Quote:
Originally Posted by robko
The thing that is generally being missed in all this discussion is that while the points being made (on both sides) are quite applicable to the people reading these forums BUT the people reading this forum represent a small (and likely tiny) portion of the e-reader buying public. While you and I may know what we want/like in an e-reader, probably the majority of buyers don't (at least on anything more than a superficial level). These devices are sold/marketed for mass consumption so you need to look at if from the perspective of a buyer who probably doesn't know or care about a lot of the features that we love or hate. If you look at it from that perspective, a reader with a light that costs the same/similar or less is automatically going to come across as a better deal to to the AVERAGE buyer (not necessarily the case to a more educated buyer) because they are getting another very obvious feature. Again I say this is what the AVERAGE buyer (who likely make up the majority of buyers) perceive. Yes there is a market for a reader specifically without a light and a reader with buttons, but the reality is that those more niche markets and I doubt you can make successful business case for them as a mass market reader. Alas, the same can be said for the possible large (13"?) reader that Sony is developing. I'd love to have one, but it's likely going to be really expensive because it likely doesn't have broad market appeal.
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I think the AVERAGE buyer of a device that is made specifically for
reading, is more knowledgeable and educated than the AVERAGE buyer of mass market electronics, so the assumption you are making to put forth your argument is not very valid for me.
I could argue also that a person that spends money in a device just for reading (since web browsing is not very practical) does that because it gives a great value to the experience of reading, and to books. I think having a light OR having a great screen or readability will have very different impacts in the buying choices of these customers.