Cheaper E-Book Readers ? - Page 2

mogui · 06-28-2007, 12:22 AM

No, they won't have quality cases. The cover will be thick colorful paper with attractive graphics. On the back you will see a summary of the book. Open the cover and the title page will be displayed. Press the forward button and you will see the beginning of the first chapter. Finish the book and you can take it to a used-book store for one quarter credit. Or throw it away . . .

chy182 · 06-28-2007, 11:58 AM

as RWood said ,the only expensive part is the E-ink display screen .it need for a time to get below $200.
but if we only want to own the paperlike displaying device ,how about M218A?it's display technology is all new Japenese TFT technology.i find the effect is good too.

spartman · 07-09-2007, 10:44 PM

sony readers have gone on sale for 100 dollars......

yvanleterrible · 07-10-2007, 08:37 AM

China will flip the market on its back in no time, as they always do.

As mogui has suggested for a good while now, when eink is used for advertizing or price display, the costs of production will plummet rapidly. This trend will follow every electronic device type. Today's manufacturers are profiteering on novelty and they are doing well to do so. They had the guts to go out and make something new that went against the ingrained Holy paper book. Kudos to them.

Spartman in his observaqtion suggests that maybe the actual retailer pays less than 100$ for the device he sells us!?! He is probably right. I still remember and will all my life with anger and resentment that the 600$ printer I bought in 1987 actually cost 35$ to produce! I was earning 8$ an hour then.

New markets do not last as long as they used to. In less than two years we will see ebook readers fall way below 100$.

mogui · 07-10-2007, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NatCh

Features tend to get cheaper the longer they're available. Power locks used to add thousands of dollars to a car's price, now they're a few hundred, I could list supporting examples for this for a long, long time before I ran out of them.

I bought a new car here the other day. Mine is silver.

Maybe I paid just for the power door locks? It came to 36,800 yuan, plus road tax and insurance. That translates to US$4,853.92.

Now this car has a nice fit and finish, a five-speed transmission, radio-tape player, air conditioning, airbags and power door locks and windows that lock up nicely when I press the little button on the key.

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So if Chery motors can produce a peppy little auto like this (very reminiscent of my Suzuki Swift I had in the US) for the price of a high-end laptop, maybe a savvy Chinese electronics firm can whip something together in a plastic case, with a low-cost screen and have us all reading happily for just lunch money.

If we don't wait for cheap EP displays, it can happen soon. If we really want Eink, we can wait until the price of EP displays comes way down, because it will.

In other posts here I mentioned the MP4 player I used as a reader. My cost was about US$50! With a few firmware changes (a non-recurring development expense), it would be a passable reader. Trade the music circuitry for a slightly larger display and we have -- the Kindle? Or maybe the uKindle.

And let us not forget the eBookwise-1150. The base model is going for US$110 plus shipping. People say it is a good eReader. What are the production costs? I would guess about one third of retail -- or less. Filament Books will give you one for free, if only you join their book club for a year!

A company like Amazon would be very smart to sponsor the development of a rock-bottom device and run something like Mobipocket on it. If you saw a blister pack in Barnes and Noble that offered an eReader and two popular eBooks, and it was priced at the normal cost of the two hardcover novels alone, would you jump at it?

Great googley-moogley, we're almost there!

HarryT · 07-10-2007, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spartman

sony readers have gone on sale for 100 dollars......

Only as a "one day only" promotional gimick. That doesn't mean that anyone can afford to sell them as a profitable commercial concern at the price.

volwrath · 07-10-2007, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mogui

I bought a new car here the other day. Mine is silver.

Maybe I paid just for the power door locks? It came to 36,800 yuan, plus road tax and insurance. That translates to US$4,853.92.

That is an incredible price!

NatCh · 07-10-2007, 12:29 PM

It'd probably cost $10k to import it to the U.S. though.

JSWolf · 07-10-2007, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Only as a "one day only" promotional gimick. That doesn't mean that anyone can afford to sell them as a profitable commercial concern at the price.

And don't forget for US Residents the Credit card offer as well for about $50.

mogui · 07-10-2007, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NatCh

It'd probably cost $10k to import it to the U.S. though.

Somebody plans to do just that, though they might have to arm-wrestle Chevy over it. They will bring other Chery autos over too. US News give us news too. There are opinions crafted by non-newshounds. Golly gee Vern!

mogui · 07-10-2007, 08:54 PM

We all like to see technology become cheaper. But I am a little bummed because the scifi writers and Popular mechanics magazine promised me that "soon" robotics would make everything so cheap that we wouldn't have to work at all. I waited and I waited. Finally I just retired.

But getting back to eReaders -- ETI makes the eBw-1150 as well as the ETI-2 sold by Filament Books (see above). It is a good design with a touchscreen and stylus, and they have another model too. See this thread. Filament has a lot of good info on their website. Take a tour. See the Quick Start Guide. The User's Manual tells how to buy eBooks over the phone line. For US$200 you get the reader and 24 eBooks over a one year period. Deal time?

One really interesting feature of the eBw is that it can connect to the server via the phone line. It is not clear that this can eliminate the PC entirely, but it suggests a great way to market eBooks. Filament says you can buy eBooks over the phone line sans PC. Send the user a mailer about once a month. Ads would describe new eBooks and list current stock as well. The user merely connects to the phone line and inputs the eBook designations on the reader. The eBooks are downloaded to the reader and the credit card is charged automatically. No PC!

Theoretically this method would work all over the world -- no VAT or other taxes!

This technology would be perfect for those of us who like to read but are not computer savvy, or who do not wish to invest in a lot of equipment. Literally thousands of non-technophile customers could use this method. This would greatly expand the market.

