Quote:
Originally Posted by markm
An e-book reader is an example of technology that makes no sense, at least not to a consumer. An e-book reader costs $400 + maybe $40/year in electricity to keep it charged. At $9.99 each, books are the same price or more expensive in digital format than paperback. Much more expensive if you factor in discount pricing (e.g., Costco, Sams Club, B&N discount, etc...), used book resale, and borrowing from the library. Once purchased, a digital book cannot be resold. I cannot stack my digital books on shelves in my library. I cannot sell, loan or donate my digital book when I'm done reading it. If my e-book reader dies, something it will surely do every 3- to 5-years, I may not be able to re-read my digital books on my new device.
There are some specialized applications where an e-book reader might make sense, but those applications can just as easily be satisfied by a Tablet-PC, Netbook or Notebook-PC without requiring the user to carry a second electronic device. For general situations, ink on paper yields the best value and availability.
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Price is not everybody's primary concern all the time. I could walk everywhere and that would be free except the price of shoe leather, but I don't. I could take transit and bike everywhere. It would be a little more expensive and faster than walking, and while I do these things sometimes, I still want a car. I get places faster. I don't get wet when it rains, etc. I could get the cheapest used car possible but I didn't. I got something a little larger with a few luxuries because I wanted it. It's pleasant and comfortable.
I could get all my paper books from the library and never spend a dime aside from the small fee I paid to get my library card. I don't. I get some that way but it's worth some money to me to get the books I want when I want them. I could buy all used or new paper books but it's worth something to me to have hundreds of books with me and the ability to get more most of the time even when I'm not at home or near a book shop. It's worth something to me to have my books conveniently searchable and to be able to click on a word and get a definition. I could do this with a tablet PC but it's also worth something to me to have something light and comfortable to read that will go for days on a charge rather than hours. Are the current readers the perfect solution for this? In my opinion, no, but the level of benefit they provide is obviously worth the price to the hundreds of thousands of people that have them. They're not worth it to you. That's fine. I have no need to convince you otherwise but it's simply not logical to argue that merely because something isn't the most economically sound option that it makes no sense at all.