US-based ebook reader owners want more features

grimo1re · 09-08-2009, 09:59 PM

US-based ebook reader owners want more features, a survey among 1,500 respondents by research firm In-Stat has found. Longer battery life and internet connectivity are the top two desired features among respondents who don’t currently own an e-book but plan to buy one in the next year. In-Stat further found that Amazon is the leading brand of ebook reader owned in the US. Some 45.5 percent of ebook reader owners spends between USD 9 and 20 per month on content, and 11 percent of total survey respondents said they planned to purchase an ebook reader over the next 12 months.

lilac_jive · 09-08-2009, 10:02 PM

Makes me think a lot of the responders who don't have one don't know much about them, at least in terms of battery life. Interesting number for the amount spent per month. That's a lot of reocurring revenue.

LDBoblo · 09-08-2009, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lilac_jive

Makes me think a lot of the responders who don't have one don't know much about them, at least in terms of battery life. Interesting number for the amount spent per month. That's a lot of reocurring revenue.

Could be if some of the respondents were thinking about netbooks or other backlit display setups for reading, where battery life could use some improvement. I would toss my prs-505 in a heartbeat if my old 7" eee pc had 3-4x its current battery life.

But I guess a feature-oriented mindset is what one should expect from the mass market. I hope my next reader has a built-in air conditioner and perhaps an alarm clock.

lilac_jive · 09-08-2009, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

Could be if some of the respondents were thinking about netbooks or other backlit display setups for reading, where battery life could use some improvement. I would toss my prs-505 in a heartbeat if my old 7" eee pc had 3-4x its current battery life.

But I guess a feature-oriented mindset is what one should expect from the mass market. I hope my next reader has a built-in air conditioner and perhaps an alarm clock.

I would take my 505 over my netbook for reading any day, same goes for my iPhone. The backlight kills my eyes.

I agree though, on your second comment. I think ebook makers should just focus on getting that core market of big readers and make their moolah from selling ebooks. I really don't want my Reader to do a million things, I have the above gadgets for that. Heh, I don't even want internet access on it.

GA Russell · 09-08-2009, 10:42 PM

I guess I'm surprised.

I want fewer features and a lower price.

LDBoblo · 09-08-2009, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GA Russell

I guess I'm surprised.

I want fewer features and a lower price.

I don't know if I care much about features...it's when features are used to distract from quality that I get irritated, and ebook readers still are such poor quality that it's almost laughable that we early adopters have taken to them so well.

Really for the quality of the technology we're getting, we should really be paying $20-30 for the basic ones. Hardly need to strip them down more, they're already as rubbish as we can get this side of a 1980s Casio solar nonscientific calculator. Worse in some ways.

I'm happy to pay a hundred or two or even three if the technology warrants it somehow. However, I somewhat fear that things like the poor screen quality will remain stagnant while manufacturers decide to add 2fps digicams to the bezel.

grimo1re · 09-08-2009, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GA Russell

I guess I'm surprised.

I want fewer features and a lower price.

Well, I'm not sure I want *fewer* features but I don't want feature creep. Give me one-trick pony that does its trick really well any day!

acidzebra · 09-09-2009, 04:05 AM

What is this "ebook reader" you speak of? Do you mean liseuse?

grimo1re · 09-09-2009, 04:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by acidzebra

What is this "ebook reader" you speak of? Do you mean liseuse?

This actually made me LOL.

gwynevans · 09-09-2009, 04:41 AM

No, not a desk...

sassanik · 09-09-2009, 04:44 AM

I don't particularly need a ereader with a lot of features.

It seems to me its like the people who buy high end computers and only surf the web and don't actually need or use all the features they got. But they are thinking that they got something great. My aunt was all excited when she got her computer because it had all this "free sofware" that was worth an extra $500 and she got it for free! She surfs the web and downloads pictures from her digital camera. Does she use any of that extra software she got? Nope.

Amy

Dylrob · 09-09-2009, 06:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

Could be if some of the respondents were thinking about netbooks or other backlit display setups for reading, where battery life could use some improvement. I would toss my prs-505 in a heartbeat if my old 7" eee pc had 3-4x its current battery life.

Well, while they certainly won't provide the same epic (direct and indirect) power savings as eInk, both 3Qi screens and Pine Trail (the next gen atom+chipset) promise to bring improvements in the area of battery life. Of course the former more so sans backlight.

Though sadly netbooks under 10" are mostly extinct.

poohbear_nc · 09-09-2009, 08:31 AM

Amazon addressed (successfully IMHO) the market of readers who just wanted a reader - that was only a reader. Free access to Wikipedia was an incentive for the many readers who constantly look up references, allusions, etc. But the key point of the Kindle was that you didn't have to know anything about computers, or even own one, to successfully use a Kindle. Especially since you now had one-click buying of books via Whispernet. Obviously, for many people, these features alone were worth enough to them to offset the pricing for a reader that was just a reader. All you need to read is the Kindle - no PC required. Also, IMHO from reading discussion boards, blogs, etc. - these Kindle adopters are older folk - who just want to read - a lot, not learn to use a PC - even to just drag books over via USB.

