Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg
And over a billion cell phones a year are sold.
Most people in the world, who have cell phones, still do not have smart phones. This seems to me an opportunity for much lower priced eInk readers to be sold in vastly higher numbers. For whatever reasons, the manufacturers and retailers aren't looking at it this way; the big year to year price declines we saw between 2007 and 2012 have stopped and even reversed themselves  |
The problem, like I mentioned as one of my earlier arguments, is that not enough promotion of E-Ink is going on. I still converse with many people, and most people are non-tech savvy, who have no idea about the benefit of E-Ink. It needs to become a bigger conversation, to bypass the seeming complexity of tech terms that makes most people's eyes and minds glaze over ... and they never read the descriptive stuff ... or take it in.
Currently there is a real issue going on, where many have opted for iPads and Tablets and even Smart Phones (large ones in particular), and are reading via them, and not getting the best out of it and even in many cases (lots of older people), being put off reading ebooks altogether.
So ebooks and ereaders need to be made more attractive, and it is more than about price. Even though many (most?) ebooks are currently over-priced, and even with the cost of an ereader, it doesn't take many ebooks to get your outlay cost back. That means, at least to me, that education, usability and features are key.
It can be seen by the uptake of Tablets and iPads, that features are key. Many want more bang for their buck, if they are going to make a sizable cost purchase ... despite the eventual cost saving. These devices in my estimation, are further reducing E-Ink readers to a niche market, unless we get proper promotion happening ... or some kind of hybrid device.
It is suspicious that Color E-Ink is not yet here. That seems to indicate to me, that the market gives poor projected revenue from them.