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And take a look at the patent wars in the field of cell phones and tablets. While we have not seen anything nearly as bad in the e-reader arena, there have been a few minor disputes. So it is not as if they can simply take a part a Kindle or a Nook or a Sony and copy what their insides look like. They have to research what has been patented and what has not. Pay for the use of the patent and if the owner won't let them use it, develop a new way of doing the same thing.
I woul dbe surprised to see too many new entries into the e-reader market. At this point in time, the US market is probably saturated, the numbers do not seem to be picking up. Foreign markets seem to be slowly selling more devices but I have a feeling that the UK is close to saturation and that the rest of Europe won't be too far behind. So building a new e-reader and perparing to market it in a year or two will probably mean a huge flop.
The focus now is going to be on the e-book market. If the Kindle is the dominant reader in the UK, and it sounds like it is based on anecdotal reporting, then Waterstone having a EPub store is not going to do it much good. Since the Publishers are insisting on DRM and only Amazon sells its files with DRM that can be read on the Kindle, Waterstone found it self having to make a deal with Amazon to get in on the most lucrative e-book market in the country.
Waterstone could have gone it alone if the Publishers would simply get rid of DRM so that stores can sell EPUB and Mobi. Alas, the Publishers are idiots and have failed to do this. Maybe in a few years.
Right now, Waterstone was able to work out a favorable arrangement with Amazon and can get into the e-book market in a way that makes it some money. Maybe they use this time to build a great bookstore and when the Publishers finally go DRM free, Waterstone might be able to walk away from Amazon with an established reputation that will help it compete in the UK market.
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