Tablets are the future of eReading

[Kitabi]

I was reading this:

http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/07/p...-inch-version/

The biggest complaint us e-readers have with LCD screens is the eye strain and the glare. So, if this Pixel Qi screen can be combined with an appropriate anti-glare coating, we would end up with an acceptable-to-the-eyes LCD screen tablet.

The second on the list of complaints tends to be the weight. With regular advances in SoCs (System on Chip), the amount of circuitry is constantly shrinking on to the same piece of silicon. A few years down the line, if someone can come up with a tablet 12 oz or lighter, this problem would be solved. This is not a far out scenario either considering the Nook Color is 16 oz and the Nook Classic is 12 oz. Those weight limits seem to be an acceptable trade off to some users if the price and features are right. An even lighter weight, of course, is just icing on the cake.

The third thing on the list is battery life. While LCD screens do not provide a great battery life, the like or dislike of charging frequently is a subjective matter. Many people are already in the habit of charging their portables daily and so it is not a big deal for them. Those who are headed to the Himalayan wilderness with their eReaders - well no gizmo ever is for everyone.

There are a number of other mostly subjective objections to tablets as readers like the distraction factor of other apps - I am leaving them out in this post in favor of physical limitations.

Now for the advantages.

The big one for me would be the death of format wars. Since each seller can develop their own app for tablets, one can have the best of both AZW and EPUB worlds - an argument that has caused so much heartburn here on MR. There are, of course, problems with this approach - us readers would much prefer a unified library of our books. But hey, I would take this as a first step.

The other thing I like about tablets is that they are multi-function devices. Many people who would like to carry tablets would not care to carry another device just for reading. This solves the problem. Also, right now, a large number of people are on their first eReaders. IMHO a lot of these people would eventually feel the pinch of buying a reader every so often a drain on their book budget. Buying a multi-function device is a great way of offloading the reader purchase into the gadget budget.

Third, as demonstrated by Nook Color facebook integration, tablets allow for better integration with other apps. For those enthusiastic about it, there is the video and text integration creating a new kind of "book". While I am not into this personally, I can see great uses of it in textbooks and in integrating animation into children's books.

Notice I do not mention color as an advantage since color e-ink has already been announced and any faded or weird color issues should eventually get resolved.

In summary, I would say that IMHO eReaders are going to become a niche market if tablet makers use technology and marketing to their advantage. Tablets are the future of eReading.

[Graham]

I'm not so sure. If we accept that a multifunction device will always need more power, more ports, better speakers, and probably a larger screen size than a dedicated eReader, then regardless of improvements in screen quality there may always be room in the market for a smaller, lighter, cheaper device optimised for eReading.

I can foresee a time in not too many years when dedicated readers are under $50 and are as mainstream as paper books.

Graham

[jbcohen]

With all due respect to endgaget they are not an excepted IT news source as is Cnet, PC World, PC Magazine and Byte. The IT sources I have named are talking about tablets replacing cell phones not ereaders.

[EowynCarter]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

With all due respect to endgaget they are not an excepted IT news source as is Cnet, PC World, PC Magazine and Byte. The IT sources I have named are talking about tablets replacing cell phones not ereaders.

Who would want a 5" phone ??

I think that, just like we still find cameras, you'll still find dedicated device for e-reading, cheaper than the do-it-all devices.
As long as there are people wanting only to read, and not willing to pay the extra power required by the rest..

[Kali Yuga]

People have been talking up Pixel Qi for what, 2 years now?

They've been stuck in the "Any Minute Now, Seriously, We'll Ship Product" for about a year now.

I'll wait until it has shipped as an actual screen in an actual product that you can actually buy in an actual store before considering it a solution to anything.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by Kali Yuga

People have been talking up Pixel Qi for what, 2 years now?

They've been stuck in the "Any Minute Now, Seriously, We'll Ship Product" for about a year now.

I'll wait until it has shipped as an actual screen in an actual product that you can actually buy in an actual store before considering it a solution to anything.

Well, production units are in the hands of bloggers at CES this week, so I think we should give them some credence now.

Graham

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Graham

Well, production units are in the hands of bloggers at CES this week, so I think we should give them some credence now.

Graham

Sorry, the only credence they'll get is if product is available to buy and in the hands of users.

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by EowynCarter

Who would want a 5" phone ??

I think that, just like we still find cameras, you'll still find dedicated device for e-reading, cheaper than the do-it-all devices.
As long as there are people wanting only to read, and not willing to pay the extra power required by the rest..

People have been buying the Dell Streak, so there clearly are people who are willing to pay for a 5-inch phone.

You might also check for an NYT article that ran a couple of months (?) ago, covering how many people are using their smart phone cameras instead of dedicated devices.

Multiple-use devices aren't for everyone, but neither are dedicated devices.

I'll take a multi-use device as long as I find enough of the features meet my needs. That will vary from device to device. I don't see the point in dismissing whole categories of devices just because they happen to be multi-use; nor would I buy anything just because it's multi-use.

Thing is, we all have preferences. It seems silly, though, to assume that your or my preferences must apply to others.

[Kitabi]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

With all due respect to endgaget they are not an excepted IT news source as is Cnet, PC World, PC Magazine and Byte. The IT sources I have named are talking about tablets replacing cell phones not ereaders.

Not sure if you read through my post and the link properly. The title is mine not engadget's and I gave my rationale for the same in the first post. The link to engadget was merely a jump off point and a reference to commercial availability of Pixel Qi screens.

So what is the relevance of other sites being more reliable than engadget?

[Kitabi]

Originally Posted by Kali Yuga

People have been talking up Pixel Qi for what, 2 years now?

