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Originally Posted by redchili
using public transport around central europe quite a bit i've recognized a lot of kindles
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It must be a different central Europe. Where I live, I am pretty much the only one with an e-reader
I have heard Kindles are heavily pushed in Poland. Makes sense, because there's an Amazon version in Polish. But that would be an exception. For people in non-Amazon countries (the majority of central and eastern Europe) it makes sense to have any other e-reader. And let's keep in mind that e-readers are globally a tiny geek niche.
Quote:
Originally Posted by redchili
i personally see 6" devices as too small and inferior to the 8-10" class but since that is in quite an another league price-wise mass adoption will hardly be reached as long as there are sub 100€ entry-level devices available.
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Any serious consumer of pdf's prefers bigger screens, so what can we deduce from the fact that Kindle stays at 6 inches? Kindle does not care about serious people, that's the conclusion. As a corollary, Kindle is not really competing with other e-reader producers, it's just messing with the market.
That said, a Kindle rooted and with extra apps (which is a geeky thing to do) is as good as any other 6" e-reader. Not bad at all.
Quote:
Originally Posted by redchili
what do you mean with 'blow away the market'? do you mean that the availability of 10" devices would cannibalize the 8" segment?
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I mean anything that would make a difference as to the competition in the market of e-readers. This market has, for good or bad, some peculiar properties. It's so small that a monopoly (Amazon) can effectively leech on it even when it has limited offering compared to the competitors (compare Kindle and Kobo). It's also so small that it would not take much to upset it thoroughly, particularly locally. Then again it's commercially dependent on ebook sales and tablet sales and any player who wants to survive must have a foothold on those.
In my country a bookstore (selling ebooks too) began selling Pocketbooks rebranded with the name of the store, as if a new e-reader producer had entered the scene.
On one hand it's easy to blow away the market: Make a product that would be extra comfy with pdf files. On the other hand, there are hardly any people in the world who perceive the need for a special product just to view pdf files. New players should be very determined and consider these factors. When it comes to another 8" Pocketbook specifically - they already have such a product, so it would not make a difference. You may not be seeing it much in your location between the Kindles around you, but there are other locations in the world where Kindles don't exist and where Pocketbooks thrive. It's a very very peculiar market with marked local differences.
The only good reason for Pocketbook to make an e-reader with the screen of Kobo Aura One would be to directly compete with Kobo Aura One or perhaps Icarus XL HD. Is there such a country where Pocketbook directly clashes with Kobo or Icarus? Maybe Germany. (In Russia, they might decide to compete with
Onyx Boox Cleopatra 3 that has the screen of Kobo H2O) Then it's also possible also that Pocketbook could make such a product for bad reasons and begin selling it where it does not make sense. I would be intrigued of course if they do it, and I wish them the best of luck. I might even buy one myself