Tablets won

[QuantumIguana]

What does it mean for tablets to "win"? Tablets merely outselling e-ink isn't exactly a resounding victory. Blu-Ray over HD-DVD, now that was a victory. I'm going to be able to buy an e-ink reader for the foreseeable future.

[taosaur]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

MP3 players haven't driven CD players off the market.

They haven't? I mean yeah, there's a legacy market because CD was a dominant format at one time, but even dedicated MP3 players have been mostly displaced by smartphones and tablets.

Now, I wouldn't say tablets and smartphones have pushed E Ink quite to the brink of obsolescence, but they have displaced E Ink devices as the driving force in the ebook market. Dedicated ereader technology hasn't been scrapped, but it has been sidelined. The boom years were brief, and they're over.

While declaring who "won" may seem crass, it's absolutely relevant to this forum's interests to observe that while the ebook market came to maturity by way of dedicated devices (and it's considerably more mature than just a few years ago), it now flourishes on multipurpose, LCD media portals.

[charmian]

What does it mean for tablets to win? I think Leebase covered it well in his answer. More stable e-ink reader prices (lack of large price drops), fewer new models coming out, less competition in the market. In other words, this is not as great for consumers.

Of course, it does depend how you look at it, as perhaps the slowing of growth would have happened around this time anyway, but I don't think it can be denied that tablets are a factor.

[Victoria]

Originally Posted by cfrizz

Why does everyone insist on an either or situation?

Now stop looking for things to debate, fret, argue, speculate about and go read a damn book!

Everyone does rise up to take the bait, but I don't think it's really over whether e-ink readers are better or worse than tablets. There is an underlying worry that ereaders disappear like the dodo bird and small independent bookstores.

Many MR members, like you, are very happy reading on multiple devices, so it's not a issue. But if one rereads these posts, it's clear that several of us strongly prefer e-ink, and losing that option would be a very significant loss.

Originally Posted by charmian

What does it mean for tablets to win? I think Leebase covered it well in his answer. More stable e-ink reader prices (lack of large price drops), fewer new models coming out, less competition in the market. In other words, this is not as great for consumers.

......I don't think it can be denied that tablets are a factor.

Exactly. Will they stabilize as a static niche market, or just be phased out - I think that's the real question.

[taosaur]

Originally Posted by Victoria

Exactly. Will they stabilize as a static niche market, or just be phased out - I think that's the real question.

I don't think there's any danger of E Ink disappearing entirely so long as it has some advantages over other display technologies. Yes, the market for ereaders has stagnated, but even stagnant it's in a far better state than pre-Kindle.

[cfrizz]

Originally Posted by Victoria

Everyone does rise up to take the bait, but I don't think it's really over whether e-ink readers are better or worse than tablets. There is an underlying worry that ereaders disappear like the dodo bird and small independent bookstores.

Many MR members, like you, are very happy reading on multiple devices, so it's not a issue. But if one rereads these posts, it's clear that several of us strongly prefer e-ink, and losing that option would be a very significant loss.

Exactly. Will they stabilize as a static niche market, or just be phased out - I think that's the real question.

We still have vinyl records, cds, dvds after everyone said these would disappear when new tech came out to supposedly replace them. E-ink isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

The only things that disappeared where similar competing techs like Beta/Vhs,
Bluray/HD? These were simply too similar for both to stay.

[QuantumIguana]

Originally Posted by taosaur

They haven't? I mean yeah, there's a legacy market because CD was a dominant format at one time, but even dedicated MP3 players have been mostly displaced by smartphones and tablets.

They haven't. I can walk into any electronics store and buy a CD player, in fact, I'll find a wide variety. I walk into Best Buy and I see row after row after row of CDs.

[OtterBooks]

The success of tablets is the defeat of books by video. It has nothing to do with the visual preference for text consumption, which is still vastly dominated by ink in its various forms.

just imo.

[Matth79]

If you want to READ, E-Ink (+frontlit) operates in lighting conditions that would baffle LCD, and absolutely smashes tablets for battery runtime.

But if you want to do a bit of online video or gaming, the tablet is more versatile,

What really baffles me, is the success of so many "tablets" where they mess up a perfectly good Android OS with stupid interface changes - if it's an LCD tablet, then it should be a general purpose tablet first and a reader second

Originally Posted by Matth79

What really baffles me, is the success of so many "tablets" where they mess up a perfectly good Android OS with stupid interface changes - if it's an LCD tablet, then it should be a general purpose tablet first and a reader second

I suspect that some people are looking for an ereader first that isn't limited by eInk. As things stand today, ereaders are great for books that are reflowable. They aren't so hot for books that require a fixed layout (may that because they are read non-linearly or because they are more visual). Personally I'd go for a general purpose tablet in that case, but a lot of people clearly see things differently.

[taosaur]

Originally Posted by OtterBooks

The success of tablets is the defeat of books by video.

Really? You think people are spending a lot of time watching videos on a 7"-10" screen? I went ahead and dug up a study, and yes, more people watched videos than read books in the two week timeframe, and there were more total incidents of video watching than book reading, but more than half the participants never watched a video on their tablets over the course of the study:



About 30% did read books on their tablets, and the total incidents of reading vs. watching video varied by less than one percent. More people reported more incidents of playing games than either reading books or watching videos, but you can see people aren't doing just one thing on their (our) tablets. They're true multipurpose devices, and reading is well represented. I found it interesting that reading was the most popular activity while commuting, and second only to games while riding in a car.

[Istvan diVega]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

MP3 players haven't driven CD players off the market.

Originally Posted by taosaur

They haven't? I mean yeah, there's a legacy market because CD was a dominant format at one time, but even dedicated MP3 players have been mostly displaced by smartphones and tablets.

They certainly haven't. If they had, it would no longer be the case that every major and minor Hi-Fi brand still makes them and sells them. Everyone I know owns a CD player, whether separate or in an integrated system, many of them more than one.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Istvan diVega

They certainly haven't. If they had, it would no longer be the case that every major and minor Hi-Fi brand still makes them and sells them. Everyone I know owns a CD player, whether separate or in an integrated system, many of them more than one.

They may own them, but do they use them? My car has a CD player, but in the 2 years that I've owned it, it's never been used. I always use my car's iPod interface for music and audiobooks.

[Istvan diVega]

They certainly do. Not only that, most of them buy lots of CDs and more than a few of them LPs.

To take it even further, over the last few years I have assisted a good number of youngsters (as in anyone below the age of 25 or so) I get to know through work with shopping for turntables and stereo systems.

And why would CD players and turntables continue to be made in large numbers if people aren't buying them? Or why would people buy them if not to use them?

Here in Norway, at least, there are more decent Hi-Fi shops these days than there has ever been (most admittedly mainly with an internet presence) and presumably new shops don't crop up because the market is dwindling.

[Graham]

I read QuantumIguana's post as referring to portable CD players, linked as it was to MP3 players. That seems fair to me. How often do you see people using CD Walkman clones these days?

Graham