Unprecedented Demand!

carandol · 01-11-2008, 02:21 PM

I took the plunge and ordered an Iliad from Libresco this morning. I soon had an email back from the MD (who's been very helpful answering several technical questions in the past few weeks) saying he'd let me know when it would arrive as soon as he had a tracking order for delivery. I've just had another email to let me know that the European distribution hub has run out due to "unprecedented demand" since the new year, but I'm at the top of the list when more go out in the last week of January.

I'm obviously a bit disappointed, but OTOH, "unprecedented demand" seems like a positive thing. It seems to bode well for the future of the device.

tribble · 01-11-2008, 02:29 PM

Well, they are not the only ones who are now out of stock

vivaldirules · 01-11-2008, 02:41 PM

Sure wish we knew something quantitative about how the sales for ebook readers have been lately.

yvanleterrible · 01-11-2008, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

Sure wish we knew something quantitative about how the sales for ebook readers have been lately.

Yeah! I'd like that too but when you ask someone it's like asking a couple what's going on under the covers.

Nate the great · 01-11-2008, 03:12 PM

It's all Amazon's fault. If they hadn't brought attention to ebook readers in promoting the Kindle, it wouldn't beso hard to get one. I curse thee, Amazon!

carandol · 01-11-2008, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nate the great

It's all Amazon's fault. If they hadn't brought attention to ebook readers in promoting the Kindle, it wouldn't beso hard to get one. I curse thee, Amazon!

Could be Amazon are cursing themselves, since by making the Kindle incompatible with Europe, they're effectively boosting sales of their competitors' products :-)

Nate the great · 01-11-2008, 05:34 PM

Right now Amazon doesn't give a rat's ass about network incompatibilities. The Kindle is sold out over a month in advance. The shipping date is so far away that Amazon won't even quote it anymore.

JSWolf · 01-11-2008, 05:51 PM

The Kindle is not sold out over a month in advance. It's just hard to get the screens so it's going to take a while to get enough stock to do a batch ship.

NatCh · 01-11-2008, 05:56 PM

I don't follow ... the screens have to get to the assembler (assuming that that isn't PVI) before Amazon can get any of the devices ... how does that differ from Amazon being sold out of them?

carandol · 01-11-2008, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The Kindle is not sold out over a month in advance. It's just hard to get the screens so it's going to take a while to get enough stock to do a batch ship.

So, there's obviously a shortage of e-paper screens. Must be caused by the shortage of e-ink, itself a sad legacy of the overfishing of e-squid.

nekokami · 01-11-2008, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carandol

So, there's obviously a shortage of e-paper screens. Must be caused by the shortage of e-ink, itself a sad legacy of the overfishing of e-squid.

Thanks, I needed that.

Lazycat · 01-12-2008, 04:45 AM

I also intended to buy the Kindle when Amazon promoted it, but when I found that both of the device and the contents are not available outside US, I searched for other similar devices and found the iLiad!

I bought one and loved it so much! Thanks to Amazon!

Adam B. · 01-12-2008, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tribble

Well, they are not the only ones who are now out of stock

Tribble,

Have you seen the demand for the iLiad go up since the Kindle release?

tribble · 01-12-2008, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam B.

Have you seen the demand for the iLiad go up since the Kindle release?

No, not significantly. But its not that much of a deal here in germany. Most people still have never heard of it anyway. And those who know about it, have been interested in the technology before, so they usually know about the other readers beforehand.

And since i am selling only since end of august and it has been christmas time, i really cannot tell wether the kindle has pushed sales or seasonal reasins. I have seen sales go up during december though.

But its still a niche market and i could not live from the sales. I am not a traditional trader, i just happened to be very enthusiastic about the e-ink technology and wanted to spread the tech. But the sales are higher than i would have expected.

dkm365 · 01-12-2008, 11:46 AM

I'm another who while I've been curious about e-readers, was prompted by the Kindle publicity to take a closer look. While the Kindle has some pluses (esp. the NY Times subscription delivery & the easy access to an online bookstore), the works everywhere bit is a joke even in much of the U.S. as the Sprint data network is so spotty and wifi hotspots are more available, and the attempt to not only to tie you to Amazon but also having Amazon know so much info about your use habits was a real non-starter for me.

