Ebook readers price drop ??

[boswd]

Originally Posted by flyash

Some of the full-sized readers that are good for pdf are pricey. Too pricey for all but some niche markets now that the iPad is out. For example, the Kindle DX is $489 - I'd posit that the market for the DX has shrunk considerably in a market where the iPad can be had for a mere $11 more. That will force prices for the DX lower, and by extension, the lower priced DX will force smaller readers lower. E.g., if the DX is lowered to $400, the Sony 900 at $350 starts looking overpriced. And so on.

Again, that's not to say that there aren't niche markets that will pay relatively high prices for an e-reader when an iPad can be had for the same or only a little bit more, but the broader consumer market appeal of pricey (say, north of $300) e-readers has been crushed, and as described above, that affects pricing all the way down the pricing structure.

I agree, Kindle is going to have to think about what they are going to want to do with the DX, as much as I love e-ink, paying that much just to get and extra 3 inches in screen size and nothing else when you can get and iPad for just a bit more is just silly.

Sony can no longer be all goofy with their classic overpricing. Even with their price cuts lately they still offer 0 value compared to the Nook or Kindle.

The Alex, well again they are even in a worse position than the Kindle DX, they are trying to go with the whole "extra" fun stuff and they priced it within striking distance of the iPad. Why? the only reason why you would want an Alex as opposed to the Nook or Kindle or Sony would be it's mobile connection. Which for just a bit more you can get an iPad that can do all these "extras" at a much higher level.

The bottom line is all these high end ones are going to have to drop which wil then force the middle of the pack ones, Sony, Nook, Kindle drop their price or just drop the models.

Personally I don't see a rosey future for the DX and the Alex without a dramatic price drop.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by flyash

Some of the full-sized readers that are good for pdf are pricey. Too pricey for all but some niche markets now that the iPad is out. For example, the Kindle DX is $489 - I'd posit that the market for the DX has shrunk considerably in a market where the iPad can be had for a mere $11 more. That will force prices for the DX lower, and by extension, the lower priced DX will force smaller readers lower. E.g., if the DX is lowered to $400, the Sony 900 at $350 starts looking overpriced. And so on.

1- There's at least one 10in-class reader on the way coming in at $350; the PB901. It is aimed primarily at the institutional K-12 market with consumer sales as a sideline. If they can build volume up through education sales in Russia, India, Ukraine, and a couple of their other targetted markets, they might provide some pricing pressure on the big readers which, btw, *are* a niche and likely *will* remain a niche. Portability seems to be a big driver on consumer sales and the big readers will suffer there until we get to roll-out/folding screen readers.

2- The iPad looks to be having a more direct impact on ebook reader pricing in two ways; it seems to have "legitimized" in the eyes of the media and pundits the pre-existing slate/tablet format so they don't automatically pooh-pooh the designs for lack of keyboards as they've done for the past 10 years. This in turn seems to be opening the mainstream doors for the color LCD-based Android and WinCE MIDs, tablets, and readers.

3-The iPad also provides a pricing umbrella and an anchor point for those products which will help competitors design and price their products. Already it is becoming clear that competing tablets are going to be coming in in the US$200 range for the 7-8in models and $299-399 for the 9-10in models (depending on Architecture; Android/WinCE webpad/MIDs lower, Atom-based full-PC designs higher). It is the latter designs that PDF fans will likely end up going for since PDF is really meant for paper or, failing that, a full PC. This will likely further reduce the *consumer* appeal of large format readers. I'm sorry for the fans of Skiff and Que but I see a rough road ahead for both.

4- The other "community service" the iPad is providing is pricing cover for ULVCore-based Slate Tablet PCs. It'll be about six months before we see this class of product hit the market (in the $499-699 range with 11in WXGA screens and 9 hr battery life) but they're coming and they are going to eat up a big chunk of the large-format reader market. And that is yet another reason I see little future for Skiff/Que. They are, literally, a year late to market; they were conceived as competitors for the market defined by K2/KDX but will arrive, at best, in a market defined by K3 and iPad. And while we don't yet know much about K3 we do know all we need to know about iPad.

