Quote:
Originally Posted by VaporPunk
 Actually, I take that back. They all just reminded me what a boring and safe little life I've led so far. 
At the risk of massively over-generalizing, I've found that Europeans in general, Belgians in particular, are less quick to embrace new technology than folks in North America. There are always exceptions, of course, but geekiness is far more accepted in NA than here. Brits are the exception, as they always are. 
Once e-readers become more "mainstream" and prices make more sense, they will start to catch on here. |
Well, you're right that e-Readers has not caught on as much in Europe as in NA, but I don't think it primarily relates to some anti-technology sentiment. It is more because of the lack of available reading material. There is probably less than 2,000 e-books available in Swedish, I don't know about French or Flemish, but I would guess that on a per capita basis the numbers would be fairly similar.
I do however believe that Europeans who enjoy reading books in English has caught the tech train as it was about to leave the station. In my own case the deciding factor was immediate delivery and significant savings in S&H.
The 100 or so e-books I've purchased from Amazon the last year would have cost me around $1,000 in S&H, instead they've cost me $200 in Whispersync surcharges. Deduct the $200 I paid for the Kindle (incl S&H) and I'm ahead $600, all of which has been applied towards purchasing books.
Lately new titles in Swedish are starting to appear, they are generally sold at 60 % discount compared to the released hard cover edition. While they are strictly epub, I'm on speaking terms with the good Apprentice, so I have no problem putting them on my Kindle. I consider myself far ahead of the general curve in this country and as an avid reader I benefit from my decision on a daily basis.