[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Argel

A single track is an individual work in its own right, so is a book. And a single track is a bigger download than a book. People don't go to record stores to do it.

Point taken.

Certainly not in a bookshop!

In the same way that I didn't buy my mp3 player or my stereo system from a record shop or my TV from a DVD store. I'll buy an electronic gadget from a shop that specialises in and understands electronic gadgets. It's what almost everyone else does and I see no reason why they would suddenly decide to change in the case of ebooks.

Understood.

Part of the whole point of buying from a shop rather than ordering on line is to see and touch the device before purchase.

But whether the shop "understands" the gear they sell is another matter. It might be better where you are, but over here, I've largely given up expecting the sales personnel to actually know anything about the kit they sell. Electronics retailing is brutally competitive and based on price. Shops pay the minimum they can for staff, which makes actual expertise unlikely.

Are there people who would prefer the safety of someone else loading their books (or their music tracks)? Of course. Are there enough of them prepared to pay the premium for housing and staffing the service? I doubt it.

I'm not sure I see why a premium price is involved.

But note that Sony is partnering with brick-and-mortar retailers, not just bookstores. They have a deal with Borders, who is a book and music retail chain, but they are also partnered with Target, with is a general interest discount department store, with a broad range of offerings.

Partnering with bookstores makes sense to me because the target market is readers, and bookstores are a likely place to find them.

Ultimately, that sort of effort is intended to prime the pump. Unless Sony successfully enforces price discipline among retailers, so that everyone charges the $399 MSRP, users interested will buy from the cheapest supplier. So they might see and decide to buy a reader based on an experience in a bookstore, but actually make the purchase elsewhere. Fine by Sony - a sale is a sale.

And what will really sell the device won't be Sony promotion or retailer's efforts - it will be word of mouth from folks who bought and are happy with one. Sony will want to generate that word of mouth.

Dedicated bookshops in the UK are dying anyway. This will be
one more nail in their coffin.

They are still alive here, but the industry is consolidating, and there are far fewer independents. But they aren't going away entirely any time soon.
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Dennis