e-reading; Revolution or Fading Fad?

[GeoffC]

"to faff" - a well known phrase on this side of the 'pond' ....

[Ben Thornton]

Originally Posted by ardeegee

And yet, MP3 players are massively popular and every one of them that isn't built into a cell phone (as far as I know) requires faffing about with a computer. (Googling-- "to faff"-- that's a new one.)

I think that this is why iPods/iTunes have dominated the market. They simplified things for a lot of people.

[ardeegee]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

"to faff" - a well known phrase on this side of the 'pond' ....

Typical pants from bloody limey wanker gits, then?

[Richard Herley]

Originally Posted by ardeegee

Typical pants from bloody limey wanker gits, then?

GeoffC may well be Scottish, or "Scotch", as we limeys (English) like to call them when winding them up.

Over to you, Geoff.

[GeoffC]

I ain't Scot ... but 'faffing about' means messing around and not getting on with what one is supposed to be doing ...

as me ma would say, "stop the faffin' around and get in car !"

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Scotch is tape and a drink(or so I've been told by Scots).

[J. Strnad]

Wow. There's a word that perfectly describes my lifestyle. Faff on!

[ardeegee]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

as me ma would say, "stop the faffin' around and get in car !"

At least she didn't say "fapping"...

[suecsi]

Originally Posted by Ben Thornton

When travelling by train, although I see a lot of laptops, ipods, NDS etc. being used, there are still a lot of people reading books. A lot of people like to read, so I think there is still a large population of readers who, given the right device and supporting services, would want a dedicated reader. In my view, Amazon has the right policy and will succeed in the UK - we shall see how they've done in 6-12 months.

It's easy, as someone comfortable with technology, to underestimate the value of being able to get content on to the device without faffing about with a computer. I suspect that this might be the single most important factor driving adoption in the US, and keeping it slower elsewhere. When showing people my reader, many were not really convinced of the benefits - the most impressive feature was the dictionary look-up in my experience. I think that shopping on the device might change that.

[bjones6416]

Drinking Game!

[leebase]

eInk will be around for at least a good five years if not forever. It is it's own "good thing". I debate those who think it's "the only serious reading technology", but I do agree that it has it's own appeal.

As for pricing, I cannot see quality multi-function tablets ever competing on price with eInk devices. So for a lot of folks, that too will be a reason to choose eInk.

Dedicated eReaders will also always be lighter.

They are here to stay until some unknown technology enters the scene.

However, I do think the multi-function devices like the iPad, smart phones, and forth coming "iPad killers" will FAR AND AWAY, become the main force in the ereading market.

Far and away, most people are not bothered by the reading experience of the iPad. The iPad just came out, just wait until the schools and colleges get a chance to weave these products (and forth-coming android/windows/web os slates) into their curriculum.

Lee

[AdamV]

that reminds me the debate that VHS would kill a cinema thing or radio - live artists... never happen, probbaly will not do...

paper books may eventaully become more like a hobby than a basic standard way of reading, but personally i doubt it... they will always be here no matter what course technology will take...

i personally love books, the paper ones, even if I read an ebook (and I like it) I always buy a paper book just to have it on my shelf... nothing can bit the sound of page being turn, the touch, the smell...

e-readers will be here as long as guys like us will support them by demanding and purchasing... what and how they will look and work in couple of years, time will tell... exoperience shows us that the future can surprise us in many ways

[patrickt]

A. We still use light emitting computer monitors but the ones we use today have little in common with the ones we used in 1982. I think a passive display like e-ink will be around for many years although the technology might change considerably.

B. Some people love books. It's irrational but it's there. Me, I love fountain pens. I haven't actually written anything beyond a signature in 25 years but that has no bearing on my love for fountain pens.

C. Apple makes lovely toys.

D. As some have describe, reading might be a fad. Students prefer watching a video.

[J. Strnad]

As long as those extra functions come at the cost of weight and $$, there will be a market for dedicated ereaders. I've seen iPads, played with them, been duly impressed by the Alice in Wonderland app that gives you illustrations that move, sort of. But when it's all over, I still find the iPad too heavy for comfortable reading, the moving illustrations are a distraction, and it costs too much.

If I travelled much, I might get a tablet for make-do surfing of the internet, checking email, and some reading, as a substitute for my netbook (another multi-function, web-surfing device). But for an extended reading session (say, twenty minutes or more) I'd want a light, e-ink device.

And again, it doesn't matter if tablets outsell dedicated ereaders ten-to-one, a hundred-to-one, or a thousand-to-one. They're different devices. They sell about 15-20 million bicycles in the USA annually; they sell about half that many passenger cars. What does that tell you? That Americans prefer bicycles over cars? That cars will eventually be phased out in favor of bicycles? Or does it really tell you, pretty much, nothing?

[m-reader]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

e-reading; Revolution or Fading Fad? Reply to Thread

IMHO it's neither. It's Evolution.
It's not really revolutionary, because reading is still the same old reading same as it ever was. Fad it isn't either - that's for sure.

I think we are just changing the medium on which the books are printed. First it was rocks, then papyrus, then printing press, and now it's electronic devices.