The future of e-book readers

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by dmaul1114

Yeah, I'd think there would be various sizes of tablets. No reason not to as some would want 5 or 6 inches for reading and net surfing, PDA etc. as that's all they need.

Others need a larger screen for magazines, newspapers, more are to write notes on, A4 PDFs etc. As well as just preferring a larger screen for everything So there's a market for multiple sizes, just like there's all kinds of different sizes of netbooks and laptops.

Exactly so. Different strokes, and all that.

[Slite]

Originally Posted by fugazied

The thing is, Apple is great at marketing but their devices are in fact pretty awesome to use. The iPhone/iPods just blew the competition away. They are easy to use, powerful etc.

The real advantage Apple has is it's marketing skills of course but also where they are now placed in the media marketplace. The iTunes store is huge and I can't remember the exact figures but they are now one of the largest retailers of music in the US (including real world stores).

They have the relationships with TV, Music, Movie companies already. With their marketing power, their distribution network (iTunes + appstore), they would have a great deal of persuasion with publishers. They could sell an ebook + movie + soundtrack package on iTunes for example. Who else can offer that level of integration for online purchases of virtual media. It's their booming market share and mindshare that would make them incredibly attractive to publishers.

All it takes is Steve Jobs admitting there is enough ebook demand to spend time on it. With their work in the mobile sector and music/tv/movies they already have their hands full and the ebook market is tiny compared to that.

That was my point, thanks to Apple's marketing skills, as long as something is shiny, and itäs name starts with an i-Something... people WILL buy it!

[ekaser]

Here's an interesting "what may happen" article on CNET about whether or not Amazon might open up the Kindle to outside developers:
http://news.cnet.com/Will-Amazon-ope...orsPicksArea.0

Very pertinent to the various discussions in this thread.