Thread: End of the line for Sony Readers?
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Old 06-08-2011, 03:30 AM   #64
EatingPie
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Posts: 888
Karma: 133343
Join Date: Mar 2007
Device: Sony PRS-500 (RIP); PRS-600 (Good Riddance); PRS-505; PRS-650; PRS-350
Quote:
Originally Posted by Leyor View Post
I think there's alot of apologism here. I know there's some kind of investment in a brand, and we don't really want to be the "loosers", but there's alot of signs and unless Sony is in the middle of the most ingenous market strategy, where neglect is some secret strategy, we can all see where this is going.
Citing "apologism" and "emotional investment" is a sort of ad hominen, or appeal to pity, fallacy. And your argument above makes no factually supported statements (there are "a lot of signs," but not one accurately cited).

So you can bet people like myself are replying. It's not about being afraid of "losing," but about fixing factually incorrect statements, and addressing improper cause-and-effect speculation.

For example, the thread's opening cited Sony's big loss, and immediately went on to imply (incorrectly) the Reader played a role in said loss, and then speculate that competition is destroying the Reader. There was no factual information offered whatsoever to establish cause and effect. And, indeed, facts go against some of the claims outright.

Quote:
Giving up the retail channels, discontinuing accessories and not releasing updates to their products does have the hallmarks of the end of a product line.

Sony had an incredibly lead on quality and technology, a lead that's being rapidly diminished by far cheaper readers.

The good news is, we all have a really good product thats up to date. Bad news is, it SEEMS to be going downhill from here.
Great example of basing a conclusion on incorrect information.

The PRS-650 was in shortage very quickly upon release. In December 2010, Sony sold out and said it would not be available until March. (I did not follow up if/when the shortage ended.) This thread speculates shortages are due to the late-May released Kobo and Nook, even though that's well after any shortages began. Even the comment I replied to said Sony could not keep them in stock online, failing to note that that the PRS-650 Red is in stock now.

The PRS-350 stock remains abundant, available at every online seller I checked: Sony, Target, Buy.com, Sears, Best Buy, Amazon Marketplace, etc. Heck Best Buy even has the PRS-350 for $119 online.

From my list above, which retail channels were given up? Target's not selling them in-store, but they still sell them. And Best Buy actually expanded their Reader sections.

All accessories, except one cover, are in stock on Sony's site. So which of these were discontinued? The update question was already answered (and that even ignores the PRS-500 hardware update last November).

So the reader "seems to be going down hill," but you base that conclusion on information that is entirely factually incorrect! As I said, a reply like this is not "apologism," it's correcting misinformation, and making sure people understand that predictions of the Sony Reader's demise are spawned from falsehoods.

-Pie
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