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Bob Russell · 11-08-2006, 10:56 AM

The Sony Reader was reviewed by Wade Roush yesterday, in the article A Good Read, and he had a lot of positive things to say about it. The only significant negative he presents is the high cost of e-book content. "In fact, I'd say the Sony Reader is the first e-book device that's good enough to appeal to a large swath of readers, even given its hefty $350 price tag." That's exactly what has excited e-book fans recently - the arrival of a device that can appeal to an average book reader.

Speaking of what it will take to make e-books popular, he says "E-books may not be seen as a viable alternative to print books until they're so cheap that their ephemerality doesn't matter. Until publishers and hardware makers can turn e-books into a sensible economic proposition, the way Apple's iTunes Store has done with $0.99 downloadable songs and $1.99 TV shows, I fear the technology will languish."

He sees inexpensive content as being inevitable and necessary for the success of the Reader. "The prospect of a $1.99 bestselling novel is unthinkable within today's publishing culture--yet every author and publisher knows in his or her heart that e-books will, at some point in this century, begin to outsell print books. What may be most significant about the Sony Reader, then, is that by bringing the technology of e-reading up to snuff, it is clearing the way for inevitable changes in the economics of publishing."

Unfortunately, those changes may take time, so he considers it to be a device that is before its time. "Whether those changes come about soon enough to keep Sony's device on store shelves is doubtful. But I believe they will happen, just as surely as iTunes and the iPod have upended the music business."

While e-books are unlikely to replace the role of paper books, one cannot help but feel like the e-book revolution is coming, and the Sony Reader's appeal to the general public brings hope that we're beginning to turn the corner. As always... time will tell.

11-08-2006, 10:56 AM	#1
Bob Russell Recovering Gadget Addict Posts: 5,381 Karma: 676161 Join Date: May 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Device: iPad	Sony Reader reviewed by MIT Technology Review The Sony Reader was reviewed by Wade Roush yesterday, in the article A Good Read, and he had a lot of positive things to say about it. The only significant negative he presents is the high cost of e-book content. "In fact, I'd say the Sony Reader is the first e-book device that's good enough to appeal to a large swath of readers, even given its hefty $350 price tag." That's exactly what has excited e-book fans recently - the arrival of a device that can appeal to an average book reader. Speaking of what it will take to make e-books popular, he says "E-books may not be seen as a viable alternative to print books until they're so cheap that their ephemerality doesn't matter. Until publishers and hardware makers can turn e-books into a sensible economic proposition, the way Apple's iTunes Store has done with $0.99 downloadable songs and $1.99 TV shows, I fear the technology will languish." He sees inexpensive content as being inevitable and necessary for the success of the Reader. "The prospect of a $1.99 bestselling novel is unthinkable within today's publishing culture--yet every author and publisher knows in his or her heart that e-books will, at some point in this century, begin to outsell print books. What may be most significant about the Sony Reader, then, is that by bringing the technology of e-reading up to snuff, it is clearing the way for inevitable changes in the economics of publishing." Unfortunately, those changes may take time, so he considers it to be a device that is before its time. "Whether those changes come about soon enough to keep Sony's device on store shelves is doubtful. But I believe they will happen, just as surely as iTunes and the iPod have upended the music business." While e-books are unlikely to replace the role of paper books, one cannot help but feel like the e-book revolution is coming, and the Sony Reader's appeal to the general public brings hope that we're beginning to turn the corner. As always... time will tell.