Quote:
Originally Posted by faithbw
I guess we'll see. At this point, e-ink could go either way. Maybe e-ink will be like 8tracks or maybe they'll be like vinyl. I think the vinyl analogy is the best e-ink can hope for though and that will depend on how much demand exists for their technology.
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I really don't think these are valid analogies. Since e-ink readers can use the same file as you would use on your tablet or phone, there is still going to be lots of NEW consumable content out there. Demand for the devices may fall, but falling demand for the reader isn't going to kill the demand for the content so it doesn't become a negative feedback loop (i.e. more people started using CD's vs vinyl, so the amount of vinyl demand goes down to a point where it starts "forcing" people to CD's because the content they want isn't available on vinyl (only on CD's) which reduces vinyl demand more, which means that eventually there is a tiny market and constantly declining demand for vinyl "readers" (record players) because there is constantly reduced NEW content available). Since e-readers will be able to consume the new content there will be some migration to new devices (tablet/phone) BUT there will still be a viable MAINSTREAM niche market for e-ink because there will continue to be NEW content available so mainstream users wont' be "forced" to a new type of device to consume. Vinyl has a niche market still but it could be hardly called a mainstream niche since there is limited new content available (you can't get most new mainstream artists vinyl).