MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - My mama said: "In 10 years, those will be gone."

Katsunami · 01-24-2014, 05:37 PM

This evening I visited my mom. I had my e-reader with me (because travelling by public transport) and put it on the table upon entering. Somewhat later, she picked it up, swiped a few pages right and left, closed it and put it down again. My mama said (© ABBA):

"It's a pity you gave away all your books. You know, everybody I know still wants paper books. In 10 years, these things (waving the reader upon putting it down) will be all gone."

There's only a teeny tiny difference between my mom and me: I know computers and technology, while she's (almost) a technophobe. She can do basic computer stuff such as e-mail (no internet banking, online shopping, or whatever), and she has a smartphone running Whatsapp ("Everybody quit on MSN and nobody wants to send texts anymore!"), but apart from calling, texts, taking pictures and Whatsapp, every conceivable function on the phone is disabled / blocked.

Also, she reads... like... 4-6 books a year, if it's a very good year. I read between 25 and 50 books, depending on size, mood with regard to other hobbies, and available time. Thereore I read about 10 times as much as she does, and on average my books are probably twice as long as well. (If she reads anyting, they're 200 page Harlequin romance pockets.)

She can't imagine e-readers will ever dominate the market. She thinks they'll be a niche forever, or disappear altogether.

I can't imagine that e-reading will slow down: it'll only rise, to at least a 50/50 level, and maybe even 75/25 in favor of e-reading. There are just too many advantages to ebooks: size, price, ability to instantly shop worldwide, no delivery times, space, portablilty, ease of reading with frontlights and font options, durability... advantages that will become even more pronounced if DRM would be dropped, and people get to grips with converting formats.

What do you think; where will e-reading stand in another 10 years from now?

- Will e-reading turn out to be a fad, returning to the niche market it was before 2010 (when e-reading started to seriously take off with regard to availability of mainstream titles), or maybe even disappear altogether?
- Will e-reading keep rising, stabilizing somewhere around 50/50, splitting the market between e-books and pbooks?
- Will e-reading rocket skyward, eventually becoming the default, making paper books the niche market, with it only making up special editions, first editions, and ultra-deluxe hardcovers, for collectors?

(For the sake of argument: an "e-reader" is everything that's not paper, be it an e-reader, tablet, a combined sort of device, or a 17 inch smartphone. My mom doesn't know the difference between a 6 inch reader or a 6-7 inch tablet.)

01-24-2014, 05:37 PM	#1
Katsunami Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,111 Karma: 34000001 Join Date: Mar 2008 Device: KPW1, KA1	My mama said: "In 10 years, those will be gone." This evening I visited my mom. I had my e-reader with me (because travelling by public transport) and put it on the table upon entering. Somewhat later, she picked it up, swiped a few pages right and left, closed it and put it down again. My mama said (© ABBA): "It's a pity you gave away all your books. You know, everybody I know still wants paper books. In 10 years, these things (waving the reader upon putting it down) will be all gone." There's only a teeny tiny difference between my mom and me: I know computers and technology, while she's (almost) a technophobe. She can do basic computer stuff such as e-mail (no internet banking, online shopping, or whatever), and she has a smartphone running Whatsapp ("Everybody quit on MSN and nobody wants to send texts anymore!"), but apart from calling, texts, taking pictures and Whatsapp, every conceivable function on the phone is disabled / blocked. Also, she reads... like... 4-6 books a year, if it's a very good year. I read between 25 and 50 books, depending on size, mood with regard to other hobbies, and available time. Thereore I read about 10 times as much as she does, and on average my books are probably twice as long as well. (If she reads anyting, they're 200 page Harlequin romance pockets.) She can't imagine e-readers will ever dominate the market. She thinks they'll be a niche forever, or disappear altogether. I can't imagine that e-reading will slow down: it'll only rise, to at least a 50/50 level, and maybe even 75/25 in favor of e-reading. There are just too many advantages to ebooks: size, price, ability to instantly shop worldwide, no delivery times, space, portablilty, ease of reading with frontlights and font options, durability... advantages that will become even more pronounced if DRM would be dropped, and people get to grips with converting formats. What do you think; where will e-reading stand in another 10 years from now? - Will e-reading turn out to be a fad, returning to the niche market it was before 2010 (when e-reading started to seriously take off with regard to availability of mainstream titles), or maybe even disappear altogether? - Will e-reading keep rising, stabilizing somewhere around 50/50, splitting the market between e-books and pbooks? - Will e-reading rocket skyward, eventually becoming the default, making paper books the niche market, with it only making up special editions, first editions, and ultra-deluxe hardcovers, for collectors? (For the sake of argument: an "e-reader" is everything that's not paper, be it an e-reader, tablet, a combined sort of device, or a 17 inch smartphone. My mom doesn't know the difference between a 6 inch reader or a 6-7 inch tablet.) Last edited by Katsunami; 01-24-2014 at 07:27 PM.