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Originally Posted by mike b
Three things:
a) Cell phones are ubiquitous because they address needs in our business and pleasure. Nintendo DS's have a much smaller market because they are purely for pleasure. An ereader designed purely for pleasure won't succeed unless it's very inexpensive;
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Expect flexible A4 e-readers in 2008. These will work with all PDF files and therefore will address needs for both business, education and pleasure (fiction, non-fiction and newspapers).
Quote:
Originally Posted by mike b
b) what people read is related to the demographic. Most older adults read non-fiction, much more than fiction, for pleasure. In fact, if they are working they read very little fiction at all; and
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Not true. Most adults in the US read non-fiction, that's not the case in Europe at all. In Paris for example, most people use public transport for 20-40mn at least twice a day: they read fiction.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mike b
c) based on a) and b) most current ereaders are over priced and targeting their markets inappropriately. The future therefore is not promising.
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I agree that they're over-priced for the book market, but for a first gen mobile device they're not. I expect the price for these devices to drop between 99-199$.
They're not targeting their markets very well yes, I guess it'll take some time to target their market the right way. What we need now is information about thoses devices in the newspapers, magazines, TV etc... This technology is UNLIKE any screen we're used to: we need to explain to the mass market how exactly it's better for reading than a normal screen.