CNET predicts dedicated ereaders are doomed technology

[ApK]

Originally Posted by ApK

So I'll put my prediction against yours, and meet you back here in a decade or two. Winner buys the drinks.

ApK

It's been a decade. I think someone owes me a drink. Especially if 2-in-1 form factor laptops count.

[rem736]

i remember when another organization (zdnet?) judged and predicted that the iPad would never take off. and judgement was made before it was even released in 2010. i also remember the blowback on the judgement. and from all the online comments, i think the "reporter" was either reprimanded in some form or even let go from the company.

[fduniho]

Dedicated ereaders have started to get competition from e-ink tablets, but Amazon and Rakuten generally keep the Kindle and Kobo apps less capable than their ereaders, which should help keep dedicated ereaders a desirable option. Also, dedicated ereaders tend to be cheaper than e-ink tablets, which also helps.

[Lynx-lynx]

Anyone got the latest stats on numbers of ereaders sold and in general circulation. Also numbers sold say over the last two years (covid lockdown period in many countries).

As they keep being designed and sold, there may be some profit. Of course, it could be just so the ebook store attached to the device remains in profit

[joblack]

So? The newest e-ink Onyx Boox are basically tablets.

[etherspin]

Originally Posted by rem736

i remember when another organization (zdnet?) judged and predicted that the iPad would never take off. and judgement was made before it was even released in 2010. i also remember the blowback on the judgement. and from all the online comments, i think the "reporter" was either reprimanded in some form or even let go from the company.

fair play RE the ipad though - Microsoft struggled to make a dedicated Tablet only platform as did Palm (long gone) and Google and their various companies using their Android OS have repeatedly tried tablets (with detachable physical keyboards is not the same thing)

I think Apple via their fenced off software, closed hardware and making iphone apps work on the ipad at launch to fill out the possible app library kept the devices afloat long enough to gain momentum and popularity

without all that they probably would be gone

I do expect multiplatform tablet devices again to be more polished and popular down the track if they can get light enough at bigger screen sizes to outmode the huge phones we have these days