Quote:
Originally Posted by Spiffy
None of the above.
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That could be called expensive in terms of development resources, but its cheap in terms of actual effect on the hardware. Keep the hardware cheap, without unnecessary feature clutter. But file maintenance is less of a feature and more of a necessity. It's not like Wifi or 3G, which are total gravy which other companies are trying to persuade consumers are absolutely necessary. They aren't.
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Spiffy reminded me of something I think should be mentioned. Book readers with Wifi or 3G and no SD slot (or any other way to load books on the device) do have a specific purpose: they are designed to force customers to buy all their books from the vendor that sold them the eBook reader. Some vendors use DRM for the same purpose.
It may be that future devices will have to support both secure Mobipocket AND Adept ePub in order to capture second-time buyers who already have a Mobipocket or Adept library. Amazon previously demanded exclusive access to any vendor's device or they refused to license secure Mobipocket for that device. However they are now supporting secure Mobipocket on the iPad even when the same pad hosts competitor's DRM encrypted books. It may indicate that Amazon is loosening their demand for exclusive access but it may also indicate that only devices with Wifi or 3G (i.e., access to buying eBooks from the Amazon store) will ever be licensed for secure Mobipocket.
My point is that I think any new device should support Adept ePub to allow customers to buy their books anywhere they like (except Amazon) while trying to negotiate with Amazon for a non-exclusive Mobipocket license--AND the manufacturer will have to plan to include Wifi to have any hope of winning an Amazon licensing agreement.