Quote:
Originally Posted by K-Thom
Convenience and pervasion. The Kindle already is a mainstream item. Even people who don't own it know about it. 3 million devices is quite an optimistic number, but 2 million plus x are more than realistic, and I don't know of any reading device in Northern America or Europe which comes/came even close in terms of sales.
Sony's only chance to really compete against Amazon (and/or Apple, in the future) is to open a worldwide operating eBook store without any regional restrictions (still would be DRM'd, though) and offer at least one device with WiFi capability.
For now I'd say, the USA are Amazon's turf. eBook devices are just one of the many branches of Sony, thus it will be very interesting to watch how long Sony will stay in this business and how often they release new devices. If sales numbers don't meet the (sometimes unrealistic) expectations, Sony is likely to shut down any project.
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I think this is the key. My reading of the article was that the Kindle growth would occur in Amazon's present customer base - pbook readers already familiar with the ease of "one click" purchases, huge selection, safe transactions, etc. Readers already buying books from Amazon, now subject daily to images of the Kindle on Amazon's home page, book page, etc. will migrate to the Kindle - it will seem familiar, safe, and (eventually?) cheaper for them. Especially for those readers that are not tech geeks, and are unaware they have any other real choices.