Why Sony discountinued PRS-x50 line?

[Pinecone]

Sony sold all the PRS-x50 devices they made.

At times, they were selling for WELL above the retail price.

So why would you want to compete on price?

Does Ferrari compete on price?

[Kolenka]

They also shut down production really early, makes it easier to clear the channel. Makes me believe the T1 was supposed to be announced a bit sooner. What they sell for after Sony has their slice doesn't help them all that much to boot.

That said, if the price point was really sustainable for the model and the volume of sales they had, they could have kept it around. Could it be more due to availability of components (screens)? Dunno.

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by Pinecone

Sony sold all the PRS-x50 devices they made.

At times, they were selling for WELL above the retail price.

So why would you want to compete on price?

Does Ferrari compete on price?

Neither does Apple, and they're doing very well.

As with any other gadget/device, most people who buy one care more for whether they get full value for their money than for how much they spend. If they get enough extra features (or higher quality) that it justifies the higher price tag, most buyers pay willingly.

[Ashjuk]

Originally Posted by Pinecone

Sony sold all the PRS-x50 devices they made.

At times, they were selling for WELL above the retail price.

So why would you want to compete on price?

Does Ferrari compete on price?

As the old saying goes - "Buy cheap, buy twice!"

Which is why I'm only on my third Sony TV in past 20 years and my third Sony Hi-Fi in the past 30+ years.

I have always been a believer in buying the best quality I can afford. Like most here I'm saddened by the thought of Sony cutting quality to try to compete with the likes of Amazon on price.

They should have continued the x50 line for those premium users who appreciate something a little better than the mainstream offerings.

[trevgriff]

i'll wait to decide if the T1 is cheaply made until I have spent some time using it.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Tony1988

They are not making them anymore to make room for the T1. Which will undoubtedly sell here. Pure and simple. Nothing was pulled. All the merchandise from any store I visited sold all of them at regular and clearance prices the last few months.

And the reason they're making the T1 is to compete price wise.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Yar-PocketBooker

I sometimes compare Sony PRS line with Mac to PC comparison... yes Macs are overpriced, but they have their market and their fans and buyers... The same with Sonys PRS X50 - they are overpriced but in my humble opinion, if they had them continued, not dis- continued, they would get themselves a line of premuim readers along with the mainstream T1 model...

The question is - was Sony selling enough of them at premium prices to make it profitable for them?

Downgrading the product line for a lower price point would indicate they weren't.

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

The question is - was Sony selling enough of them at premium prices to make it profitable for them?

Downgrading the product line for a lower price point would indicate they weren't.

The question isn't right. The devices may have been profitable but not meeting corporate targets. Sony may have said that the Reader line has to make $25 million in after tax profit but it was only making $20 million. (Obviously, numbers are made up.) It isn't unusual for companies to discontinue profitable products that just aren't meeting set goals.

Consequently, you can't draw the conclusion you draw.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by rhadin

The question isn't right. The devices may have been profitable but not meeting corporate targets. Sony may have said that the Reader line has to make $25 million in after tax profit but it was only making $20 million. (Obviously, numbers are made up.) It isn't unusual for companies to discontinue profitable products that just aren't meeting set goals.

Consequently, you can't draw the conclusion you draw.

Uhhh... that's what I said - it wasn't profitable for them.

[Asawi]

Originally Posted by Ashjuk

As the old saying goes - "Buy cheap, buy twice!"

Which is why I'm only on my third Sony TV in past 20 years and my third Sony Hi-Fi in the past 30+ years.

None of my no-name (or rather budget brand) TV:s has lasted less than 10 years... I'm hoping my current, extremely cheap one will give up soon so I can get a flat screen, but since it's only 7 years old I doubt it will happen anytime soon...

But even if I don't agree on the "buy cheap buy twice" in general, I do agree that the Sony x50 line was (is) of excellent quality with a very good user interface that left the competition far behind. And therefor a higher price was not without reason. And outside USA the price of the Sony really wasn't that different to other available readers. Don't forget that there's a big world outside USA!

[Ashjuk]

Originally Posted by Asawi

...And outside USA the price of the Sony really wasn't that different to other available readers. Don't forget that there's a big world outside USA!

I beg to differ on that. A few months ago I bought a 650 for £199 and at the time I could have bought a Kindle with the same screen plus Wi-Fi and 3G for just over half that amount.

Here in the UK the Sony readers have always sold at premium prices compared to other makes.

[Asawi]

OK, I'll make that other ePub readers then.

(although people here at MR are aware of and comfortable with DRM stripping and format conversion, not many of my Kindle owning US friends are, so they buy all their books from Amazon, spending many times more money on books than I have spent on my Sony and my library books. Also, Amazon has roughly ... oh gee... zero... Swedish e-books)

[Cpl Punishment]

Originally Posted by vxf

Yes, but no other company has the tendency to downgrade their products as often as SONY.

The new PRS T1 is a step-down compared to the 950. Smaller screen, no 3g, separate stylus, no metal casing...

Kind of what they did with the ps3 - stripping down features to make it cheaper and cheaper.

That is what irks people. Replace it with a superior model... no-one will complain. But when you replace it with something which is no better, and arguably worse...

All in the eye of the beholder..

[Pinecone]

And an interesting thread that got moved from the General section on readers and meta data and lack of the ability to organize a large number of books. To which Sony reader owners go, "HUH? What, your reader DOESN'T do that?????"

[Yar-PocketBooker]

maybe an off-top... after all this discussion... I still believe that PRS-X50 is the best model line of e-readers))