Is the ereader dead?

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

Personally, I find that WAY too much trouble! If I have a non Kindle book I want to read, I just use my tablet. I like my Paperwhite very much, and I prefer to use it, but it's just easier to occasionally use my tablet.

Yeah, I get it. I just like to tinker with my books and my library, so it's no particular trouble for me. And, well, I could read a book on a tablet if I had to, but I wouldn't enjoy the experience at all, so I'll do whatever I can to avoid the necessity.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Yeah, I get it. I just like to tinker with my books and my library, so it's no particular trouble for me. And, well, I could read a book on a tablet if I had to, but I wouldn't enjoy the experience at all, so I'll do whatever I can to avoid the necessity.

An ereader is easier to carry and hold than the average tablet I imagine. I've never had an ipad for example but you can't slip it easily into the small pocket of a backpack and certainly not into a pants pocket like you could with an eink reader. Of course with the latter you have to be careful not to crack your screen's substrate as well.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

That requires extra steps via computer, though. I expect majority of consumers find downloading directly using the device with the requisite app easier.

Actually, most people in the United States use either a Kindle eReader or the Kindle App on a tablet (or smartphone) and they buy their books at Amazon. So there's really no difference at all in the process of getting an eBook when using either platform. Either way it's fast an easy and the book can be downloaded directly to the device.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by crich70

An ereader is easier to carry and hold than the average tablet I imagine. I've never had an ipad for example but you can't slip it easily into the small pocket of a backpack and certainly not into a pants pocket like you could with an eink reader. Of course with the latter you have to be careful not to crack your screen's substrate as well.

I can actually put my Sony PRS-350 in my front shirt pocket (on some of my shirts, not all of them).

[crich70]

macminer said...There are probably some reasons that, combined together, will cause slow demise of e-book readers. Some of them are listed in the article, like the declining number of people who actually read books, or little real innovation in the world of e-readers. I may add a couple of my own observations, which made me give my Kindle to my son and switch to a tablet instead.

• Being locked to one ecosystem. As much as I like Kindle, I occasionaly read books that are unavailable in its format (like older books that have been scanned and are available on Google books). The same goes for many non-English books. To read these I need a tablet which is not tied to just one e-book ecosystem.

  Amazon isn't the only source of Kindle format books, though I grant you that you can't load an epub onto it and read without first converting the book. Calibre is your friend there.
  
  
  

  I read many academic books. While Kindle is OK for fiction, it is less then ideal for textbooks, academic books and generally non-fiction (because of complex formatting, tables, illustrations, footnotes etc.)

  I grant you that the 6" reader isn't made for such. Some books will always be better read in paper.
  
  

  To make notes I can easily attach a (bluetooth) keyboard to my tablet. This is impossible to do with a Kindle. Also, there is no note-taking app on Kindle, like Evernote or OneNote and the note-taking functionality of Kindle itself is too limited for my needs.

  The Kindle Fire tablet can have a bluetooth keyboard synced with it. And you can make notes with it.
  
  

  Too few ebooks formatted for Kindle use real pages. This makes quoting them very awkward. Conversely, most books available through Google Books have real page numbers.

  Since people use different fonts and sizes of font for their reading based on preference and ability to see it is hard to keep page #'s consistent.
  
  

  PDF support on e-readers is erratic. Some readers will display some PDFs, but they can't be relied upon.

  PDF's were never intended to be an ebook format. PDF stands for Personal Document Format and it was created so that business people could email documents back and forth for printing as needed rather than having to mail them via post or hand deliver them.
  
  

  I seriously considered buying the new Oasis, mainly because of its being waterproof. But the price is so steep for what it can do that I stayed with my tablet, buying a cheap waterproof case (or rather sleeve).

  Of course the new ereader is expensive. The company that makes a given ereader has to make back its investment in the development of a new product. You saw the same thing with DVD players. At first they were hundreds of dollars, now you can pick one up for under $50 at your local dept. store.
  

