|
The short version imo is the measures (Geo-restrictions and DRM) and pricing which publishers demand are holding back mainstream adoption of reading devices.
They have a chance to 're-popularize' reading with the young mainstream and gain millions of new consumers, but instead, in their fervor to stick with the old ways they are making the transition to electronic slow and painful for consumers.
the number of people reading has been in steady decline in recent years, left for science fiction geeks, nerds, oldies, middle ages women and intellectuals to do while most young people were satisfied with facebook, blogs and itunes. Now with these new exciting devices (nook, kindle, iPad + more) there is a real chance to vastly increase reader numbers but first the more knowledgeable hardware/software makers and e-book sellers (Apple, Google, B&N, Sony, Amazon) have to do battle with the publishing industry.
New devices like the iPad let the primary usage of the device be video/internet/games and the user can easily expand into e-books and start reading again, many potentially new and returning customers for publishers. That's not even considering the new possibilities for new media including interactive kids books, interactive encyclopedias, magazines and so on. A massive opportunity and publishers are still busy squandering it by restricting e-book uptake with DRM/Poor Pricing/Geo-restrictions.
|