Sony continues to see the potential of e-books, says BW

[LaughingVulcan]

Typically, though, that kind of showcasing and marketing effort is something that the manufacturer pays the company for. Not only the physical display itself (purchased from a third party company) but the actual space on an endcap / aisle / etc. is also "rented" from the company. So the question is would Sony pay up to put an attractive Reader display in stores?

[happyreader]

Maybe they will sell at Best Buy. I don't know.

I like the display at Borders where I was able to put my hands on it which led to the purchase.

I've also enjoyed the ads in the NYTBR. Quite frankly they needed to advertise in upscale publications as it's not priced for mainstream buyers.

And that's the chicken/egg situation. It has to sell in significant quantities to bring the price down. It also has to sell enough to justify advertising and to expand where it's advertised. And it also has to sell in sufficient quantities to make it attractive to add additional resellers.

[HarryT]

But it's never going to be able to sell in retail stores at the $50 level; I can perhaps see it getting down to around $200, but no lower than that. That's determined by the manufacturing cost of the screen, the distribution process, the fact that the manufacturer, wholesaler, and retailer all have to make some profit, etc.

[happyreader]

$200 is more attractive than $299.

Unfortunately, we're not going to see the economies of scale anytime soon that has brought DVD players down to $50 or less.

Not unless it's discontinued and priced accordingly

[monkeywrench]

Originally Posted by HarryT

But it's never going to be able to sell in retail stores at the $50 level; I can perhaps see it getting down to around $200, but no lower than that. That's determined by the manufacturing cost of the screen, the distribution process, the fact that the manufacturer, wholesaler, and retailer all have to make some profit, etc.

I think you are right. We won't see this thing any lower than $200 dollars any time soon. I do think that how well Sony does with Connect can play a role in the price of the device though. I would look at it much like a cell phone. If Sony is able to sell enough books in the Connect store they may be able to sell the device at a loss and subsidize the loss with book sales. This would be much like taking a loss on a cell phone because they are making enough off of the service.

I think this would be ideal for consumers as I saw that someone commented on the recent Engadget article that you could buy 30-35 real books for the price of the reader alone. Depending on where you buy your books I guess that may be possible but I think that number would be more like 12-15. That is still a lot of books. I am pretty sure that a lot of people have this mindset as this was actually something that I considered before I got a reader.

I am very happy to see that the devices availability is getting better and I hope this will mean improvements in content that is available for the device at Sony Connect and other places as well.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by monkeywrench

I think you are right. We won't see this thing any lower than $200 dollars any time soon. I do think that how well Sony does with Connect can play a role in the price of the device though. I would look at it much like a cell phone. If Sony is able to sell enough books in the Connect store they may be able to sell the device at a loss and subsidize the loss with book sales. This would be much like taking a loss on a cell phone because they are making enough off of the service.

Sony can afford to sell, say, the PS3 at a loss because, as you say, they make money from the games. I'm not sure that this business model works for an "open" device like the Reader, however, where there are lots of different sources of content for it. People don't have to buy their books from Connect, unfortunately (from Sony's point of view, that is), so Connect can't afford to sell books at higher prices than other sources, or people would simply go elsewhere.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

I disagree about most of these "never be below $200" comments: You're not taking into account the fact that other manufacturers in other countries, China, for instance, have a healthy "clone" business going, and that it's entirely possible for a Sony Reader clone to appear at less than $100. Don't think so? There's already an iPhone clone out there, substantially cheaper than the iPhone. All it takes is a perceived market... which brings us back to marketing, so there'll be a market!

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

I disagree about most of these "never be below $200" comments: You're not taking into account the fact that other manufacturers in other countries, China, for instance, have a healthy "clone" business going, and that it's entirely possible for a Sony Reader clone to appear at less than $100. Don't think so? There's already an iPhone clone out there, substantially cheaper than the iPhone. All it takes is a perceived market... which brings us back to marketing, so there'll be a market!

But the majority of the cost of the Reader is the screen, and there is a definite minimum cost to manufacturing those. Look at laptop PCs - that's a hugely competitive market - vastly more so than for a device like the Reader - but you can't buy a laptop for $100.

Time will tell. I'd love to be wrong about this!