That said, I hate Google Books being tied to the ADE system, which on the whole is much more restrictive than the Amazon's one, so whenever there's a choice, I still buy books from Amazon.

Different company, different sales model. Some of their books have DRM as well I'm sure just as Amazon's do.

[Richwood]

Originally Posted by Fbone

For some.

The latest survey still shows readership is stagnant and no increase in books read.

Various reports may show more sales but apparently many books aren't being read.

Does anyone track the freebie ebooks from promotional sources and Smashwords that are side-loaded onto a ebook reader. So far as I can tell Kobo does not and I doubt Kindle does either. Of course no one is tracking reads on Sony readers as many do not have web registration or are even web capable.

Until someone comes up with a screen as easy on the eyes for reading as a E-ink screen I expect the e-ink screen ebook reader will survive. IMO all what people prefer. My sister loves her Ipad for reading.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by macminer

That said, I hate Google Books being tied to the ADE system, which on the whole is much more restrictive than the Amazon's one, so whenever there's a choice, I still buy books from Amazon.

Out of curiosity, exactly what do you find to be more restrictive when using Adobe's DRM compared to Amazon's DRM?

I don't use Google Books to any great extent but Adobe's DRM is used by Kobo (for some epub downloads) and the local public library and I personally don't find it any more restrictive than Amazon's DRM. I can purchase an ebook on Kobo and sync it to my ereader or I can checkout an ebook from the library and, in most cases, sync it to my ereader without needing to invoke ADE. For those few that do not sync, it's time to use ADE.

If nothing else, ADE works with pretty much any ereader other than Amazon's eInk ereaders which are limited to Amazon for the average user (i.e., those who do not bless the names of Kovid Goyal and Apprentices Alf and Harper) .

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I don't use Google Books to any great extent but Adobe's DRM is used by Kobo (for some epub downloads) and the local public library and I personally don't find it any more restrictive than Amazon's DRM.

In the U.S., borrowing books from Overdrive via a Kindle is extremely easy. Just borrow the book from your library's Overdrive page, follow the link to Amazon and choose what device to send the book to. You never have to hook the Kindle up to the computer. And this works (as far as I know) on any Kindle that was ever made. I can actually use the Kindle to borrow and directly download the book (on the experimental browser) but it's pain to use the Kindle's browser, though it IS possible. (I can do the same with my Sony T2 to download ePubs. Also slow, but it does work.)

[John F]

Originally Posted by rcentros

I think Amazon "supports" eInk because it makes them money to do so. And, in recent (November, 2017) interview, Amazon’s Chris Green, VP of Design spoke about a single use device ...

...

Seems like a rather strange analogy. A Swiss Army Knife can't even act as a hammer, where as a tablet can act very well as an ereader and arguably the tablet can surpass a dedicated ereader.

FWIW, I prefer a dedicated eink ereader for reading fiction.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by John F

Seems like a rather strange analogy. A Swiss Army Knife can't even act as a hammer, where as a tablet can act very well as an ereader and arguably the tablet can surpass a dedicated ereader.

I agree. Strange analogy, but his sentiment was clear.

Originally Posted by John F

FWIW, I prefer a dedicated eink ereader for reading fiction.

I think that's where the eInk eReader really shines. But I read biographies and historical books on mine as well. No PDFs, though.

[John F]

Originally Posted by rcentros

I agree. Strange analogy, but his sentiment was clear.

...

What sentiment, that the only choice is a dedicated reader or a " distracting phone"? The distractions can be disabled, and again, IMO, a tablet (or phone) can function just as well as a dedicated ereader.

I do have a dedicated eink reader, and it depends what I bring along. If it is just me, I bring the reader (and a phone). If I'm with someone else, I just bring the phone. I have a very small smartphone. If I had a larger screen smartphone (I do not want one), the choice may be a coin flip.

The analogy makes no sense. Just say that different people have different preferences, and he/Amazon/Marketing believes there are enough people that want a dedicated ereading device.

