CNET predicts dedicated ereaders are doomed technology - Page 14

boxcorner · 02-01-2011, 04:40 AM

All right, let's assume that the convergence of technologies - which began at least as long ago as the days of radio/cassette players - continues. So eventually there is a single universal multi-functional device that does absolutely everything, Internet access, phone, games player, multi-purpose calculator, multi-device remote control for TV, HiFi, DVD, home movie centre, satellite decoder, and so on, house energy control system, multi-function key for car(s), house(s) and so on, cash and credit payment, GPS, MP3 player, PDA, flashlight/torch, Twitter, SMS, Skype, still with video and night-vision camera, replacement for watches, ad infinitum ... what have I forgotten? Oh yes, e-book reader!

This all-singing, all-dancing dream device is so fabulously wonderful that nowadays all your family, friends, colleagues and neighbours rely almost entirely on theirs, too. Some also continue to use netbooks, but people long ago gave up using landline phones, PCs are dinosaurs, etc. Nobody bothers with laptops anymore, relying solely on their universal tablet devices and the ubiquitous cloud for storage, plus perhaps also netbooks - or a hybrid. Then imagine one cold dark winter's night, just as you arrive home you discover to your absolute horror that your universal device has died, or been stolen. To make matters worse, you left your netbook at work, or it was stolen too. You feel absolutely devastated - panicky. You can't unlock the door to get into your freezing cold house, to override its non-functioning central heating system, you can't phone for help, even if you can get help, you can't pay for it, you don't have Internet access, no SMS, tweets, e-mail, and so on.

Okay, maybe this a rather silly example - tablet, or netbook, or some kind of hybrid universal device, whatever - but have you ever lost a house key, been locked out of your car, had credit cards stolen, lost Internet access, lost your cell/mobile/portable phone? Is complete convergence really the best way forward?

GlenBarrington · 02-01-2011, 05:43 AM

I will buy whatever works for me. And eReaders are cheap enough that it isn't like most people have to worry about locking themselves into a dead-end technology anyway.

Maybe my lack of concern is because I came to eReaders from the multipurpose background of a Palm PDA and Treo cell phones. I was reasonably happy with reading on Palm devices except that as I aged, it became more difficult to read the smaller text or see the tiny graphics.

When it's time to retire my PRS350, I'll consider all my options, though I will say I'm not THAT interested in something I can't shove into a man's pants pocket. Portability is still very important to me. I think there will always be a market for devices that emphasise the maximum in portability.

Darkitow · 02-01-2011, 07:30 AM

I don't see why e-readers would be displaced by table devices. I wouldn't waste my money in a 6' screen tablet, what the heck would I do with that crap tiny screen? It would be good only for that, reading e-books, and to read e-books I prefer an e-ink device.

Tablets are good only for people who move enough to get a good use of it, like reading documents and magazines and doing web tasks on the move, like people who travel a lot for business purposes... At home or workplace, I don't see what a tablet would serve for. Nothing is better at home than a good desktop PC, serving as central memory device and workspace, you can connect it to modern TVs and other devices, it even works as Hi-Fi. And for workplace or educational purposes, like university, library, etc, a laptop is much more useful. If you wanna read mails in the bus going from your home to the work, you can use your phone, smartphones are taking over all phone industry.

If in the future laptops are displaced by tablets, something that I see much more plausible, and I wouldn't care about having a 11' tablet if they achieve the same performance and usefulness as a real laptop, then I'd gladly leave my tiny netbook for a tablet, but an e-reader? oh, noes.

MrsJoseph · 02-01-2011, 07:49 AM

There are a lot of people in this thread who claim that most ereaders are not "dedicated" now. Please, all you people with "multi-purpose" ereaders (iPad/iPhone/smart phone users are not included) - how do you use your ereader on a daily basis?

ApK · 02-01-2011, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrsJoseph

There are a lot of people in this thread who claim that most ereaders are not "dedicated" now. Please, all you people with "multi-purpose" ereaders (iPad/iPhone/smart phone users are not included) - how do you use your ereader on a daily basis?

While I probably use my Kindle for checking email and (forgive me) playing blackjack more often at the moment than actually reading stored ebooks, it is still seems to me to be a dedicated reader. The other things are clearly secondary value-adds.

I do see I time when display technology and other improvements converge into a device that is simply "the portable thing with a screen that everyone carries" like the PADD on Star Trek or the datapad from the Star Wars universe.

troll05 · 02-01-2011, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrsJoseph

I would not want to read on a tablet or any other color device that has an LCD screen. I've tried that before and it is hard on my eyes. I prefer e-ink and I prefer a dedicated ereader.

I understand that some dedicated ereaders can do *very basic* web browsing, show photos, and has a very basic mp3 player. This does not mean the item is not a dedicated ereader. You cannot visit 90% of the internet with them. Any photos on ereaders look horrible. There is no way I would listen to my favorite album on an ereader... so why call ereaders multi-function devices? It does nothing well but books. Which is all I want it to do.

