$99 e-Reader article

Spartacus2112 · 08-13-2010, 01:33 PM

Article at msn.com discusses the future on the $99 e-Reader.
http://www.slate.com/id/2263787/?GT1=38001

EricDP · 08-13-2010, 04:25 PM

I'm not sure I agree with the statement in the article that B&N started the price war. It wasn't until I saw the Kobo at $149 that I started getting interested in looking at these devices, and it was quite a bit after that that B&N dropped their price. I think Kobo is responsible for this war.

Unfortunately for Kobo, their device now looks pricey for what you get, compared to Nook Wifi at $149 and Kindle Wifi at $139. I think Kobo will have to go below $119 to stay competitive, given their simpler device.

foreverjuly · 08-13-2010, 05:36 PM

Interesting article. I was glad to read the breakdown on what the cost of production was. $99 will certainly be a loss that will hopefully be made up through increased book sales. It makes me wonder though, what is going to be the factor that creates the floor? Would all these companies settle on $99 or eventually go even lower? Other than just plain production and marketing costs, there might not be anything holding them back other than the perception that an e-reader too cheap must be shoddy. Certainly someone will go for that crown as well.

Grierson Huffman · 08-13-2010, 06:53 PM

It certainly seems that the $99 reader cannot be far away. Does anyone know about cost reductions in the manufacturing of the e-ink displays? iSuppli's Kindle 2 teardown attributed 41.5 percent ($60 in April '09) of the materials cost to the display module.

eric11210 · 08-13-2010, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foreverjuly

Interesting article. I was glad to read the breakdown on what the cost of production was. $99 will certainly be a loss that will hopefully be made up through increased book sales. It makes me wonder though, what is going to be the factor that creates the floor? Would all these companies settle on $99 or eventually go even lower? Other than just plain production and marketing costs, there might not be anything holding them back other than the perception that an e-reader too cheap must be shoddy. Certainly someone will go for that crown as well.

My guess would be that the $80-$150 range will be the floor for brand name ereaders. Similarly to the way brand name MP3 players don't go much below that and are considered commodities. You will see the cheap, Chinese junk ereaders for less, possibly for as little as $30-$50, maybe in a year or two, but I doubt the name brands will go that low. Just my 2 cents of course. . .

J. Strnad · 08-14-2010, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EricDP

I'm not sure I agree with the statement in the article that B&N started the price war. It wasn't until I saw the Kobo at $149 that I started getting interested in looking at these devices, and it was quite a bit after that that B&N dropped their price. I think Kobo is responsible for this war.

Unfortunately for Kobo, their device now looks pricey for what you get, compared to Nook Wifi at $149 and Kindle Wifi at $139. I think Kobo will have to go below $119 to stay competitive, given their simpler device.

I agree completely. But Kobo isn't on the media's radar, so it seems to them as if B&N just lowered the price of the Nook arbitrarily.

Kris777 · 08-15-2010, 12:40 AM

I think Amazon will start offering Kindle for free someday. They will charge your credit card for $200 (maybe more or less) and you can spend this amount for future ebook orders and get Kindle for free. It will work the same way as Free Blackberry with 2 years phone provider contract.

Crowl · 08-15-2010, 02:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EricDP

I'm not sure I agree with the statement in the article that B&N started the price war. It wasn't until I saw the Kobo at $149 that I started getting interested in looking at these devices, and it was quite a bit after that that B&N dropped their price. I think Kobo is responsible for this war.

Given their insignificance in the market, everyone else could have easily ignored Kobo's choice of price though, it was the reaction that caused things.

Crowl · 08-15-2010, 03:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kris777

I think Amazon will start offering Kindle for free someday. They will charge your credit card for $200 (maybe more or less) and you can spend this amount for future ebook orders and get Kindle for free. It will work the same way as Free Blackberry with 2 years phone provider contract.

You can definitely see that sort of thing happening or other variations such as buy x amount of books and get a free reader eventually, perhaps people would buy a complete series by a particular author and they would get a free ereader with it.

I do think the $99 price (for e-ink or similar) could be psychologically significant enough to consumers that it will be the limit to the price cuts for the immediate future as the likes of Amazon and B&N won't want to rush into giving away the hardware until they have to do so though.

SensualPoet · 08-15-2010, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kris777

I think Amazon will start offering Kindle for free someday. They will charge your credit card for $200 (maybe more or less) and you can spend this amount for future ebook orders and get Kindle for free. It will work the same way as Free Blackberry with 2 years phone provider contract.