[Ravenflight]

I could see it selling well at a 99.00 price point- after all, that's just a bit more than the 58.00 price that enticed me to get one.
Especially if Sony were to fix the clunky UI, add some enhancements that make the e-book a step up from paper, instead of just an alternative. I could envision a touch interface with built in dictionary where you just touch a word and up pops the definition. That would go a long way to justifying paying almost the same for an e-book as paper in my mind. Or how about something like a podcast where you just subscribe to your favorite publications and the latest one is automatically placed on your reader at every sync. The New York Times has 23 free podcasts on iTunes and I don't see either the New York Times or Apple suffering.

I don't see why it couldn't fall to the 99.00 point. Doesn't Palm sell a color display palm for 99.00? Didn't I read somewhere that the new Vizplex displays are significantly easier (cheaper) to produce than the older e-ink displays and are assembled on the same manufacturing equipment used to make LCDs?

[volwrath]

Originally Posted by HarryT

But the majority of the cost of the Reader is the screen, and there is a definite minimum cost to manufacturing those. Look at laptop PCs - that's a hugely competitive market - vastly more so than for a device like the Reader - but you can't buy a laptop for $100.

Time will tell. I'd love to be wrong about this!

No but you can buy one for $499. More widespread adoption will bring the price of eink readers down to $100.00 imo

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by HarryT

But the majority of the cost of the Reader is the screen, and there is a definite minimum cost to manufacturing those. Look at laptop PCs - that's a hugely competitive market - vastly more so than for a device like the Reader - but you can't buy a laptop for $100.

At one time, you couldn't buy a laptop for $2000. Then $1000. Now you can get one for $400, new.

Much of this is because it took decades for laptop LCD screen tech to settle into a specific technology and lock it in... before that, manufacturing plants were retooling their equipment for new tech specs every 2-3 years, keeping costs up. Now that LCD tech is fairly standardized, prices are coming down.

I see no reason to believe that the display technology can't similarly be brought down in price, once mass production has settled on overall designs and standards.

[mrsmegalosaur]

We took an extended vacation this summer and as voracious readers the only way to stay within the 50lb (40lb's on Alitalia) luggage weight limit was to have an ereader. It's small enough to slip into my purse so I don't have to worry about it in a carry-on going through security. I loved being able to switch genres without carrying and digging through luggage. I can't imagine traveling with books in any other format. I think I sold several Sony eReaders on the trip. Grandparents will be buying them for grandchildren in December! What a great present. - mrsmegalosaur

[Studio717]

Part of the issue at Best Buy might be that the clerks at the stores are in the very large percentage of folks who don't read books. At all. If you don't read books, then there's no reason to know about an e-book reader.

I still don't understand the whole "I'll never give up reading real books" mindset. I mean, I read for the content: stories, information... Unless it's a magnificently gravure-printed coffee table book of breathtaking images, I just can't see what difference it makes whether one is reading on an e-ink device or print on dead tree pulp. (And if it's a mass market paperback, then make that acidic dead tree pulp.)

When I first bought my Sony E-Reader, I went to show a friend who's in the above camp. And before I even pulled it out of my bag, she said, "I'm not going to be convinced." Sigh.

[Draccy]

I've actually been fairly lucky in the last two visits to the Best Buy at the Greendale Mall in Worcester, Massachusetts. Both times that I went to drool over... I mean visit a Sony Reader, I've been fortunate enough to have somehow timed my visit around a Sony representative visiting that store. Granted, the Reader doesn't warrant its own place on a main shelf, and is relegated to being behind some small laptops on a self-standing display, it still is prominently shown. The first time I went, I had to solicit the Sony Rep to get some help, but the second time, a different representative saw my drool, and came over to remove the unit from the display so that I could get an accurate feel of the weight. The really surprising thing? This rep explained about the "book cover" and how one needed to be really careful when applying it so that the screen isn't damaged (something I've read here while lurking for the past few months). Its rare to find a Border's nearby that has the Reader on display, so if you are looking, check Best Buy. Maybe you'll have my luck too?

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by Studio717

Part of the issue at Best Buy might be that the clerks at the stores are in the very large percentage of folks who don't read books. At all. If you don't read books, then there's no reason to know about an e-book reader.

Yeah, based on the guys who helped me, I'd buy that.

Originally Posted by Studio717

I still don't understand the whole "I'll never give up reading real books" mindset. I mean, I read for the content: stories, information... Unless it's a magnificently gravure-printed coffee table book of breathtaking images, I just can't see what difference it makes whether one is reading on an e-ink device or print on dead tree pulp.

I'll second this, loudly and enthusiastically. The complaints about e-books are so thin, they generally boil down to "Oh, God, something different again? But I don't wanna do nothing different! I don't wanna!.."