I'd like to correct what seems to me to be some wooly thinking on a number of points:
- Yes price does matter, especially if your purchase is an upgrade, so that it is an incremental cost-benefit analysis of additional features for the cost of a new eReader. And also when there's a likelihood that you'll upgrade further in the future (thus meaning that you're in all likelihood paying for a time-limited benefit).
- Yes hardware does matter, as it is the primary differentiation (the "additional features") for a newer model over staying with the older. The higher the price, the more new features you would expect to get for it.
- If the eReader allows you to use your favorite reading software (e.g. FBReader, or Coolreader) and favorite font, allows a reasonable degree of customisation, and doesn't screw anything up too badly, then software will have a minimal impact on the reading experience.
(All of this is intentionally written from an
upgrade perspective, as this thread, both in apparent intent, and actual usage, appears to be about existing/former PB users writing off PB.)
From my own perspective, I would only be willing to pay a
small amount for Pearl+6"+touchscreen (possibly the price of a discounted NST, if the Nook software hadn't been so objectionable), otherwise I would simply continue to use my PB360, and
wait for something better to come along. However Pearl+6"+touchscreen
+HD (whilst still retaining FBReader + user-installed fonts + hierarchical file navigation)
was sufficient for me to pay for a full-priced eReader (hence the Boox i62HD).
Of course others may have different priorities, but regardless PB has to offer
sufficient new features to warrant an upgrade.
To stay competitive, PB need to either up their marketing game so as to sell more eReaders to
new customers, and/or improve the rate of their product development, such that their
new products offer a
compelling upgrade rationale for their
existing userbase. As far as I can see, it is achieving
neither.