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Originally Posted by donnieparker
I won't buy a Kindle because they've turned e-readers into a race for the bottom. Since Amazon got involved, I think e-readers across the board have gotten more fragile, more cheaply made, and have suffered a lot of QC issues.
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This is Amazon's "fault" somehow? The race to the low price has been Amazon following B&N and Kobo. Readers are no more fragile now than they ever have been. Current QC issues effect all devices that use a lighted screen and have to do with the screen's manufacturer more than any one device maker.
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I bought a Sony PRS-350 a few years back, and the build quality is phenomenal. Three years later, and it's held up to some serious abuse. While I enjoy my new Kobo Aura, I know in three years it will be completely destroyed.
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Yes, the x50 line from Sony were definitely some of the best. If your Aura is completely destroyed in three years I'd question your treatment of the device more than it's quality.
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But now? In order to get to that magic 120 USD price point (or in the Aura's case, 150), serious corners have been cut. E-readers don't last. They break REALLY easily.
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I'd like to see some proof that they break really easily. Screens for instance are no more fragile now than they were in 2006 when the Sony 500 came out.
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In order to become the dominant eBook supplier, Amazon ruined the e-reader device market.
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No, they've become a mass consumer item. Sure Amazon had a lot to do with them becoming widely accepted, but you've yet to explain how they "ruined the market".
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I mean, look at Sony! They had to quit the U.S. market because people wouldn't pay more for a better quality reader!
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BS. Sony hasn't done anything to entice new users to their devices for years. Their bookstore has always been an afterthought that they've never really tried at. The T1 and T2 are basically the same and the T3 isn't even all that different and their quality, perceived or real, is no more or less than any other brands. Sony could have easily gone back to a metal casing to increase the perceived quality of their devices. A metal casings cost isn't much different than plastic, but it's perceived as "higher quality" and thus can command a higher price. Sony chose to play follow the leader instead without really knowing how. There is now, and never really has been any thing really "premium" about Sony. It's just one more brand with a decent device.
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So long story short, I can't buy from Amazon, when Amazon clearly has no interest in making or selling quality hardware. I enjoy reading on an e-reader, and I'm sad that there are no premium options anymore.
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Amazon's hardware has always been as good of a quality as anyone elses. It's not their fault that the Reader market has always been mostly an after thought to Sony.