I cannot imagine Amazon doing that. That would be shifting from a single purchase transaction business to a subscription-credit/rebate-monthly statement sort of business. Plus, there is no incentive for Amazon to take the risk or build that cost into its business.

I do see that sort of tactic being used by other vendors, and especially for niche players it makes a lot of sense. But more in the line of an e-book/e-reader bundle: $119 for the stand-alone device or $149 for the bundle which comes with an e-book store credit of $50.

onewayherway · 08-15-2010, 12:58 PM

When Kobo had a weekend price of $128 and free premium shipping I bought it as a gift for my husbands birthday. I already own a Sony 505 and paid $250 for it. I was willing to pay for more for it's features but the lower price for the Kobo made it a an option for a second e-reader in the family. Sort of like the net books are a great second computer when I already have a desktop. Price points are an issue for many people. There is no way I am ever buying an apple product because of the ridiculous prices. (my ipod I got free with points) I am not going to buy something just because it is cool perhaps many feel this way judging by Apples market share.

SensualPoet · 08-15-2010, 01:04 PM

That $128 price point continues at Wal-mart in Canada, btw, at least according to its website.

mikij · 08-15-2010, 01:09 PM

As EricDP stated, I also became interested in these devices when Kobo hit the market with 149$ price tag.
However, I don't believe in a possibility to see one day sub-99$ e-readers. I would like to, but I don't believe

What I believe is something that happened with PCs: For the same money (let's say 150 bucks), you'll have more bang every time a new reader hits the market.
There will be a kind of standing price, a minimum below no manufacturer will go, but will offer new bells and whistles. Today, you still have PCs at 3000$ or more (gaming), as they existed 15 years ago when I bought a Pentium 1 for the same price. And today you can buy a double core laptop for 500-600$/4G RAM, 500G HD, the same price you paid for P4 laptop /1G RAM, 150 G HD several years ago. If there is something below this price, it is not a laptop, it is kind of sub-laptops based on Atom processor with a tiny screen you can barely use. Clearly, it is another category.
So, IMO, ereader manufacturers will do the same: in a near future, you'll have 3G, color e-ink and I-don't-know-what-else for the same price you pay for wi-fi, greyscale reader today. And I have no idea what will follow (pliable devices, double screen, whatever) for the same price, but years later.

GA Russell · 08-15-2010, 01:57 PM

mikij, I'm going to disagree with you for this reason: With computers, the users' demands keep changing. We want computers that will do more, and faster.

But with eBook readers, I think that many people (maybe not a majority) are and will be content with a device that merely reads novels. No color necessary. No web-surfing. No wireless.

As a result, I expect companies will continue to provide simple readers without bells and whistles, and their price will continue to decline as technology improves.

Ben Thornton · 08-15-2010, 04:25 PM

my 2c:
I don't think that there will be time for the ereader to offer more and more at the same price point, because it will be subsumed into a more general device category. At the moment, enough people feel that eInk provides a significantly better reading experience than the screens on the more general devices (netbooks etc.) to make it worthwhile producing a dedicated reader. Once screen technology improves to the point where it is cost effective for general-purpose tablets to have sunlight-readable colour screens, the dedicated reader will be no more. I'd give it 5 years.

08-13-2010, 01:33 PM	#1
Spartacus2112 Evangelist Posts: 468 Karma: 1147 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Lawn Giland Device: Kindle 3 Wifi	$99 e-Reader article Article at msn.com discusses the future on the $99 e-Reader. http://www.slate.com/id/2263787/?GT1=38001

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08-13-2010, 04:25 PM	#2
EricDP Groupie Posts: 165 Karma: 339490 Join Date: May 2010 Device: nook, BlackBerry	I'm not sure I agree with the statement in the article that B&N started the price war. It wasn't until I saw the Kobo at $149 that I started getting interested in looking at these devices, and it was quite a bit after that that B&N dropped their price. I think Kobo is responsible for this war. Unfortunately for Kobo, their device now looks pricey for what you get, compared to Nook Wifi at $149 and Kindle Wifi at $139. I think Kobo will have to go below $119 to stay competitive, given their simpler device.

