Quote:
Originally Posted by Drezin
I don't think the ereader market should be too worried about the iPad, because from what I can tell, it isn't really an ereader.
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It's going to be obvious to anyone who studies the various options that a dedicated eInk-based ereader is a superior device for reading books.
But the market is full of people who
don't spend time learning about the technology before making a purchase. I think this will have a significant impact on the ereader market simply because of the number of consumers who may have been considering a Kindle or a nook and will be beguiled into buying an iPad instead because of its multifunctionality (and the Apple shinies). At least the screen won't be flickering at them, but I suspect most will never realise that an eInk device would have freed them from arranging shade so they can read it in the garden, remembering to recharge it every day, etc.
It's certainly going to exert a downward price-pressure on eInk devices, though (tough for all those Asian companies with new readers at CES
). If manufacturers are able to respond to that then we may see eInk grabbing a number of new consumers who wouldn't dream of paying $500 anyway. But the large, expensive eInk readers (Que, Skiff etc) are going to find life a lot tougher now.