Tablets won

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

They don't exist in the Netherlands. One must buy either from Germany or the UK.

Then you might have a point over there.

[leebase]

Originally Posted by charmian

I think people can argue a lot about e-ink vs. LCD, but to me the more interesting question is, what are the consequences of a slowdown/drop in e-ink reader sales in the US for future e-ink reader production and prices?

Just look to film to see. As digital took over, the number of suppliers went down and the prices came up.

I would imagine the eInk market is of sufficient size to keep Amazon, B&N and Sony engaged. But the Mirasols of the world, the <insert all the yesterday's hot topics that never came to fruition>'s of the world will not come about.

What was that company that was forever talked about coming out with a business oriented eInk system? I forget. Well, that's dead. So is anything else beside your basic touch ereader.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by leebase

What was that company that was forever talked about coming out with a business oriented eInk system? I forget. Well, that's dead. So is anything else beside your basic touch ereader.

I think it might be a bit premature and/or naive to think that eInk technology is (or now always will be) limited to basic ereader devices and nothing else. The uses for screens that require no electricity to maintain their displays is still largely unexplored. So while there may be no more innovative improvements in eInk screen technology BECAUSE of the ereader market, that doesn't mean future eInk readers won't be able to benefit from technological advances made in eInk screens developed for other uses. Is there some particular reason that you need eInk to die?

[leebase]

I never claimed eInk would die. I claim that the number of providers would drop and the price would go up as happens when mainstream products become niche products. Innovation will slow to a crawl. Investment will drop.

It's already happening. We are well into the decline.

[Katsunami]

E-Ink would certainly cause great powersavings. Many companies are using large LCD-display TV's in their lobbies to display product images and such. Running such a TV costs a lot of power; if it was replaced by an e-ink device, it would only require power when flipping the image once every several minutes.

[leebase]

EInk as a technology may well find other uses...as the article I linked to suggested. That's the growth area the company is pursuing in light of the collapse in the ereader marker

[ApK]

Originally Posted by leebase

What was that company that was forever talked about coming out with a business oriented eInk system? I forget. Well, that's dead. So is anything else beside your basic touch ereader.

Are you perhaps referring to the Ricoh eQuill?

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by leebase

EInk as a technology may well find other uses...as the article I linked to suggested. That's the growth area the company is pursuing in light of the collapse in the ereader marker

And what do you think is going to happen, after e-Ink is able to create 40-60-80+ inch e-ink screens for an acceptable amount of money?

The 6 inch e-ink screens will practically be free. A small SOC (system on chip) is also extremely cheap, already. There is a lot of open source software available, from tiny Linux distributions to Android.

It will become possible to create a 6 inch lighted e-reader and sell it for $20; there will be enough companies that are going to do so. Maybe some will even turn it around: buy e-books for $50, get your e-reader for free.

I for one think that both the 6 to 8 inch e-reader and 6 to 8 inch tablet will disappear. They will merge into one device, with a screen that combines the advantages of e-ink and LCD.

[leebase]

I think eInk devices are already so cheap that price isn't a driver of sales. I think it's clear that it's reading that drove the success of the Kindle more than eInk. The Amazon store with easy access to ebooks reasonably priced. Amazon did for ebooks what iTunes did for music.

I think devices not tied to an ecosystem like Kindle, Kobo, B&N, Sony are dead. All of those ecosystems have come out with tablets too. On top of that are the apps that bring those ebook ecosystems to general tablets.

EInk sales didn't level off, they crashed. Thus was the ecosystem more than the eInk that drove the early explosion. Ebooks are still growing very well....just on tablets and smartphones. Those that absolutely hate reading on an LCD device are simply vastly outnumbered by those who find it good enough or even preferred. Tablets have come down in price, size and weight. Smartphones have increased in screen size and resolution.

It's kind of like 3D games. I can't play them, they make me "car sick" within 15 minutes. That's true of a lot of people. But the vast majority have no problem whatsoever.

Originally Posted by leebase

I think devices not tied to an ecosystem like Kindle, Kobo, B&N, Sony are dead.

I suspect that this is both true, and contributing to the decline of eInk based devices. You can buy a tablet or phone and use it with your favourite bookstore. You can buy from multiple bookstores if that tickles your fancy. You can even borrow library books. All of this can be done from your tablet or phone.

Ereaders can't boast that ease of use unless you only use the vendor's bookstore. Want to borrow a library book, you're going to have to use your computer (with the exception of Sony and maybe Amazon in the US). Want to read book isn't available from your ereader vendor's bookstore, which is a very real possibility outside of the US, you're going to have to use your computer and maybe even break the law.

If you don't have a particular reason to buy an ereader, why would you put up with that sort of nonsense?

Those that absolutely hate reading on an LCD device are simply vastly outnumbered by those who find it good enough or even preferred.

It's not simply a matter of hate. As far as I can tell, many people who have eInk based ereaders also have LCD based tablets. There are a multitude of reasons for this. Some are clearly based upon preference, while others are based upon suitability to task (e.g. the LCD displays found on most, if not all, tablets, cannot be read outdoors). Now I'm not saying that the ereader crowd is going to outnumber the tablet crowd, nor should it. The important thing though is that the option exists.

[Teknikal]

E-Ink already has other uses Shops are starting to use them to display prices on shelving, It's not hard to imagine in the future all the prices changing on the fly as soon as someone updates a database.

If colour E-Ink ever happens it will be an advertisers dream for things like Billboards, Cinema posters, etc hopefully becomes cheap enough in the future it's actually disposable.

Possibilities are pretty endless think board games that change, Wall Calendars that can actually sync with Google Calendar. who knows really we are still in the early days.

Teknikal, I love your ideas. Yet I somehow suspect that they are too radical for most people to handle.

[Dr. Drib]

Sorry, but tablets will never win with the majority of committed readers.





Don

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Sorry, but tablets will never win with the majority of committed readers.

Don

Never is a long time. Why would they not "win" if they get down to the size, weight, price, battery life and reading display quality as dedicated eink readers?

[zinj]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

There are already some tablets that are starting to use reflective LCD's.

Can you name any?