08-13-2010, 05:36 PM	#3
foreverjuly Crank Up The Awesome! Posts: 315 Karma: 708054 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Japan Device: Kindle, Nook, iPhone	Interesting article. I was glad to read the breakdown on what the cost of production was. $99 will certainly be a loss that will hopefully be made up through increased book sales. It makes me wonder though, what is going to be the factor that creates the floor? Would all these companies settle on $99 or eventually go even lower? Other than just plain production and marketing costs, there might not be anything holding them back other than the perception that an e-reader too cheap must be shoddy. Certainly someone will go for that crown as well.

08-13-2010, 06:53 PM	#4
Grierson Huffman Member Posts: 12 Karma: 15000 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: USA Device: Too many!	It certainly seems that the $99 reader cannot be far away. Does anyone know about cost reductions in the manufacturing of the e-ink displays? iSuppli's Kindle 2 teardown attributed 41.5 percent ($60 in April '09) of the materials cost to the display module.

08-15-2010, 12:40 AM	#7
Kris777 Banned Posts: 1,767 Karma: 2520493 Join Date: Oct 2008 Device: Nexus 7, jetBook-Lite, jetBook mini, Toshiba Thrive, JETBOOK COLOR	I think Amazon will start offering Kindle for free someday. They will charge your credit card for $200 (maybe more or less) and you can spend this amount for future ebook orders and get Kindle for free. It will work the same way as Free Blackberry with 2 years phone provider contract.

08-15-2010, 12:58 PM	#11
onewayherway Enthusiast Posts: 46 Karma: 38 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Sony reader 505	When Kobo had a weekend price of $128 and free premium shipping I bought it as a gift for my husbands birthday. I already own a Sony 505 and paid $250 for it. I was willing to pay for more for it's features but the lower price for the Kobo made it a an option for a second e-reader in the family. Sort of like the net books are a great second computer when I already have a desktop. Price points are an issue for many people. There is no way I am ever buying an apple product because of the ridiculous prices. (my ipod I got free with points) I am not going to buy something just because it is cool perhaps many feel this way judging by Apples market share.

08-15-2010, 01:04 PM	#12
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	That $128 price point continues at Wal-mart in Canada, btw, at least according to its website.

08-15-2010, 01:09 PM	#13
mikij Connoisseur Posts: 98 Karma: 161 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Quebec, Canada Device: PRS-600	As EricDP stated, I also became interested in these devices when Kobo hit the market with 149$ price tag. However, I don't believe in a possibility to see one day sub-99$ e-readers. I would like to, but I don't believe What I believe is something that happened with PCs: For the same money (let's say 150 bucks), you'll have more bang every time a new reader hits the market. There will be a kind of standing price, a minimum below no manufacturer will go, but will offer new bells and whistles. Today, you still have PCs at 3000$ or more (gaming), as they existed 15 years ago when I bought a Pentium 1 for the same price. And today you can buy a double core laptop for 500-600$/4G RAM, 500G HD, the same price you paid for P4 laptop /1G RAM, 150 G HD several years ago. If there is something below this price, it is not a laptop, it is kind of sub-laptops based on Atom processor with a tiny screen you can barely use. Clearly, it is another category. So, IMO, ereader manufacturers will do the same: in a near future, you'll have 3G, color e-ink and I-don't-know-what-else for the same price you pay for wi-fi, greyscale reader today. And I have no idea what will follow (pliable devices, double screen, whatever) for the same price, but years later.

08-15-2010, 01:57 PM	#14
GA Russell Pre-season starts May 20 Posts: 7,590 Karma: 31484197 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Device: Paperwhite, Kindles 10 & 4 and jetBook Lite	mikij, I'm going to disagree with you for this reason: With computers, the users' demands keep changing. We want computers that will do more, and faster. But with eBook readers, I think that many people (maybe not a majority) are and will be content with a device that merely reads novels. No color necessary. No web-surfing. No wireless. As a result, I expect companies will continue to provide simple readers without bells and whistles, and their price will continue to decline as technology improves.

08-15-2010, 04:25 PM	#15
Ben Thornton Guru Posts: 900 Karma: 779635 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: UK Device: Kindle 3, iPad 2 (but not for e-books)	my 2c: I don't think that there will be time for the ereader to offer more and more at the same price point, because it will be subsumed into a more general device category. At the moment, enough people feel that eInk provides a significantly better reading experience than the screens on the more general devices (netbooks etc.) to make it worthwhile producing a dedicated reader. Once screen technology improves to the point where it is cost effective for general-purpose tablets to have sunlight-readable colour screens, the dedicated reader will be no more. I'd give it 5 years.

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