e-reading; Revolution or Fading Fad?

[kindlekitten]

none of this really seems like new info, but it is the first time I have seen the article and it is dated today.

it is interesting that some real Luddites seem to manage to be referenced and quoted as experts still

[carld]

Americans use e-books at a rate "much, much slower than it looks."

Oh really? And this is based on what? "Stuff I made up in my head to back up completely imaginary statistics"?

[ardeegee]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

none of this really seems like new info, but it is the first time I have seen the article and it is dated today.

it is interesting that some real Luddites seem to manage to be referenced and quoted as experts still

In the words of an old bald Indian guy,
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."

[Ben Thornton]

There are two separate questions here:
1. Are e-books a fad?
2. Is there a future in eInk screen technology?

Question 1 is a joke. The statistics speak for themselves - with market share tripling from ~3% to ~9%, and looking set to continue for some time.

Question 2 is more reasonable - can eInk readers around $100-$200 compete with tablets in the same price range? Time will tell, but the article itself suggests that they expect to shift 10m units this year, which is not too shabby.

It seems to me that eInk can only last so long in competition with general purpose tablets as they adopt newer screen technologies. Whether this is 2 more years or 10 more years, depends on what technologies arrive and at what price.

[ardeegee]

Originally Posted by Ben Thornton

There are two separate questions here:
1. Are e-books a fad?
2. Is there a future in eInk screen technology?

1.) To me, the more ridiculous idea is to think that, 50 or even 20 years in the future, the bulk of books read would be in the form of stacks of pulped wood. That is just silly-- as silly as the idea people will be buying their music and movies on shiny metal discs.

2.) I do not see any other long-term surviving technology for a device meant for serious reading-- meaning hours at a stretch without stop and not skimming through articles-- that does not use an ultra-low power consuming display. If it will be a descendant of electrophoretics or mirasol or something completely different yet to be invented I don't know, but real reading will not be done in the future primarily on devices that have to be recharged after a few hours of use-- that is just a joke.

[delphidb96]

It's a fad! It's a fad! It's a fad! And isn't it about time all you whippersnappers gave up on them thar AOOWWTOEMOBEELS and AEROPLANES and got back to horse-drawn buggies???

Derek

[v1k1ng1001]

A couple of points:

As someone who teaches at the university level, the fact is that other digital media are crowding out typography. Instead of reading assignments, students will go watch videos on youtube.

The relative success of the ipad shows that many people want to sink a couple hundred bucks into a device like an ereader, that does one thing really well. From a product development and marketing standpoint, the question is do ereader manufacturers want to expand their devices and chase the ipad (think pocketbook's new tablet) or do they want to hunker down and produce an even more specialized device which targets a smaller audience?

I'm a big fan of the latter approach because, well, I'm one of those weird persons that still likes to read. But I think the success of the ipad, ipod touch and htc evo as well as the kindle/kobo/nook price wars are giving a lot of companies cold feet. Witness Asus hrm and haw all summer long about releasing its ereader.

The future of ereading likely involves reading ebooks on a device whose primary purpose is something else. The rest of us will be stuck with fewer product choices than what we might have liked.

[aagstn]

I've been reading digital books for 10 years now. It isn't a fad to me and I've been hearing about the death of ebooks for most of those 10 years.

[Canuck_in_Japan]

Why would we listen to a person commenting about new trends when they till use words like "cockamamie"? He's probably predicting the end of colour TV as well.

[Ben Thornton]

When travelling by train, although I see a lot of laptops, ipods, NDS etc. being used, there are still a lot of people reading books. A lot of people like to read, so I think there is still a large population of readers who, given the right device and supporting services, would want a dedicated reader. In my view, Amazon has the right policy and will succeed in the UK - we shall see how they've done in 6-12 months.

It's easy, as someone comfortable with technology, to underestimate the value of being able to get content on to the device without faffing about with a computer. I suspect that this might be the single most important factor driving adoption in the US, and keeping it slower elsewhere. When showing people my reader, many were not really convinced of the benefits - the most impressive feature was the dictionary look-up in my experience. I think that shopping on the device might change that.

[Ea]

Originally Posted by Ben Thornton

It's easy, as someone comfortable with technology, to underestimate the value of being able to get content on to the device without faffing about with a computer. I suspect that this might be the single most important factor driving adoption in the US, and keeping it slower elsewhere. When showing people my reader, many were not really convinced of the benefits - the most impressive feature was the dictionary look-up in my experience. I think that shopping on the device might change that.

That is a hurdle for many I've spoken with. It's not that they can't do it at all, but it's something they are uncomfortable with, and the way Kindle works would be much easier for them. It just works.

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by delphidb96

It's a fad! It's a fad! It's a fad! And isn't it about time all you whippersnappers gave up on them thar AOOWWTOEMOBEELS and AEROPLANES and got back to horse-drawn buggies???

Derek

Jest not ! It may happen ....

[Ben Thornton]

I actually saw a horse-drawn buggy the other day. Not seen many ereaders in the wild. Perhaps you're right - it's happening!

[GhostHawk]

Well I'm one of those who reads on an other than E-ink screen.

My Jetbook lite gets me 20 - 24 hours on 4 rechargeable AA batterys.
That works out to 4 - 7 days depending on how much I'm reading.
When it runs out of juice I just swap in a new set of charged batterys and 2 min later I'm back reading again.

Jetbook Lite recently sold on newegg for 70$ and 2$ shipping.

Compare that to any e-ink display you care to name.

Its what I can afford, and I'm thrilled with it. So thrilled that I bought the wife one, then my father and father in law, giving one to my wifes boss soon, and my daughter is using my old original Jetbook that I started with.

Keep your e-ink, and your long hours of use if your happy.
I'll keep my Reflective TFT screen, multiple formats (most of any reader) and low cost, and let me know when E-ink looses that "flash" at page turn. Maybe then I'll give it another look.

[ardeegee]

Originally Posted by Ben Thornton

It's easy, as someone comfortable with technology, to underestimate the value of being able to get content on to the device without faffing about with a computer. I suspect that this might be the single most important factor driving adoption in the US, and keeping it slower elsewhere.

And yet, MP3 players are massively popular and every one of them that isn't built into a cell phone (as far as I know) requires faffing about with a computer. (Googling-- "to faff"-- that's a new one.)