There's another population who cry "That much JUST for a reader!" Who want internet access, synching with PCs/phones/PDAs, etc, email, messaging, etc - all on one gadget - with ebooks. "More features before I pay that much!"
And probably, to increase the market of ebook adopters, more features will be added, leading to a situation now seen in PCs (as noted in earlier posts) - people buying new gadgets with ALL the bells and whistles and using only the reader function.

So I'm a little cautious in looking at the results of these surveys - it really depends on the pool of respondents and their tech habits.

Who knows, this consumer trend might lead to budget lines of readers that only read and more upscale lines of all-in-one gadgets. The growing pool of aging Baby Boomers that 1) love to read, and 2) have a disposable income, and 3) aging eyes - may really influence ebook development, growth, & survival.

shighfield · 09-09-2009, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GA Russell

I guess I'm surprised.
I want fewer features and a lower price.

That sounds like a great idea. I have a computer, I have a smartphone, my ereader needs to do just one thing and that is display books.

Hellmark · 09-09-2009, 09:38 AM

The only feature I would want in addition on my reader, is an encyclopedia.

09-08-2009, 09:59 PM	#1
grimo1re Geekette Posts: 435 Karma: 3335 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: NSW, Australia Device: Sony Reader PRS500, PocketBook 360	US-based ebook reader owners want more features US-based ebook reader owners want more features, a survey among 1,500 respondents by research firm In-Stat has found. Longer battery life and internet connectivity are the top two desired features among respondents who don’t currently own an e-book but plan to buy one in the next year. In-Stat further found that Amazon is the leading brand of ebook reader owned in the US. Some 45.5 percent of ebook reader owners spends between USD 9 and 20 per month on content, and 11 percent of total survey respondents said they planned to purchase an ebook reader over the next 12 months.

09-09-2009, 04:44 AM	#11
sassanik Guru Posts: 774 Karma: 1211741 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Oregon Device: EB1150, iPhone, Cool-er Purple, Pocketbook 360, Kindle Fire	features I don't particularly need a ereader with a lot of features. It seems to me its like the people who buy high end computers and only surf the web and don't actually need or use all the features they got. But they are thinking that they got something great. My aunt was all excited when she got her computer because it had all this "free sofware" that was worth an extra $500 and she got it for free! She surfs the web and downloads pictures from her digital camera. Does she use any of that extra software she got? Nope. Amy

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09-08-2009, 10:02 PM	#2
lilac_jive Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,870 Karma: 27376 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Device: PRS-505	Makes me think a lot of the responders who don't have one don't know much about them, at least in terms of battery life. Interesting number for the amount spent per month. That's a lot of reocurring revenue.

09-08-2009, 10:42 PM	#5
GA Russell Als, Lions host Semis Posts: 7,715 Karma: 31487351 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Raleigh, NC Device: Paperwhite, Kindles 10 & 4 and jetBook Lite	I guess I'm surprised. I want fewer features and a lower price.

09-09-2009, 04:05 AM	#8
acidzebra Liseuse Lover Posts: 869 Karma: 1035404 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Netherlands Device: PRS-505	What is this "ebook reader" you speak of? Do you mean liseuse?

09-09-2009, 04:41 AM	#10
gwynevans Wizzard Posts: 1,402 Karma: 2000000 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: UK Device: iPad 2, iPhone 6s, Kindle Voyage & Kindle PaperWhite	No, not a desk...

09-09-2009, 08:31 AM	#13
poohbear_nc Bah! Humbug! Posts: 64,191 Karma: 135242149 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Durham, NC Device: Every Kindle Ever Made & To Be Made!	Amazon addressed (successfully IMHO) the market of readers who just wanted a reader - that was only a reader. Free access to Wikipedia was an incentive for the many readers who constantly look up references, allusions, etc. But the key point of the Kindle was that you didn't have to know anything about computers, or even own one, to successfully use a Kindle. Especially since you now had one-click buying of books via Whispernet. Obviously, for many people, these features alone were worth enough to them to offset the pricing for a reader that was just a reader. All you need to read is the Kindle - no PC required. Also, IMHO from reading discussion boards, blogs, etc. - these Kindle adopters are older folk - who just want to read - a lot, not learn to use a PC - even to just drag books over via USB. There's another population who cry "That much JUST for a reader!" Who want internet access, synching with PCs/phones/PDAs, etc, email, messaging, etc - all on one gadget - with ebooks. "More features before I pay that much!" And probably, to increase the market of ebook adopters, more features will be added, leading to a situation now seen in PCs (as noted in earlier posts) - people buying new gadgets with ALL the bells and whistles and using only the reader function. So I'm a little cautious in looking at the results of these surveys - it really depends on the pool of respondents and their tech habits. Who knows, this consumer trend might lead to budget lines of readers that only read and more upscale lines of all-in-one gadgets. The growing pool of aging Baby Boomers that 1) love to read, and 2) have a disposable income, and 3) aging eyes - may really influence ebook development, growth, & survival.

09-09-2009, 09:38 AM	#15
Hellmark Wizard Posts: 2,592 Karma: 4290425 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Foristell, Missouri, USA Device: Nokia N800, PRS-505, Nook STR Glowlight, Kindle 3, Kobo Libra 2	The only feature I would want in addition on my reader, is an encyclopedia.