Is the ereader dead?

[montalex]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

I'm sure that the vast majority of readers only have 1 or maybe no more than 5 books on their readers at a time.

I have hundreds of books on my Kindle. I add new books that I discover through reviews (The Guardian, New Yorker, Atlantic, etc.), so I always have books to switch to/between. Then, I have a hard time deleting books from my Kindle once I've read them (if I enjoyed them, that is) because it is like having a bookshelf to look over on occasion. I do miss having bookshelves for the visual remember of read books. I don't at all miss the dust. I once put 2,000 books on the street for passersby. Many of them were hardcover. I just had no place for them. It did not take long for them to be snatched up.

On the other hand, I gave usb drives with nearly 4,000 books on each of them to friends at Christmas! I'm still a hoarder, but it's invisible!

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Alohamora

I guess that guy never thought of turning on "airplane mode" when he doesn't want to be disturbed.

Or at one time, he thought of it, turned it on, forgot to turn it off and has never used it since.

I've had somewhat similar experiences though missing the cat and narrator when I've tried reading on my phone. Airplane mode is not an option since my employers, for some unknowable reason, like me to be available during the work day.

[DiapDealer]

I can't remember the last time I read a book outdoors--p or e. Sunlight is a non-factor for many "real" readers like myself.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I remember reading that romance readers were early ebook adopters for that reason. I can't be bothered to find the source now though.

Originally Posted by crich70

I remember reading something of the sort as well, though I don't recall the source either. Still it's likely enough to be accurate even without a citation.

One article on that topic that I vaguely remembered but was able to locate thanks to Google was: Romantic fiction's passion for ebooks .

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

I'm sure that the vast majority of readers only have 1 or maybe no more than 5 books on their readers at a time.

To start with, possibly. Given the majority of my ereader using acquaintances don't seem to have any idea of how to manage their ebooks, the number of books will grow over time.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I can't remember the last time I read a book outdoors--p or e. Sunlight is a non-factor for many "real" readers like myself.

Thursday, 2018-Mar-01. Convenient covered patio for those rainy or snowy days when you want fresh air with your lunch. I think it was originally built for smokers but they aren't allowed within 6 meters of doors/openable windows/air intakes now so that annoyance is eliminated.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

It was all part of my nefarious plan to derail this thread.

Looks like we could both be in legal jeopardy.

I'm sorry but all answers must be in the form of a question.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by FrustratedReader

So eInk eReaders have probably peaked. Dedicated LCD eReaders are dead: Phones and Tablets. The eInk is niche loved by some and incomprehensible to others.
Obviously heavy home readers may prefer eInk, but many avid readers are happy with phones.

How dare you be reasonable?! For me (personally, not speaking for anyone else) I would almost rather have a root canal than read on a tablet. As much as I've tried to use a tablet (forced myself to play some games on one, watched Netflix and Crackle on it, bought a Bluetooth keyboard for it – thinking I would write on it) I just don't have any real use for one. My tablet sits in my drawer collecting dust bunnies. My eInk readers are not expensive because I buy them used and cheaply. Cheap, used, in good condition, eInk eReaders are plentiful. I should know I've bought about a billion of them (I wish that was an exaggeration ). EInk eReaders may be a niche, but they're a large niche and I don't see them going away any time soon.

[cfrizz]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Yes. I'm bringing my personal bias to your personally biased story. Sue me.

You used the phrase "real" readers for a reason.

Agreed! If the word "heavy" had been used in the first place, the insult to all those of us who do the majority of our reading on our phones/tablets/pc's would not have been inferred!

I'm sick and tired of the e-ink prejudice that occurs on this board. The only claim to fame e-ink has is that it was put into ereaders first, but it is by no means the only correct way to read digitally.

These disagreements will stop just as soon as all the e-ink snobs get over themselves and stop claiming superiority over all digitals readers.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by cfrizz

These disagreements will stop just as soon as all the e-ink snobs get over themselves and stop claiming superiority over all digitals readers.

I think us eReader "snobs" might have a little leeway to grumble about the prejudice of those who write stupid articles like "Is the eReader Dead?" – which is where this thread started. There's a bit of condescension in the implied suggestion that those of us who stick by eReaders (for whatever reason) are cranks and Luddites. It goes both ways.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by rcentros

I think us eReader "snobs" might have a little leeway to grumble about the prejudice of those who write stupid articles like "Is the eReader Dead?" – which is where this thread started. There's a bit of condescension in the implied suggestion that those of us who stick by eReaders (for whatever reason) are cranks and Luddites. It goes both ways.

Yep, and opinions are like belly buttons. Everyone has one.

[cfrizz]

Originally Posted by rcentros

I think us eReader "snobs" might have a little leeway to grumble about the prejudice of those who write stupid articles like "Is the eReader Dead?" – which is where this thread started. There's a bit of condescension in the implied suggestion that those of us who stick by eReaders (for whatever reason) are cranks and Luddites. It goes both ways.

ANY devices that can display ebooks is an ereader! The Ereader definition immediately expanded once apps were designed to go on tablets, phones and pc's.

The condescension developed because a good chunk of the e-ink readers immediately started condescendingly proclaiming the superiority of e-ink readers, when others started letting it be known that they were reading on tablets and phones.

They refuse to consider that other ways of reading ebooks are valid, which is just wrong.

The same way that romance readers love being able to read on an e-ink, tablet or phone because we no longer have to worry about someone condescendingly judging us for what we choose to read, we shouldn't be judged for what device we choose to read on.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by cfrizz

ANY devices that can display ebooks is an ereader! The Ereader definition immediately expanded once apps were designed to go on tablets, phones and pc's.

The condescension developed because a good chunk of the e-ink readers immediately started condescendingly proclaiming the superiority of e-ink readers, when others started letting it be known that they were reading on tablets and phones.

They refuse to consider that other ways of reading ebooks are valid, which is just wrong.

The same way that romance readers love being able to read on an e-ink, tablet or phone because we no longer have to worry about someone condescendingly judging us for what we choose to read, we shouldn't be judged for what device we choose to read on.

Again, look at the title of the thread. The original article writer was condescending to those who prefer eInk eReaders and made bogus claims insinuating that eInk eReaders were something from the past and not a vital part of modern eBook reading. I would expect those of you who like to read on tablets would have reacted similarly to an article titled "Are Tablets for eReading Dead?" Of course both titles would be nothing but clickbait.

As for the main premise of the article (clickbait blurb, or whatever it should be called), it's pretty obvious that eReaders are not dead, nor are they on the way out. If they were, Amazon would no longer be investing in new models of Kindles – since simply supporting one platform (Fire tablets) would be easier for them (besides, tablets encourage more "consumerism" than do eReaders). And now Walmart will be selling Kobo eInk eReaders online and in their stores. Obviously they don't believe eInk eReaders are on their deathbed either.

[sjfan]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

- I like to have all my books on the device and once you get past a certain number of books, the eInk devices become very slow and basically unmanageable.
...
- I'm not terribly fond of the new eInk touch screens. They seem slow to respond. I'm sure that is because I have around 200 books loaded on it.

There's really no reason the number of books on the device should have a significant impact on performance, and if you only have a small library like yours on the device then you really don't need to worry about it (barring a severe firmware bug on your reader or something like that).

I have about 5,000 books on my Kobo Aura H2O and it works just fine.

[cfrizz]

What DiapDealer and I took offense to, was Zod's snobby "real" readers comment, which was unnecessary. It's comments like that from e-ink reader users that rub some of us the wrong way.