So the cheap reader is here today. ETI sounds like a company that will deal. A startup that wanted to get into the eBook market could probably get ETI to customize their firmware for a sufficiently large order. Maybe this is what Filament has done. Wish them well!

Would a walk-in bookstore get into this business? Maybe eBook buyers wouldn't come into the store to browse. But they would become the Monkey Wards of eBooks! It is a vast market.

jclwdp · 08-09-2007, 05:10 AM

In china ,the ebook market is booming .Now a lot ebook products cost about $40-200$,i think it will get cheaper and cheaper.Great,the ebook' future is very bright!

mogui · 08-10-2007, 11:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jclwdp

In china ,the ebook market is booming .Now a lot ebook products cost about $40-200$,i think it will get cheaper and cheaper.Great,the ebook' future is very bright!

Hmm. I am in China and I don't see eBooks for sale. I am able to read text files on translators and MP4 players, but I have not seen an eBook reader for sale.

Can you provide any links? (Thanks in advance)

alophind · 08-19-2007, 01:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jclwdp

In china ,the ebook market is booming .Now a lot ebook products cost about $40-200$,i think it will get cheaper and cheaper.Great,the ebook' future is very bright!

Which eBook devices did you see for less then 200$ in China (And where?!)

Thanks

stasys · 08-21-2007, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mogui

Can you provide any links?

Take a look here -
http://www.globalsources.com/manufac...T-Ebook/0.html
it seams that in China only light bulbs can not work as e-book readers

)

06-28-2007, 11:58 AM	#17
chy182 Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 12 Join Date: Jun 2007 Device: V2	as RWood said ,the only expensive part is the E-ink display screen .it need for a time to get below $200. but if we only want to own the paperlike displaying device ,how about M218A?it's display technology is all new Japenese TFT technology.i find the effect is good too. Last edited by chy182; 06-28-2007 at 11:13 PM.

07-10-2007, 08:54 PM	#26
mogui eNigma Posts: 503 Karma: 1335 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: The Philippines Device: HTC G1 Android FBReader	We all like to see technology become cheaper. But I am a little bummed because the scifi writers and Popular mechanics magazine promised me that "soon" robotics would make everything so cheap that we wouldn't have to work at all. I waited and I waited. Finally I just retired. But getting back to eReaders -- ETI makes the eBw-1150 as well as the ETI-2 sold by Filament Books (see above). It is a good design with a touchscreen and stylus, and they have another model too. See this thread. Filament has a lot of good info on their website. Take a tour. See the Quick Start Guide. The User's Manual tells how to buy eBooks over the phone line. For US$200 you get the reader and 24 eBooks over a one year period. Deal time? One really interesting feature of the eBw is that it can connect to the server via the phone line. It is not clear that this can eliminate the PC entirely, but it suggests a great way to market eBooks. Filament says you can buy eBooks over the phone line sans PC. Send the user a mailer about once a month. Ads would describe new eBooks and list current stock as well. The user merely connects to the phone line and inputs the eBook designations on the reader. The eBooks are downloaded to the reader and the credit card is charged automatically. No PC! Theoretically this method would work all over the world -- no VAT or other taxes! This technology would be perfect for those of us who like to read but are not computer savvy, or who do not wish to invest in a lot of equipment. Literally thousands of non-technophile customers could use this method. This would greatly expand the market. So the cheap reader is here today. ETI sounds like a company that will deal. A startup that wanted to get into the eBook market could probably get ETI to customize their firmware for a sufficiently large order. Maybe this is what Filament has done. Wish them well! Would a walk-in bookstore get into this business? Maybe eBook buyers wouldn't come into the store to browse. But they would become the Monkey Wards of eBooks! It is a vast market. Last edited by mogui; 07-10-2007 at 09:27 PM.

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06-28-2007, 12:22 AM	#16
mogui eNigma Posts: 503 Karma: 1335 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: The Philippines Device: HTC G1 Android FBReader	No, they won't have quality cases. The cover will be thick colorful paper with attractive graphics. On the back you will see a summary of the book. Open the cover and the title page will be displayed. Press the forward button and you will see the beginning of the first chapter. Finish the book and you can take it to a used-book store for one quarter credit. Or throw it away . . .

07-09-2007, 10:44 PM	#18
spartman Member Posts: 14 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2007 Device: palm sj33	sony readers have gone on sale for 100 dollars......

07-10-2007, 08:37 AM	#19
yvanleterrible Reborn Paper User Posts: 8,616 Karma: 15446734 Join Date: May 2006 Location: Que Nada Device: iPhone8, iPad Air	China will flip the market on its back in no time, as they always do. As mogui has suggested for a good while now, when eink is used for advertizing or price display, the costs of production will plummet rapidly. This trend will follow every electronic device type. Today's manufacturers are profiteering on novelty and they are doing well to do so. They had the guts to go out and make something new that went against the ingrained Holy paper book. Kudos to them. Spartman in his observaqtion suggests that maybe the actual retailer pays less than 100$ for the device he sells us!?! He is probably right. I still remember and will all my life with anger and resentment that the 600$ printer I bought in 1987 actually cost 35$ to produce! I was earning 8$ an hour then. New markets do not last as long as they used to. In less than two years we will see ebook readers fall way below 100$.

07-10-2007, 12:29 PM	#23
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	It'd probably cost $10k to import it to the U.S. though.

08-09-2007, 05:10 AM	#27
jclwdp Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 18 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: M218A ,V2,V8,starebook	In china ,the ebook market is booming .Now a lot ebook products cost about $40-200$,i think it will get cheaper and cheaper.Great,the ebook' future is very bright!

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