Hey, don't get angry, I totally agree with you and would not give away my reader for a tablet, it is just one possibility where the journey might end.
As companys like Mirasol already have the next E-Ink generation working in colour, it's only a question of time and money to get it working on moving pictures. And if people like to ruin their eyes by reading on LCD screens, im sure there are enough companys to supply them with devices to do so.

And "dedicated" means "for the sole Purpose" (at least in german), so a device that is built for reading books but has other functions as well (bad quality or not) is not "dedicated", but multifunctinal.

MrsJoseph · 02-01-2011, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by troll05

Hey, don't get angry, I totally agree with you and would not give away my reader for a tablet, it is just one possibility where the journey might end.
As companys like Mirasol already have the next E-Ink generation working in colour, it's only a question of time and money to get it working on moving pictures. And if people like to ruin their eyes by reading on LCD screens, im sure there are enough companys to supply them with devices to do so.

And "dedicated" means "for the sole Purpose" (at least in german), so a device that is built for reading books but has other functions as well (bad quality or not) is not "dedicated", but multifunctinal.

I'm not angry, I'm deliberate.

I can't argue with the definition of the word "dedicated." In this case, you would be considered correct.

My use of the word is based on some current usage. For example: my job is considered "dedicated" to one particular activity. This does not mean it is all I do, it means that one particular job function is my first responsibility. That is how I used the word.

Maggie Leung · 02-01-2011, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrsJoseph

There are a lot of people in this thread who claim that most ereaders are not "dedicated" now. Please, all you people with "multi-purpose" ereaders (iPad/iPhone/smart phone users are not included) - how do you use your ereader on a daily basis?

When I used a Kindle, all I did was read books, because every other function was too stunted for my tastes. I bought it to read books, though. I didn't expect more from it. I was waiting for better tablets to emerge. (I'd looked into tablets before, but nothing was functional enough for me.) I used a Kindle and read some books on netbook (and used the netbook for surfing and such). When I switched to iPad, I stopped using the netbook and the Kindle. I'd been waiting for tablets to develop for years.

MrsJoseph · 02-01-2011, 12:02 PM

I started reading ebooks long before I owned an ereader. I do not read on anything else now. My eyes can't take the strain of the brightness (at least that's part of it) from computer screens.

Maggie Leung · 02-01-2011, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrsJoseph

I started reading ebooks long before I owned an ereader. I do not read on anything else now. My eyes can't take the strain of the brightness (at least that's part of it) from computer screens.

If eyesight is a key reason that people love e-ink, e-ink is guaranteed a good customer base indefinitely, because people will keep buying it no matter what. Even if LCD devices were free, those people wouldn't be able to read books on them.

I'll read on LCD as long as my eyes don't give me trouble.

I used to read Gutenberg on netbooks and laptops, because there were endless great books for free, woohoo. It was uncomfortable reading entire books even on netbooks, though. For me, the trouble was weight and form factor, rather than eyesight. I made do, though, and wished for a tablet. If I read only fiction, I would've probably stuck with a Kindle, but I read a lot of nonfiction and news.

ApK · 02-01-2011, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maggie Leung

If eyesight is a key reason that people love e-ink, e-ink is guaranteed a good customer base indefinitely, because people will keep buying it no matter what.

Only until something better comes along. Same for LCD. And something will.
If that something has the best features of both, this element of the discussion will be moot, but it will not answer the question of whether or not a broad consumer market will continue to buy/carry/use a device [substantially] dedicated to reading text.

Quote:

If I read only fiction, I would've probably stuck with a Kindle, but I read a lot of nonfiction and news.

My Kindle seems to handle nonfiction just fine. It's never once stopped and asked me "Is this a true story?"

Maggie Leung · 02-01-2011, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ApK

Only until something better comes along. Same for LCD. And something will.
If that something has the best features of both, this element of the discussion will be moot.

My Kindle seems to handle nonfiction just fine. It's never once stopped and asked me "Is this a true story?"

"Until something better comes along" is a given with tech, I figure. I didn't think that needed spelling out.

Kindle and nonfiction: Depends on what kind of nonfiction you read. Mine often has maps, graphs and other images. I don't care whether a device works for you; I care only about whether it works for me, lol. I figure all consumers look out for their own needs.

elcreative · 02-01-2011, 01:21 PM

The Age of Miracles isn't over yet... couldn't agree more with your comments in this case especially the oft-overlooked, "suitability for you is not relevant, it's suitability for me that's important"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maggie Leung

"Until something better comes along" is a given with tech, I figure. I didn't think that needed spelling out.

Kindle and nonfiction: Depends on what kind if nonfiction you read. Mine often has maps, graphs and other images. I don't care whether a device works for you; I care only whether it works for me, lol. I figure all consumers look out for their own needs.

ApK · 02-01-2011, 01:36 PM

I thought this thread was discussing predictions on the future of dedicated ereaders as a technology--dead, niche, or widespread.
If it's just about whether the handful of posters here personally like their current reader, it's poorly titled.

Maggie Leung · 02-01-2011, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elcreative

The Age of Miracles isn't over yet... couldn't agree more with your comments in this case especially the oft-overlooked, "suitability for you is not relevant, it's suitability for me that's important"

Heck, yeah. We all like to read. That doesn't mean we're all gonna read the same way.

