Thread: Kindle Sales (Hardware) Appear to Be Way Down
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Old 05-09-2012, 07:18 PM   #58
elcreative
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Harmon View Post
If you figure that in a few short years, 6 inch android tablets will be available for under $100, then the only way I can see dedicated EBRs surviving is if they are sold below cost. If that happens, then EBRs become like razors - given away in order to sell blades, or in this case, ebooks.

But by having the Kindle EBR as a different division than the ebook selling division, Amazon appears to have decided that they will only sell EBRs on which they can make money. So it appears to me that Amazon plans to move to the Kindle Fire model, with a KF that sells around $100 or even less.

Meanwhile, there's an interesting argument that the epub/azw file standard will be rendered obsolete by technology. Check out gyrovague.com/2012/04/30/why-e-books-will-soon-be-obsolete-and-no-its-not-just-because-of-drm

So:

1. price of LCD based tablets goes down
2. manufacturing cost of dedicated EBRs turns sales into non-profit business
3. more & more ebooks come out in tablet oriented formats per the above article

Result: no more dedicated EBRs. And maybe Sooner Than We Think.
Repeating the same old line won't make it happen any more than putting out a mince pie for Santa works... Many of us already have both tablets and eReaders and still prefer eInk for recreational reading to using LCD screens. Tablets are fine for many things (and you can already get many perfectly functional tablets for less than £100) recreational and otherwise but, for straight novel reading, eInk wins hands down. Just because someone posts their ideas in a blog doesn't make them any more correct than those of us who don't need a blog to decide what we want.

Also if tablet costs drop why wouldn't eReader prices do the same like any other electronics products e.g. just seen 64GB memory sticks for £28... even a year ago such things would have been nearer £100... Gaming PCs were going to kill the console market... still going... even vinyl keeps going, maybe niche but still there... new doesn't necessarily eliminate older...
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