Quote:
Originally Posted by kamm
How can you claim it works when you cannot even copy/paste??? You can't send a picture to anyone (no MMS), if your battery dies you can't just get a new one' I cannot use wireless headsets for music, you are forced to use an iditoic software to move files off and on to it (iTunes)...
...if you look at these you will notice that none of these are "tech" issues, I deliberately left out my personal grievances (lack of multitasking, lack of open platform, Apple's heavy-handed censorship, AT&T's abusive pricing for a very crappy data service etc.)
Anyway, my point is that I think it's more than naive to believe Apple will bring a "game changer" to the market - ebook readers must be cheap, first and foremost, that's the only thing that could shake up this market (adoption en masse, that is.)
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1. They are tech issues--copy and paste and the picture messaging aside (which I think is being added in the next update)--and you could still send them via e-mail as a work around. But those were stupid mistakes they made for sure.
But for the other things, I, and most don't have or care about wireless headphones. I, and most, think iTunes works great. I use it for my mp3s and I've never even owned an iPod. Non replaceable batteries kind of suck, but generally they last more than long enough for the average user to never care. By the time it's out of charges they'll have moved on to something else. Those are just not issues the average user gives a crap about.
You're still not thinking from the viewpoint of the mainstream user who knows nothing about tech and buys an iPod or iPhone and just uses the basic features, with basic headphones etc. That's where the money is, companies don't care about the techies with the grievances you have. They'd probably prefer that such folk not buy their devices--rather than buy them and jailbreak them etc. They make money off selling the average joe devices that are simple and easy to use.
2. Again, Apples device wouldn't be a dedicated reader, and yes the first couple generations would be too pricey to go mainstream most likely. It would be a multimedia tablet that people buy for that reason, and some people buy books on. It won't kill the kindle, but such devices are the key to expanding the ebook market--and not just from Apple, but whatever tablets competitors come up with.
Not enough people read enough to buy a dedicated reader for such devices to ever go mainstream like the eye pod. But ebooks can really take off if people start buying more devices (aside from PCs and laptops/netbooks) which can read them, as then even casual readers can start buying some ebooks.
Again, one just has to take of the techie glasses and think about what kind of devices will sell in the mainstream. An Apple tablet and similar devices from competitors) certainly could after kinks are worked out and prices come down, as many people (especially younger folk) would love a tablet device that they can watch movies on, listen to music, surf the net, use as a planner, take notes, read textbooks and journal articles and annotate them, read books etc. etc. We're probably 5 years or so away from having a tablet that does all that well and with a decent price tag, but when we do they'll sell like hotcakes.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kamm
I disagree, I think they have a good shot at the high-end nebtook/tablet market but no shot at the ebook readers whatsoever.
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Exactly. And that's wise as dedicated ebook readers are a dead end. They only appeal to avid readers, and that's an increasingly small niche in today's society--especially in younger generations. Just look at how old the Kindle owner age polls skew etc.
There aren't that many people who read enough to justify buying a dedicated eReader, compared to people who need something they can surf the net, watch videos, listen to music etc. So tack ereading function on to a tablet that does all that, and you can sell ebooks to people who would never buy a dedicated reader.
eReaders will stick around to sell to that niche, but Apple isn't a company that worries about selling niche items, they sell stuff that will appeal to the most people possible.