Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Why? Suppose Sony stop selling the 505 tomorrow - so what? It doesn't affect people who already own one; they'll still be able to easily obtain e-Books and use their devices.
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And their devices will be orphans, with no official support or repair options. If they lose or break their reader, they are SOL. And the Sony Connect store would go away, most likely meaning no further commercial titles in Sony format.
I submit this would be a deal breaker for the majority of users.
The same issues affect my device: Tapwave went belly up in July 2005. But I have three, so I have a backup, and I'm a tech and can do my own repairs. And I can read just about any ebook format on it, including HTML, Mobi, Word, RTF, PDF and plain text, so I don't lack for content. But while I love my device with a passion, it's not one I casually recommend to others.
Bookeen is a "pure play" ebook viewer vendor, without the pressure they would have as part of a major conglomerate to make suitable numbers and provide the desired ROI. They can survive and even prosper on sales that would kill the Sony Reader, so your Cybook is likely to be a supported device for some time.
The whole question is "Is the Sony Reader doing well enough for Sony to stay in the ebook market, or does it face the same fate as other Sony products that didn't make enough money to justify the investment?" For the sake of the many happy Sony Reader users, and for the ebook market in general, I hope Sony stays behind it, but it's not a bet I'd put a lot of money on.
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Dennis