MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Cheaper E-Book Readers ?

mogui · 07-10-2007, 08:54 PM

We all like to see technology become cheaper. But I am a little bummed because the scifi writers and Popular mechanics magazine promised me that "soon" robotics would make everything so cheap that we wouldn't have to work at all. I waited and I waited. Finally I just retired.

But getting back to eReaders -- ETI makes the eBw-1150 as well as the ETI-2 sold by Filament Books (see above). It is a good design with a touchscreen and stylus, and they have another model too. See this thread. Filament has a lot of good info on their website. Take a tour. See the Quick Start Guide. The User's Manual tells how to buy eBooks over the phone line. For US$200 you get the reader and 24 eBooks over a one year period. Deal time?

One really interesting feature of the eBw is that it can connect to the server via the phone line. It is not clear that this can eliminate the PC entirely, but it suggests a great way to market eBooks. Filament says you can buy eBooks over the phone line sans PC. Send the user a mailer about once a month. Ads would describe new eBooks and list current stock as well. The user merely connects to the phone line and inputs the eBook designations on the reader. The eBooks are downloaded to the reader and the credit card is charged automatically. No PC!

Theoretically this method would work all over the world -- no VAT or other taxes!

This technology would be perfect for those of us who like to read but are not computer savvy, or who do not wish to invest in a lot of equipment. Literally thousands of non-technophile customers could use this method. This would greatly expand the market.

So the cheap reader is here today. ETI sounds like a company that will deal. A startup that wanted to get into the eBook market could probably get ETI to customize their firmware for a sufficiently large order. Maybe this is what Filament has done. Wish them well!

Would a walk-in bookstore get into this business? Maybe eBook buyers wouldn't come into the store to browse. But they would become the Monkey Wards of eBooks! It is a vast market.

07-10-2007, 08:54 PM	#26
mogui eNigma Posts: 503 Karma: 1335 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: The Philippines Device: HTC G1 Android FBReader	We all like to see technology become cheaper. But I am a little bummed because the scifi writers and Popular mechanics magazine promised me that "soon" robotics would make everything so cheap that we wouldn't have to work at all. I waited and I waited. Finally I just retired. But getting back to eReaders -- ETI makes the eBw-1150 as well as the ETI-2 sold by Filament Books (see above). It is a good design with a touchscreen and stylus, and they have another model too. See this thread. Filament has a lot of good info on their website. Take a tour. See the Quick Start Guide. The User's Manual tells how to buy eBooks over the phone line. For US$200 you get the reader and 24 eBooks over a one year period. Deal time? One really interesting feature of the eBw is that it can connect to the server via the phone line. It is not clear that this can eliminate the PC entirely, but it suggests a great way to market eBooks. Filament says you can buy eBooks over the phone line sans PC. Send the user a mailer about once a month. Ads would describe new eBooks and list current stock as well. The user merely connects to the phone line and inputs the eBook designations on the reader. The eBooks are downloaded to the reader and the credit card is charged automatically. No PC! Theoretically this method would work all over the world -- no VAT or other taxes! This technology would be perfect for those of us who like to read but are not computer savvy, or who do not wish to invest in a lot of equipment. Literally thousands of non-technophile customers could use this method. This would greatly expand the market. So the cheap reader is here today. ETI sounds like a company that will deal. A startup that wanted to get into the eBook market could probably get ETI to customize their firmware for a sufficiently large order. Maybe this is what Filament has done. Wish them well! Would a walk-in bookstore get into this business? Maybe eBook buyers wouldn't come into the store to browse. But they would become the Monkey Wards of eBooks! It is a vast market. Last edited by mogui; 07-10-2007 at 09:27 PM.