Quote:
Originally Posted by Sweetpea
But whats-his-name, Apple's boss, said nobody read anymore. So, it will not be a device with ereading in mind. Yes, it might be possible to use it for that purpose, but it won't be a major function. It's just a tablet computer.
And it might sell more units than all the others combined, but how many of those units will be used specifically for reading?
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Steve Jobs, and I think he said no one reads books any more. Also Bill Gates is quoted as once having said "why would anyone ever need more than 640k of memory?"
So I vote we can forget about those two geniuses as being relevant to whether a device gets a Forum. I don't know if your implied rule of thumb (yes, you did not explicitly state a rule, I recognize this) -
a device's main purpose should be for reading ebooks - is a good rule for listing a device.
Which leads us to the heart of the matter (in my opinion) - if a device's main criteria for getting a Forum is that its primary function is reading ebooks, then I would wager in two years time only one or two devices would be listed here on MobileRead; and those two devices will be like Montblanc pens, beautiful to own but if you actually looked around you on the bus, or the plane, or the restaurant, or the park, or your doctor's office you would never see anyone using one.
That might not be a bad thing, only two devices being listed. The publishers and retailers (I am going to count Apple as a retailer since they run iTunes and heaven knows what is coming down the pike this year) have seriously messed up the author-to-consumer process for ebooks, so there will be plenty to discuss for formats, geographical restrictions, software and DRM for years to come.
Come 2011 I would not be surprised if a decent percentage of MobileRead visitors would list in a survey that their primary ebook device is this new Apple Tablet/Slate. All bets are off if it is not an actual Tablet/Slate - like a lot of folks I vote for just waiting since the rumors have really piled up.
It's only two weeks after all.
So I am going to vote for the guideline that was previously described: MobileRead citizens want to talk about a certain device, which has the capability to function as an ebook reader, and so that device gets listed.