New Kobo: Nia

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Quoth

The 32 G is more expensive than 4 or 8 and cost is tricky on an entry level or near entry level device. But whatever it has should be all available.

It's not tricky. Because the 32GB card is less then $2/£2 more expensive then the 16GB card, you just price it to complete with the Kindle Basic. And because it's 32GB at no extra, it wins.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

It's not tricky. Because the 32GB card is less then $2/£2 more expensive then the 16GB card, you just price it to complete with the Kindle Basic. And because it's 32GB at no extra, it wins.

And then no one buys the 32 GB Forma or, at least, they ask why the "base" premium reader has much less memory than the bottom end one.

But I agree that the price difference is negligible.

[ottischwenk]

Originally Posted by rcentros

And then no one buys the 32 GB Forma or, at least, they ask why the "base" premium reader has much less memory than the bottom end one.

But I agree that the price difference is negligible.

It is impossible to use SD Cards in waterprotected Kobo/Tolino readers.
And 16 GB cards (MLC) are used in Nia/Page2 because they are available and much cheaper than also available 4/8 GB Military (SLC).

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

It's not tricky. Because the 32GB card is less then $2/£2 more expensive then the 16GB card, you just price it to complete with the Kindle Basic. And because it's 32GB at no extra, it wins.

A component price increase of £2 would result in a retail price increase of several times that amount.

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

It's not tricky. Because the 32GB card is less then $2/£2 more expensive then the 16GB card, you just price it to complete with the Kindle Basic. And because it's 32GB at no extra, it wins.

For who?
If you are just reading normal books then you don't need 16GB, let alone 32GB.
And if you wanted to read magazines or comics, you'd pay the small amount extra to get a higher resolution than the 212ppi in the Nia.
And, unless I've misread something, it doesn't have a headphone socket or bluetooth compatibility, so you can't use it for audiobooks.
What actual value is offered by increasing the storage in a low-end model?

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

What actual value is offered by increasing the storage in a low-end model?

PDFs.
Otherwise, no, big memories don't much help in western markets.
Asia is a different story, though.
Asian Kindles routinely have more memory than western models.

Minimizing memory is minimizing costs and since even today ereaders have thin margins every bit helps.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

A component price increase of £2 would result in a retail price increase of several times that amount.

In the UK using prices from Amazon, there is a difference of just £0.45 between a Sandisk 16gb Ultra and 32gb Sandisk Ultra, So even if it was £2 more, people would pay.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

For who?
If you are just reading normal books then you don't need 16GB, let alone 32GB.
And if you wanted to read magazines or comics, you'd pay the small amount extra to get a higher resolution than the 212ppi in the Nia.
And, unless I've misread something, it doesn't have a headphone socket or bluetooth compatibility, so you can't use it for audiobooks.
What actual value is offered by increasing the storage in a low-end model?

I know most won't need 16gb or 32gb. But it sounds better. So it may help to sell better. Kobo could use this as a one of the selling points vs the Kindle Basic.

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I know most won't need 16gb or 32gb. But it sounds better. So it may help to sell better. Kobo could use this as a one of the selling points vs the Kindle Basic.

Costing an extra $5 less would sell more units than a meaningless spec number.
We are comparing the lowest end units from each manufacturer. If you are buying these, price is a big factor.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

Costing an extra $5 less would sell more units than a meaningless spec number.
We are comparing the lowest end units from each manufacturer. If you are buying these, price is a big factor.

Entry level readers today go increasingly to kids and first-timers.
So yes, the most important number is price.
(Even the smallest RAM goes unfilled almost all the time. There's no 256/512MB models out there anymore.)

Anybody who won't care about a $10 increase (because the added cost snowballs: everybody in the distribution chain boosts their cut) is more likely to move to the next higher model. And those are typically a minority of entry level shopper.

In fact, it is common to make the entry level barely adequate to encourage people to upgrade as soon as possible or skip it altogether. That is why they're called entry-level, after all.

That is why the Basic Kindle stayed unlit so long and why most entry level models run lower resolutions. Usable but no threat to the more profitable models. It's the same everywhere: catch their attention with the low end and then upsell them the next model up. But to do that, you need enough of a difference between the two models. Make the low-end too good and you'll end up killing the mid-range.

Because price *always* matters.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

Costing an extra $5 less would sell more units than a meaningless spec number.
We are comparing the lowest end units from each manufacturer. If you are buying these, price is a big factor.

Let's say the Nia is priced at the same cost as the Kindle Basic. Having better specs would be a big seller. And in the cases of existing Readers, Kobo is priced cheaper then Amazon. So there's no reason why the Nia may not be priced less then the Kindle Basic.

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Let's say the Nia is priced at the same cost as the Kindle Basic. Having better specs would be a big seller.

Better specs in some regards, possibly.
Specifically having a larger memory card, I think very unlikely.

Lets say it is $5 cheaper instead, by saving money on the specs, I think that would make much more of a difference.

I have maybe 4k books on my 8GB Aura One, and still have more than 5GB free. Extra memory only makes sense for non-book applications, and this is a poor choice of device for those applications anyway.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

Better specs in some regards, possibly.
Specifically having a larger memory card, I think very unlikely.

Lets say it is $5 cheaper instead, by saving money on the specs, I think that would make much more of a difference.

I have maybe 4k books on my 8GB Aura One, and still have more than 5GB free. Extra memory only makes sense for non-book applications, and this is a poor choice of device for those applications anyway.

The cost difference between 16gb and 32gb is negligible. So why poo-poo the idea of 32gb? The Nia already has a higher resolution screen and better firmware then the Kindle Basic.

[koboy]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

Better specs in some regards, possibly.
Specifically having a larger memory card, I think very unlikely.

Lets say it is $5 cheaper instead, by saving money on the specs, I think that would make much more of a difference.

I have maybe 4k books on my 8GB Aura One, and still have more than 5GB free. Extra memory only makes sense for non-book applications, and this is a poor choice of device for those applications anyway.

interesting i have 3542 books (all kepubs) on a 32GB external micro SD card taking up 9.37GB. evidently in my case it's got absolutely nothing to do with non-book applications.

best wishes koboy

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The cost difference between 16gb and 32gb is negligible.

You are basing this on the retail price of memory cards on Amazon.
I suggest that might not be a particular useful comparison.