[Frenzie]

What I want is a book/tablet-sized device with an E Ink screen or something equivalent, the main purpose of which is more comfortable reading (= approximates larger paperback) without running into the risk of my phone prematurely dying. Arbitrary software restrictions range somewhere in between a major issue and a necessary evil, with the balance shifting ever more toward major issue.

The distraction thing sounds very odd. Surely if you had autosync enabled on your phone constantly you'd be disturbed every few minutes? I can't imagine anyone leaving that dreck on as opposed to enabling it every few hours…

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by John F

Seems like a rather strange analogy. A Swiss Army Knife can't even act as a hammer, where as a tablet can act very well as an ereader and arguably the tablet can surpass a dedicated ereader.

FWIW, I prefer a dedicated eink ereader for reading fiction.

It's a strange, strange world out there:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Multifunc...-/161117268314

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Brand-New-M...item21389a9c57


There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
- Hamlet (1.5.167-8), Hamlet to Horatio

[GlenBarrington]

Originally Posted by John F

What sentiment, that the only choice is a dedicated reader or a " distracting phone"? The distractions can be disabled, and again, IMO, a tablet (or phone) can function just as well as a dedicated ereader.

I both agree and disagree with your statements. The shorter battery life of a smartphone and a tablet is distraction that can not be disabled. This is true even with my particular smartphone which is widely considered to be exceptionally good in terms of power consumption and its readability. Long bouts of reading are less successful on my mobile devices than they are with my PW2 since I must keep an eye out for remaining available power.

While I own and read on not only my PW, but my mobile devices as well, I am acutely aware that my mobile devices have more entertainment options available to me. I find I read LESS on my smartphone and tablet than I do when my PW2 is the only thing available. I think the distractions caused by email, text, and push notifications are not as disruptive as the technological convergence that mobile technology represents.

I personally suspect this flexibility of mobile devices is causing a cultural shift as regards reading in general. It's hardly surprising that an executive charged with promoting the Kindle environment would talk about the distractions inherently available in mobile devices.

For me, I find that using my smartphone as a short term extension of my Paperwhite is the best way to utilize my smartphone as an eReader. i.e. Waiting rooms, reading at lunch, etc. I become engrossed in the story, via the PW2 first, and only then does using mobile devices become practical as an eReader. I rarely START a new book on my mobile devices.

[macminer]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Out of curiosity, exactly what do you find to be more restrictive when using Adobe's DRM compared to Amazon's DRM?

First of all, on my PC, the Adobe Digital Ed. is a very awkward program to use. I much prefer Kindle. In fact I have read ebooks on palmtops and PC since the time of PalmOS and Windows Mobile. What I really like about Kindle is the synchronization between various devices and the ability to sideload books (as long as they are available in mobi format), use dictionaries from various sources etc. ADE is so limited that it reminds me of my old Palm Reader, which I happily dumped. But I still use Mobipocket daily - mainly because of dictionaries I bought in that format and which can be easily browsed and searched on Mobipocket.

The real pain in the neck, however, is the ADE authorization procedure. It is OK as long as it works. When it doesn't (and it happened in my case), you are left in the wild guessing what went wrong and trying to resolve the problem. After trying many solutions suggested on the net, I finally managed to authorize the books I bought, but still do not know what caused the problem and how to solve it if it happens again in the future. It seems to be related to an old version of Windows still existing on my drive (I upgraded from XP to Win 7). All in all, compared to other DRM systems, ADE seems to be the most awkward for me.

I have changed my devices many times and never had any problem with Amazon DRM (it is relatively easy to add new devices and remove the old ones), in contrast to ADE.

I wonder why watermarking is not enough and why bother with the complex authorization procedures in the first place! Watermarking is commonly used when I buy ebooks and magazines in my mother tongue (Polish) and for what I know it is considered adequate protection.

Last, the concrete book I bought recently from Google Books looks great on my tablet (real pages preserved, consistent formating), while the same book on my PC (ADE) looks terrible - no page numbers, many paragraphs don't have a line break before them etc. I don't know why this should be so, but it certainly does not build my trust in ADE.