Discussion on the future of eBook readers

Direct Ebooks · 11-19-2009, 01:45 PM

Hi all.

I'm just curious to know what people think of the new wave of e-readers coming out? There seems to be a new one everyday, with some new bell or whistle.
I own a prs-505 myself. I'm very happy with it due mainly to the fact that it does what I want it to do - I can read books on it - nothing fancy about that! I will probably wait for quite a while before buying a new reader as I think the whole e-reader craze will die down.
What does everyone think? Should I plump for a new reader soon or wait it out? Will a particular device(s) come to dominate the market?Does technology mean that devices will quickly become obsolete?
I'd be interested to know what everyone thinks.

Thanks for your advice in advance

Hellmark · 11-19-2009, 01:49 PM

I'd say keep your 505. I love mine, and while there are a few features I'd like (such as search), it does the main thing I want, which is let me read books.

Plus, there is a slew of new readers coming out soon, so prices may fall as a price war rages.

fugazied · 11-19-2009, 05:41 PM

Keep it as long as you can, because as the price war and technological improvements speed up the longer you wait the more value you get.

I remember when those big plasma TVs were $8000, within 3-4 years they were $500. Same thing is underway with ebook readers, it's about half way along on if you wait 2 years you will get an incredible reader for a cheap price.

desertgrandma · 11-19-2009, 06:11 PM

I still have the original K1 I bought in June of 2008.

If you love your 505 as much as I love mine.......keep it till it dies a natural death.

As others have posted, the prices will only continue to drop, and bugs will be worked out.

"Bells and Whistles" add nothing to the reading experience, do they?

kjk · 11-19-2009, 06:12 PM

You can never have too many eBook readers scattered around the house

K-Thom · 11-19-2009, 08:26 PM

Attaboy! I've got three, and it's kinda like having a family around.

But, really, if your PRS-505 does the job for you, keep it as long as possible. It's still a pricey kind of hardware which one usually doesn't replace every other week.

And I do think there will be a line of advanced (and quite different) reading devices availabe in about 3-5 years, so it's soon enough thinking about a replacement by then.

Solicitous · 11-19-2009, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

I still have the original K1 I bought in June of 2008.

If you love your 505 as much as I love mine.......keep it till it dies a natural death.

As others have posted, the prices will only continue to drop, and bugs will be worked out.

"Bells and Whistles" add nothing to the reading experience, do they?

Nope Bells and Whistles add nothing but price. I have a PP and bought it purely for reading fiction. I love it, it does everything I wanted it for. I would like to see a big advancement in the larger screen readers and made suitable for academic use. I feel something cross between a Kindle DX and the Sony PRS-600 would work well (Basically if you added the ability to zoom and annotations to the DX it would be brilliant for University use IMHO).

carlobee · 11-19-2009, 10:47 PM

"the only thing constant in the world is change"

... technology is never an exception to that change. in fact, it is one of those rapidly changing. you are right about that one, almost everyday a new one comes out. so if you are the type of person who wants to really catch up with technology, for sure you will never be contented.

11-19-2009, 01:45 PM	#1
Direct Ebooks Hibernian eBook Warrior Posts: 184 Karma: 1264 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Cork, Ireland Device: Sony Reader	Discussion on the future of eBook readers Hi all. I'm just curious to know what people think of the new wave of e-readers coming out? There seems to be a new one everyday, with some new bell or whistle. I own a prs-505 myself. I'm very happy with it due mainly to the fact that it does what I want it to do - I can read books on it - nothing fancy about that! I will probably wait for quite a while before buying a new reader as I think the whole e-reader craze will die down. What does everyone think? Should I plump for a new reader soon or wait it out? Will a particular device(s) come to dominate the market?Does technology mean that devices will quickly become obsolete? I'd be interested to know what everyone thinks. Thanks for your advice in advance

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11-19-2009, 01:49 PM	#2
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	I'd say keep your 505. I love mine, and while there are a few features I'd like (such as search), it does the main thing I want, which is let me read books. Plus, there is a slew of new readers coming out soon, so prices may fall as a price war rages.

11-19-2009, 05:41 PM	#3
fugazied Wizard Posts: 1,305 Karma: 1958 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: iPod Touch	Keep it as long as you can, because as the price war and technological improvements speed up the longer you wait the more value you get. I remember when those big plasma TVs were $8000, within 3-4 years they were $500. Same thing is underway with ebook readers, it's about half way along on if you wait 2 years you will get an incredible reader for a cheap price.

11-19-2009, 06:11 PM	#4
desertgrandma Enjoying the show.... Posts: 14,270 Karma: 10462843 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Arizona Device: A K1, Kindle Paperwhite, an Ipod, IPad2, Iphone, an Ipad Mini & macAir	I still have the original K1 I bought in June of 2008. If you love your 505 as much as I love mine.......keep it till it dies a natural death. As others have posted, the prices will only continue to drop, and bugs will be worked out. "Bells and Whistles" add nothing to the reading experience, do they?

11-19-2009, 06:12 PM	#5
kjk . Posts: 3,408 Karma: 5647231 Join Date: Oct 2008 Device: never enough	You can never have too many eBook readers scattered around the house

11-19-2009, 08:26 PM	#6
K-Thom The one and only Posts: 3,302 Karma: 535819 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Berlin, Germany Device: yup!	Attaboy! I've got three, and it's kinda like having a family around. But, really, if your PRS-505 does the job for you, keep it as long as possible. It's still a pricey kind of hardware which one usually doesn't replace every other week. And I do think there will be a line of advanced (and quite different) reading devices availabe in about 3-5 years, so it's soon enough thinking about a replacement by then.

11-19-2009, 10:47 PM	#8
carlobee Fanatic Posts: 535 Karma: 972 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: The new iPad	"the only thing constant in the world is change" ... technology is never an exception to that change. in fact, it is one of those rapidly changing. you are right about that one, almost everyday a new one comes out. so if you are the type of person who wants to really catch up with technology, for sure you will never be contented.