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I have no idea what packaging and shipping a CD costs, but I'm guessing that it's more than .15 USD apiece.
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Replicating a compact disc costs pennies. Literally. My wife spent seven years making the glass masters the stampers are cast from.
It is no secret that the RIAA cartel has propped up CD prices. The FTC even spanked them for it, but in a very 21st century business friendly sort of way that accomplished nothing.
The point that was being made is that people consume books differently than they consume music; that Sony is stating outright they are going after the blockbuster business model, and that that model will not work here. The fact that someone on this forum may consume 50 titles a year does not mean that the audience of people who buys 50 titles a year is big enough to sell MILLIONS of Reader devices.
People will buy a $300 iPod to listen to music when they're working, driving their car, or mowing the grass. You CAN'T read a book while doing those things (not that some idiots don't try).
Today: Pay $5.99 for a mass market copy of "Angels and Demons".
Tomorrow: Pay $300 for a Sony Reader, and $5.99 to download a copy of "Angels and Demons".
Conclusion: Tomorrow's solution is about $300 too expensive. Most consumers aren't faced with the problems the people on this board are. The real upside of this business could be maintaining titles in "print" without having to pay taxes on inventory,
but this is not the model Sony appears to be pursuing.