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Originally Posted by eppythacher
This whole situation is odd. At the $100 price point it 1000 units were sold out in 24 hours? Is anyone here an economics major? If sony can sell the PS3 at a loss to sell games why can’t they sell the Reader at a loss? Or at least break even? The reader, I feel, can be as big as the iPod. As for the people that can’t afford the $350 all I can say is that it’s well worth the money if you like to read. It’s like we’re in the Old West, circa Little House on the Prairie. In those days apparently whole families would save up a year to buy ONE book. I’m sure you guys can skip lunch for 2 or 3 months to buy the eReader. Knowing what I know now about the Reader I would skip lunch for 3 months for it. That being said, it looks like Sony has to lower their prices. I wish everyone could own a Reader. Then we can look down on the Ipod people lol (owns a MP3 player).
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The problem is more to the acceptance of the ebook in itself. This morning I bought a (P)book for my dad's birthday. I managed to get into an argument with the book sales person just talking about the existence of ebooks. She didn't even know that they existed and instantly rebelled against their being. No matter about saying that books exist in e-format for publishing before print could slow her down in her indignation. She was stabbed to her soul. My wife interfered just at the point before it could get out of hand. A love for paper books is as strong as a religion.
In the same sequence as to move from paper book to digital book, music has had an other step; the CD. That was the first important adaptation from analog support medias to digital MP3. Once MP3 was made the more practical approach with the aid of portable devices, acceptation shifted to a more positive stance.
The addition of eink to other forms of existing ebook devices will positively catalize a transition of written word from paper to ebook. There is still ebabel to contend with but Digital Editions might just stabilize the trajectory enough to help the ebook coast towards success.