02-01-2011, 04:40 AM	#196
boxcorner »(°±°)« Posts: 826 Karma: 775629 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: divisive reader	All right, let's assume that the convergence of technologies - which began at least as long ago as the days of radio/cassette players - continues. So eventually there is a single universal multi-functional device that does absolutely everything, Internet access, phone, games player, multi-purpose calculator, multi-device remote control for TV, HiFi, DVD, home movie centre, satellite decoder, and so on, house energy control system, multi-function key for car(s), house(s) and so on, cash and credit payment, GPS, MP3 player, PDA, flashlight/torch, Twitter, SMS, Skype, still with video and night-vision camera, replacement for watches, ad infinitum ... what have I forgotten? Oh yes, e-book reader! This all-singing, all-dancing dream device is so fabulously wonderful that nowadays all your family, friends, colleagues and neighbours rely almost entirely on theirs, too. Some also continue to use netbooks, but people long ago gave up using landline phones, PCs are dinosaurs, etc. Nobody bothers with laptops anymore, relying solely on their universal tablet devices and the ubiquitous cloud for storage, plus perhaps also netbooks - or a hybrid. Then imagine one cold dark winter's night, just as you arrive home you discover to your absolute horror that your universal device has died, or been stolen. To make matters worse, you left your netbook at work, or it was stolen too. You feel absolutely devastated - panicky. You can't unlock the door to get into your freezing cold house, to override its non-functioning central heating system, you can't phone for help, even if you can get help, you can't pay for it, you don't have Internet access, no SMS, tweets, e-mail, and so on. Okay, maybe this a rather silly example - tablet, or netbook, or some kind of hybrid universal device, whatever - but have you ever lost a house key, been locked out of your car, had credit cards stolen, lost Internet access, lost your cell/mobile/portable phone? Is complete convergence really the best way forward? Last edited by boxcorner; 02-01-2011 at 05:16 AM.

02-01-2011, 05:43 AM	#197
GlenBarrington Cheese Whiz Posts: 1,986 Karma: 11677147 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Springfield, Illinois Device: Kindle PW, Samsung Tab A 10.1(2019), Pixel 6a.	Does it really matter? I will buy whatever works for me. And eReaders are cheap enough that it isn't like most people have to worry about locking themselves into a dead-end technology anyway. Maybe my lack of concern is because I came to eReaders from the multipurpose background of a Palm PDA and Treo cell phones. I was reasonably happy with reading on Palm devices except that as I aged, it became more difficult to read the smaller text or see the tiny graphics. When it's time to retire my PRS350, I'll consider all my options, though I will say I'm not THAT interested in something I can't shove into a man's pants pocket. Portability is still very important to me. I think there will always be a market for devices that emphasise the maximum in portability. Last edited by GlenBarrington; 02-01-2011 at 05:48 AM.

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02-01-2011, 07:30 AM	#198
Darkitow Enthusiast Posts: 43 Karma: 230 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Kindle 3	I don't see why e-readers would be displaced by table devices. I wouldn't waste my money in a 6' screen tablet, what the heck would I do with that crap tiny screen? It would be good only for that, reading e-books, and to read e-books I prefer an e-ink device. Tablets are good only for people who move enough to get a good use of it, like reading documents and magazines and doing web tasks on the move, like people who travel a lot for business purposes... At home or workplace, I don't see what a tablet would serve for. Nothing is better at home than a good desktop PC, serving as central memory device and workspace, you can connect it to modern TVs and other devices, it even works as Hi-Fi. And for workplace or educational purposes, like university, library, etc, a laptop is much more useful. If you wanna read mails in the bus going from your home to the work, you can use your phone, smartphones are taking over all phone industry. If in the future laptops are displaced by tablets, something that I see much more plausible, and I wouldn't care about having a 11' tablet if they achieve the same performance and usefulness as a real laptop, then I'd gladly leave my tiny netbook for a tablet, but an e-reader? oh, noes.

02-01-2011, 07:49 AM	#199
MrsJoseph Loves Ellipsis... Posts: 1,554 Karma: 7899232 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Washington, DC Device: Kobo Wifi (broken), nook STR (returned), Kobo Touch, Sony T1	There are a lot of people in this thread who claim that most ereaders are not "dedicated" now. Please, all you people with "multi-purpose" ereaders (iPad/iPhone/smart phone users are not included) - how do you use your ereader on a daily basis?

02-01-2011, 12:02 PM	#204
MrsJoseph Loves Ellipsis... Posts: 1,554 Karma: 7899232 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Washington, DC Device: Kobo Wifi (broken), nook STR (returned), Kobo Touch, Sony T1	I started reading ebooks long before I owned an ereader. I do not read on anything else now. My eyes can't take the strain of the brightness (at least that's part of it) from computer screens.

02-01-2011, 01:36 PM	#209
ApK Award-Winning Participant Posts: 7,389 Karma: 68329346 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: NJ, USA Device: Kindle	I thought this thread was discussing predictions on the future of dedicated ereaders as a technology--dead, niche, or widespread. If it's just about whether the handful of posters here personally like their current reader, it's poorly titled.

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