They've been stuck in the "Any Minute Now, Seriously, We'll Ship Product" for about a year now.

I'll wait until it has shipped as an actual screen in an actual product that you can actually buy in an actual store before considering it a solution to anything.

Well, my optimism is based on the fact that they finally tied up with manufacturers in China sometime back so that's a step ahead of vaporware. Also, per the engadget blurb I posted Pixel Qi is being used in the Notion Ink Adam - so definitely a step forward.

So, while I agree with you in that it is still early, I am not as pessimistic about this as I was before.

[jehane]

Originally Posted by Maggie Leung

Thing is, we all have preferences. It seems silly, though, to assume that your or my preferences must apply to others.

Precisely. As a heavy reader, I imagine that I will always like to have a device that doesn't have glare and is easy on the eyes, is very portable (fits in my handbag), very quick to turn on/off, and with a long lasting battery. When travelling I am prepared to carry, *in addition* to this device, a computer to do all my computing. I'm looking for a tablet, but until there is one at the right price with the right features, I'll stick with my 13" notebook. IFF a tablet ever arrives that meets the criteria for both, then yes, I would consider it, but I think that's unlikely as my optimal screen size for computing work is a lot bigger than my optimal size for reading.

OTOH, I'm quite happy to use my mobile phone as an mp3 player while audiophiles would be horrified. I can perfectly understand that people that only read a few books are quite happy to do so on a multi-use device, while not wanting to do so myself.

[Kitabi]

Originally Posted by Maggie Leung

People have been buying the Dell Streak, so there clearly are people who are willing to pay for a 5-inch phone.

You might also check for an NYT article that ran a couple of months (?) ago, covering how many people are using their smart phone cameras instead of dedicated devices.

Multiple-use devices aren't for everyone, but neither are dedicated devices.

I'll take a multi-use device as long as I find enough of the features meet my needs. That will vary from device to device. I don't see the point in dismissing whole categories of devices just because they happen to be multi-use; nor would I buy anything just because it's multi-use.

Thing is, we all have preferences. It seems silly, though, to assume that your or my preferences must apply to others.

Unfortunately, the ongoing trends are in support of multi-purpose devices. Take the example of the iPod and iPhone. iPod sales have plateaued or are dropping (depending on which iPod we are talking of) while iPhone sales continue to rise. People did not want to carry an mp3 player AND the phone. Increasingly, people do not want to carry a portable game console AND a phone. And IMHO people do not/would not want to carry an eReader AND a tablet.

Till now, they have been forced to do this because the iPad was the only tablet selling in volume till some time back and it is unwieldy for many and because most tablets have the 3 issues I mentioned in the first post. Provided, tablet makers can solve those issues, eReader sales would fall in favor of tablets.

[jehane]

Originally Posted by Kitabi

Unfortunately, the ongoing trends are in support of multi-purpose devices. Take the example of the iPod and iPhone. iPod sales have plateaued or are dropping (depending on which iPod we are talking of) while iPhone sales continue to rise. People did not want to carry an mp3 player AND the phone. Increasingly, people do not want to carry a portable game console AND a phone. And IMHO people do not/would not want to carry an eReader AND a tablet.

I confess to an aversion to iAnything, but perhaps the plateau/decline in iPod sales is simply because they haven't done anything new with it for a while and everyone who wants one already has one?

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by jehane

Precisely. As a heavy reader, I imagine that I will always like to have a device that doesn't have glare and is easy on the eyes, is very portable (fits in my handbag), very quick to turn on/off, and with a long lasting battery. When travelling I am prepared to carry, *in addition* to this device, a computer to do all my computing. I'm looking for a tablet, but until there is one at the right price with the right features, I'll stick with my 13" notebook. IFF a tablet ever arrives that meets the criteria for both, then yes, I would consider it, but I think that's unlikely as my optimal screen size for computing work is a lot bigger than my optimal size for reading.

OTOH, I'm quite happy to use my mobile phone as an mp3 player while audiophiles would be horrified. I can perfectly understand that people that only read a few books are quite happy to do so on a multi-use device, while not wanting to do so myself.

I read a lot -- for a living, as well as leisure. My lifestyle is mobile. For me, iPad works well for now -- primarily as an e-reader, Web browser and e-mail device. I'll switch when something that serves me significantly better emerges.

I hope dedicated e-readers stick around, because many people clearly like 'em. I think their future depends on whether hardware makers keep making enough money, either through direct profits or book sales (and maybe ad sales down the road). Even if more and more people turn to multi-use devices for reading, dedicated devices can keep going, as long as profits meet hardware makers' demands. That will depend on how much dedicated-device fans are willing to spend on hardware, as well as books.

[Kitabi]

Originally Posted by jehane

I confess to an aversion to iAnything, but perhaps the plateau/decline in iPod sales is simply because they haven't done anything new with it for a while and everyone who wants one already has one?

Well, I chose the iPod/iPhone example so we could have a more Apples to Apples comparison (pun intended). BTW, Apple has done new things with the iPod most of which you can see in the form of iPod Touch. The Touch IIRC is the only growing category of iPods and it is not hard to see why - it is essentially the iPhone minus the phone. Finally, I believe the entire PMP market is experiencing lower sales growth not just Apple.

As for gaming, somebody from Nintendo recently grumbled about iPhone killing the portable gaming market and Sony is building a PSP phone.

I am sure different people would continue to prefer different types of devices but multi-purpose devices would own the lion's share of the market provided they can provide a good enough experience to the varied tastes of their users. The users for whom only the best would do would of course stick by single function devices but this category tends to be a small chunk of the market.