Quote:
Originally Posted by ahi
In a few years, when the devices are under $100, have better contrast, offer reasonably full colour, and work with one or more standardized formats that do not make typographically professional eBooks more complex than practically unformatted novels downright impossible... perhaps then, or, more likely, a few years after then, book publishers will find themselves in an adapt or die situation. But that's definitely not less than 5 years away, and very likely more than 10 years away.
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I think within 5 years the display, power saving and battery technology will be improved enough that stand alone reading devices will be either a thing of the past or a niche item. When people can read comfortably on their phone, tablet, netbook, UMPC or whatever, and become used to the convenience of getting content whenever they want, synching bookmarks, notes, etc. between devices, they will be far less inclined to buy print. People are already turning away from newspapers and magazines to websites. That's a huge market and a natural for electronic distribution. People love their book collections. Very few people regard their old newspapers and mags as a "collection". Within a week, they're trash for the recycling. Plus we're now seeing a move towards digital textbooks. That's going to get a whole generation of students even more used to reading on devices. So I totally agree with you about the obstacles. I just believe we'll overcome them faster than you think.