bookstore. When I told my Hubby about thinking I wanted an e-reader, he got me a Kindle because Amazon had it plastered across its webpage. Knowing my Hubby, he read up on the Sony and decided that Amazon had a better bookstore and that would make me happier. Their devices, while excellent, were priced way too high and were not competitive with the Kindle, Nook, or Kobo. By the time Sony built the T1 many e-reader users were using other devices and the Sony became less of an option. Not to mention, it was still oorly marketed even after it dropped in price and is not priced competitivly outside of the US. I hope that I am wrong and that Sony is staying in the e-book market but I have difficulty seeing it being profitable for them and an easy cut.