Quote:
Originally Posted by Yar-PocketBooker
What do you folks think about adding a wi-fi and/or 3G to small device like PB360?
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That's a tough one.
The signature of the PB360 is its form factor (portabiity, ergonomics, size and weight) and its focus on reading (limited bell-n-whistles; no audio, no case, no touchscreen). It is an ebook reader pure and simple.
More precisely, it is a paperback-replacement ebook reader.
In a world of (seemingly) a zillion 6" Kindle wannabes, PB360 stands out as the class of a smaller, more focused category; a pocketable reader you take with you.
So, the question you need to ask is: what does wireless (WiFi, 3G, 4G, whatever) add to the PB360 value equation?
Barring a full-function browser, wireless brings in the ability to, what? Shop wirelessly? For Kindle and Nook, devices that are essentially storefronts, it makes some sense to offer wireless. For an open, transparent, multi-vendor platform? Not so much. Not with the battery-sucking that comes with wireless. Not with the extra cost for components that might go unused 90% of the time.
Now, if a full-function browser (frames, etc) is part of the deal, then there might be some value in wireless for checking email, news sites, connecting to a personal server (a friend of mine keeps his full ebook collection on his home server and downloads books to his Kindle as needed). A full AJAX-capable browser in a PB360 package would be an interesting *communication* and cloud-computing device. But it wouldn't be an ebook reader. And it shouldn't use eink. (The PB360 could afford to thicken a bit, I suppose; so a color LCD version with a bigger battery might work. Wouldn't bet the farm on it, though. Cost. Cost. Cost.)
Priority-wise, I would suggest that future PB360 hardware evolution should look to color second and wireless third. First priority should be a PB360a that smooths out the few rough edges on the already good design (ahem; the wing buttons!). Explore/refine the *software* side. Add cheap value via apps and software options. To-do lists? Contacts lists? A recipe database app? A secure private-info repository ala eWallet? Work the software!
Above all, avoid checklist engineering; adding features for the sake of extending the spec sheet adds cost faster than it adds value and can easily undercut the gadget's value proposition. Remember the Pareto rule (80% of the cost comes from 20% of the features) and keep it simple. So far, PB360 is a shining example of this. (vis-a-vis MP3 playback).
You will *never* be able to satisfy everybody, so don't try; one of the hardest lessons to learn in business is that some customers you are better off without. Let your competitors go broke trying to satisfy them. If it is even possible...
Now, all this refers to the PB360 as a 5" reader.
(9" readers are obviously a different story.)
Bottom line, I think the PB360 will be more successful at a lower price point without wireless than with it at a (necessarily) higher price. Unless you are looking to establish a deal with either an ebook retailer or a wireless carrier for subsidized hardware... <shrug>
PB360 has a good value proposition now (expecially against the Sony and the Hanlin 5 inchers) built on solid software and ergonomics; riding the price curve downwards makes more sense to me than adding features of limited general value.
YMMV, of course.