Dedicated E-Readers: They're History

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

I'm just curious...if these aren't veiled advertisements, then what is their function? It almost sounds like the typical blogger purchase justification.

You might consider that outside of the rather niche audience here, this is how people are thinking. What proportion of the population do you think would buy a Kindle DX rather than an iPad (they are the same price), because they would rather have a dedicated eInk reader? I'd guess a small single-figure percentage. Probably all reading mobileread
I haven't touched my 505 since getting the iPad, the situations I would still use it would either be because I was out for the day but not carrying a bag, or I knew I would be in bright sunlight. Other than that, I have no need for it anymore.

[LDBoblo]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

You might consider that outside of the rather niche audience here, this is how people are thinking. What proportion of the population do you think would buy a Kindle DX rather than an iPad (they are the same price), because they would rather have a dedicated eInk reader? I'd guess a small single-figure percentage. Probably all reading mobileread
I haven't touched my 505 since getting the iPad, the situations I would still use it would either be because I was out for the day but not carrying a bag, or I knew I would be in bright sunlight. Other than that, I have no need for it anymore.

Outside of the tablet or the ebook reader niches, I can't think of a reason why the average person would give a hoot about the markets of either.

I'm not defending ebook readers. I hope the ebook readers of today die a quick death. I just do not see why anyone considers predictions of such to be newsworthy.

[charleski]

The iPad is simply too big and too heavy to be comfortable for reading fiction, though it would be suitable for reading documents that need a larger display surface if its resolution were higher. Basic physical attributes trump gee-whizz featuritis.

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by charleski

The iPad is simply too big and too heavy to be comfortable for reading fiction, though it would be suitable for reading documents that need a larger display surface if its resolution were higher. Basic physical attributes trump gee-whizz featuritis.

What do you think the chances are that Apple release a 6" iPad mini (using the new iPhone 4 high-res screen) sometime next year?
And what would that do to the sales of eReaders?

[EowynCarter]

QUOTE=murraypaul;972396]What do you think the chances are that Apple release a 6" iPad mini (using the new iPhone 4 high-res screen) sometime next year?[/QUOTE]
Don't have a clue.

And what would that do to the sales of eReaders?

Noting. A mini iPad woudn't be an e-reader anymore than the iPad is.

[TGS]

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

Do we really need a new thread every time some idiot writes a column, article or blog post about tablets killing dedicated readers/e-ink devices?

The arguments have been done to death on here in a gazillion threads since the announcement of the iPad.

Apparently yes judging by the 28 posts added to this thread in the ten hours or so since you made your perfectly reasonable observation.

[Lemurion]

My reasoning is quite simple. Everything a Nook or a Kindle can do an Apple iPad can do better.

No.

The iPad has a 135 ppi* screen - my Sony PRS-505 has a 166 ppi screen - and my Motorola Droid has a 266 ppi screen. Kindles and Nooks use essentially the same screen as the 505.

*pixels per inch

If you want really crisp text, you need a high ppi count; this is one of the advantages paper still has over screens - more effective pixels (dots) per inch. By lowering the ppi count, Apple has made it impossible for the iPad to display truly crisp text, and we already have people complaining about E-Ink at a higher ppi count than the iPad.

Now I want an iPad or preferably an Android-based iPad clone with a 10" screen - but not to replace my Sony. I have other uses for it.

Dedicated reading devices are a niche product because dedicated readers are a niche market. They won't go away, they may not be as common as 'Pads but they will stay around, because they do their primary job - letting you read fiction - better than the 'Pads.

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by EowynCarter

Noting. A mini iPad woudn't be an e-reader anymore than the iPad is.

Seriously?
You don't think that a similar sized iPad would have an affect on the sales of 6" eReaders? Can you keep a straight face while saying that? Some people are very fanatical on one side or other of the eInk vs LCD debate, but most don't care.

[EowynCarter]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

Seriously?
You don't think that a similar sized iPad would have an affect on the sales of 6" eReaders? Can you keep a straight face while saying that? Some people are very fanatical on one side or other of the eInk vs LCD debate, but most don't care.

Comparing a potential mini iPad with e-reader ? I wouldn't think of comparing my archos 5 (in term of functions, that's a mini iPad) to my opus. I can read on both, they have about the same screen size (5"), but the reading on archos experience is no match for the reading on the opus one.
Fist becasue of the screen, second because something dedicated will usually do it's job better. Just like dedicated camera and PMP does their job better than multifunction device.
Ok as a replacement, but not as main reader. I have both, and uses both for what they are good at.

I don't think the people how "don't care", use e-reader, even now. They are different devices, different functions, different users. Plus, smaller sized tablets already do exists...

