Quote:
Originally Posted by Gideon
This rumor comes out before every Apple event.
Personally, if such a thing were true, I'd give my right arm for it!
And yes, I think it'd destroy the Kindle and like devices. I'm a big proponent of eInk and I love it and hate reading on an LCD like my laptop or my iphone, but if Apple came out with a tablet like that... most people are going to go for it. And I can't blame them, if it had a long enough battery life I'd probably switch too! Just the sheer of convenience of one device would overshadow the eInk aspect.
But aside from me... I think it would be a 'kindle killer' as most people would prefer an integrated device that isn't as good over a 400 dedicated eReader.
Dedicated eReaders are an endangered species from the getgo. Once tech comes out that can do a good job doing that and other things, it'll be over. And it's not THAT far off.
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Dear Gideon:
Yes, with most tech devices almost all of the Early Adopters are 20 something.
BUT... there is an anomoly with the eBook Reader. People aged 18-29 are less than 10% of the eBook Reader market. Perhaps they read less or have better things to do.
But, what is a bit shocking is that 51% of all eBook Reader sales are by the Baby Boomers at 50 and up. They are not seen as looking for convergence and the latest tech wizardry. They are looking for DEDICATED eBook Readers that are rather basic. Touch, Phone Convergence, PC support, Bluetooth, 3G is not a major plus for these people. Then you consider that tiny screens are not a plus for those with older eyes.
People have been crying "End of the Dedicated eBook Reader" for five years.
They are not going away and in fact are HOT now as older prople aren't as ready to drive to the book store, have a starbucks and hook up. In fact, audio books dropped 29% in 2008 and print books were down 31%. eBooks were up 171%.
I do not see eBook Readers going away. I see them mushrooming in sales though. You cannot make judgements without understanding the composition of the early adopters... and they are almost ALL older and still having a blast just enjoying life and counting on books as the great escape.
By the way, all statistics courtesy of Amazon and the IDPF.