After my usual obsessing over options, I bought an iLiad (the U.S. distributor has them in stock even though iRex appears to be out of stock). I'm an academic, so the ability to annotate readings was an important feature, which narrowed the field. I hope that iRex &/or the small community of wonderful volunteer hackers can make annotation on the mobipocket reader work in the near future to compliment the .pdf capability. The bigger screen for .pdf viewing was the other major plus that all the competition lacked. I hope that iRex recognizes the potential market with scholars and takes advantage of the edge it has. While there still are too few electronic versions of scholarly books, the increasing access to .pdf versions of journal articles make for a lot of paper to manage without a good way to read these electronically without the eye strain of regular computer monitors.

Can't wait to figure out all the potential of my new toy!

01-11-2008, 02:21 PM	#1
carandol Evangelist Posts: 423 Karma: 2153430 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: BeBook	Unprecedented Demand! I took the plunge and ordered an Iliad from Libresco this morning. I soon had an email back from the MD (who's been very helpful answering several technical questions in the past few weeks) saying he'd let me know when it would arrive as soon as he had a tracking order for delivery. I've just had another email to let me know that the European distribution hub has run out due to "unprecedented demand" since the new year, but I'm at the top of the list when more go out in the last week of January. I'm obviously a bit disappointed, but OTOH, "unprecedented demand" seems like a positive thing. It seems to bode well for the future of the device.

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01-11-2008, 02:29 PM	#2
tribble iLiad Maniac Posts: 1,382 Karma: 2369 Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Germany Device: Bookeen Opus (i love that thing) and iPad (what an irony)	Well, they are not the only ones who are now out of stock

01-11-2008, 02:41 PM	#3
vivaldirules When's Doughnut Day? Posts: 10,059 Karma: 13675475 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Houston, TX, US Device: Sony PRS-505, iPad	Sure wish we knew something quantitative about how the sales for ebook readers have been lately.

01-11-2008, 03:12 PM	#5
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	It's all Amazon's fault. If they hadn't brought attention to ebook readers in promoting the Kindle, it wouldn't beso hard to get one. I curse thee, Amazon!

01-11-2008, 05:34 PM	#7
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	Right now Amazon doesn't give a rat's ass about network incompatibilities. The Kindle is sold out over a month in advance. The shipping date is so far away that Amazon won't even quote it anymore.

01-11-2008, 05:51 PM	#8
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,957 Karma: 128903250 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	The Kindle is not sold out over a month in advance. It's just hard to get the screens so it's going to take a while to get enough stock to do a batch ship.

01-11-2008, 05:56 PM	#9
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	I don't follow ... the screens have to get to the assembler (assuming that that isn't PVI) before Amazon can get any of the devices ... how does that differ from Amazon being sold out of them?

01-12-2008, 04:45 AM	#12
Lazycat Enthusiast Posts: 46 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: iLiad 2nd Edition	I also intended to buy the Kindle when Amazon promoted it, but when I found that both of the device and the contents are not available outside US, I searched for other similar devices and found the iLiad! I bought one and loved it so much! Thanks to Amazon!

01-12-2008, 11:46 AM	#15
dkm365 Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Iowa, USA Device: iLiad, Palm T\|X	I'm another who while I've been curious about e-readers, was prompted by the Kindle publicity to take a closer look. While the Kindle has some pluses (esp. the NY Times subscription delivery & the easy access to an online bookstore), the works everywhere bit is a joke even in much of the U.S. as the Sprint data network is so spotty and wifi hotspots are more available, and the attempt to not only to tie you to Amazon but also having Amazon know so much info about your use habits was a real non-starter for me. After my usual obsessing over options, I bought an iLiad (the U.S. distributor has them in stock even though iRex appears to be out of stock). I'm an academic, so the ability to annotate readings was an important feature, which narrowed the field. I hope that iRex &/or the small community of wonderful volunteer hackers can make annotation on the mobipocket reader work in the near future to compliment the .pdf capability. The bigger screen for .pdf viewing was the other major plus that all the competition lacked. I hope that iRex recognizes the potential market with scholars and takes advantage of the edge it has. While there still are too few electronic versions of scholarly books, the increasing access to .pdf versions of journal articles make for a lot of paper to manage without a good way to read these electronically without the eye strain of regular computer monitors. Can't wait to figure out all the potential of my new toy!

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