[RyanMWilliams]

Working in a library I talk to a lot of readers every day and by far most of them say they hate reading on screens. They're a little interested in Kindle (usually the only name they know) but they always come back to 'but I hate reading on a screen' whether or not they have tried reading e-books. Very few of those folks are willing to pay iPad prices and want something very simple to use. Kindle/Nook prices dropping may convince a number of those folks to try out ereaders.

[Blue Tyson]

Originally Posted by sabredog

As an Aussie, I could not agree more!!

Yeah. The Kelvinator that blows up if you put anything else in is awesome!

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

The arguments have been done to death on here in a gazillion threads since the announcement of the iPad.

These type of arguments are a lot older than the iPad. When laptops came out it was "the death of the PC". When notebooks came out it was "the death of the laptop". Heck, I remember reading similar nonsense 15 years ago talking about "the death of the internet".

Such articles are attempts to generate advertising revenue by reporters/bloggers that can't come up with intelligent stories, nothing more.

[BenLee]

The real answer lies in the market.

The market is composed of some people who just want to read and do that well, and others who want to read and surf the web, listen to music, etc. As long as this continues to be the case, there will always be a need for pure eReaders, albeit the market for pure eReaders may not be as large as we initially thought. Ipad has helped push this idea more and more.

It's also still too early to tell. Companies are still trying to find the right combination of features that people really care about: 1 screen vs 2 screens, Color or b&w, touch screen or keys, etc

[dmaul1114]

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

Outside of the tablet or the ebook reader niches, I can't think of a reason why the average person would give a hoot about the markets of either.

I think the Tablet niche is pretty large. I know more people with iPads than e-readers already, and know a bunch of people who want an iPad or other tablet but are waiting for second gen models. And Apple just announced that they sold their 3 millionth iPad in just 80 days.

The reasons people want them are varied. A lot is for reading large format documents (PDFs of research articles, Word documents etc) since most of my circle of friends/acquaintances are fellow professors and friends from grad school etc.

People want them to replace laptops as they do all their work on desktops and only use the laptop for web browsing and checking e-mail on trips etc.

I'm kind of falling in that bag currently. I only have my work laptop as I gave my home desktop (it was old and glitchy) away when I moved. I find it hard to do work at home with just a laptop. And I don't really like browsing the web on it much either. So eventually I may go back to having a desktop and getting a tablet to replace.

And finally, others just want an iPad after playing around with one as it's the current cool toy--and it is good at what it does. It's great for surfing the net (sans Flash of course), watching streaming video, reading news, reading magazines, reading comics, reading novels, ok for PDFs but needs bigger screen etc. etc.

So I don't think tablets will be a niche device, they're going to have pretty solid mainstream success. But I also think the dedicated reader niche will survive, so I find these threads and the article that prompted it silly.

Originally Posted by charleski

The iPad is simply too big and too heavy to be comfortable for reading fiction, though it would be suitable for reading documents that need a larger display surface if its resolution were higher. Basic physical attributes trump gee-whizz featuritis.

I find the weight fine. I read hardcover books with them resting on my lap if sitting up and chest if laying down. I do the same with my Kindle and I do the same with my girlfriend's iPad and the weight doesn't bother me at all. A bout the same as a big hardcover, and easier to manage since it's not so thick and I don't have to hold pages in place.

Resolution is fine to me as well--the gray backgrounds on e-ink washout the benefit of the higher resolution for me--especially since I tend to read in pretty dim light with just one lamp on etc.

I like my Kindle because it's small and light, but I could easily get by doing all my fiction reading on a tablet like the iPad. But I'm also an oddball for this site as I'm not much of a reader. Most of my reading is online--forum posts, blogs, news articles etc. Second most is reading for work--which is my least favorite part of being a professor--tons of boring crap to read. Third is leisure reading which is usually just 30 minutes before sleeping a few nights a week, or during flights etc. Reading is definitely at the bottom of my hobby list and is the first to get dropped on a busy day.

[BenLee]

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

Reading is definitely at the bottom of my hobby list and is the first to get dropped on a busy day.

I can imagine a lot of people (ones I know even) who have the same prioritization as yours. Reading is definitely NOT something that is on many people's list of most important things to do during the day. In fact, I think I heard recently that around 90% of the books bought on Amazon are as gifts for others. That's A LOT. Fact is, we have too many things to do nowadays aside from reading, and that's why the market for "cool" multi-purpose gadgets like iPad will always have a larger market. It's actually catering to the demands of a larger audience. I could see eReaders being a more necessary product back before television, video games, and the internet. But hardly anyone I know seriously reads anymore.