[speakingtohe]

Check out your local library as they often have thousands of ebooks available for download. Plus lots of free ones available from other sources. No problem returning them as they simply expire if you don't. No fines and you can eat and read at the same time without worrying about getting ketchup on the book

I bought my ereader in April as I work in a northern town of 400 people in the summer and have long since read all of the books in it. It is a Sony PRS-600 which is not perfect but good enough and I love the convenience and freedom it gives me.
No frieght for bringing 80 second-hand books with me and no dissapointment if I find I don't like one or have read it before.
If I get a bit tired of a book for whatever reason, maybe just in the mood for something a little lighter, heavier etc. I just go on to another and whenthe mood hits, continue reading the book I dropped right where I left off . No bookmarks, dogeared pages or hunting through a stack of books. Keeps track of where you are in each book no matter how many you have open.
Eink is harder to read than paper for me, but the convenience cannot be beat.

[fjtorres]

And here we go!
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-...eadlinesArea.0

B&N's Free $50 Gift card expired today so they followed up with... the expected price cut.
Nook is now $199.
And they intro'ed a WiFi-only Nook at $149.

The price war is on!
(And we didn't even have to wait 'til August.)

So now we have 6" WiFi Nook at $149, 6", no wireless Kobo at $149, 5" barebones Sony PRS-300 at $149 and the LCD-based Aluratech and Jetbook at $129 to $159 depending on retailer.

Obviously, to be continued...

[Trini]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

And here we go!
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-...eadlinesArea.0

B&N's Free $50 Gift card expired today so they followed up with... the expected price cut.
Nook is now $199.
And they intro'ed a WiFi-only Nook at $149.

The price war is on!
(And we didn't even have to wait 'til August.)

So now we have 6" WiFi Nook at $149, 6", no wireless Kobo at $149, 5" barebones Sony PRS-300 at $149 and the LCD-based Aluratech and Jetbook at $129 to $159 depending on retailer.

Obviously, to be continued...

Woohoo Hopefully pocketbook's new readers i.e 601, 602 (and any other upcoming new 6" inch) will reflect B&N's price drops. Fingers crossed

[RyanMWilliams]

Originally Posted by Fbone

Regarding libraries -- Are they suffering budget cuts in your town/state/province? This may affect their digital inventory. In my state Overdrive and all ebooks are scheduled to end July 1st. Results of a $10 million budget cut.

The library system I work for has suffered budget cuts, but even though our materials budget was reduced we're still keeping our Overdrive service. We try to provide materials in a range of formats. We just might not be able to buy quite as many copies. We also made other adjustments to our purchasing.

- Ryan

[cmdahler]

Originally Posted by stargazertony

I'm a bit confused. Rounding say $300 for an e-reader verses $30 for a hardback. That's only 10 books to cover the cost of an e-reader. Or $10 for paperbacks which is only 30 books. Less than a years worth of reading before it's paid off. Of course I didn't factor in the free and $2-5 books that you can get for the e-reader. Plus highly portable library of books and the neat factor.

I'm confused by the logic in this post. You're making it sound like once you get your ereader, all those $30 and $10 books come to you free, so your ereader pays for itself after a while. The only way an ereader would ever pay for itself is if you were (a) in the habit of buying a lot of $30 books, and (b) once you got your ereader, you suddenly turned pirate and started grabbing those same first-run books from the darknet. Assuming you're plannng to stay legit with your reading, an ereader will NEVER pay for itself. It will always remain a convenience purchase even if you find one for $50. Given that you always have the option of running to your local library and checking out any reasonably popular print book for free anyway, there's no logical way anyone could justify the financial side of buying an ereader regardless of its cost. It will always be something that you have to buy with your disposable cash, never out of a needs budget.

[flyash]

Originally Posted by cmdahler

Given that you always have the option of running to your local library and checking out any reasonably popular print book for free anyway, there's no logical way anyone could justify the financial side of buying an ereader regardless of its cost.

Well, if someone absolutely positively needs a cost-savings rationale, there's the savings on gas and car wear/tear (or other transportation costs) from eliminating trips to bookstores and libraries, as well as time saved.

[flyash]

Originally Posted by Trini

Woohoo Hopefully pocketbook's new readers i.e 601, 602 (and any other upcoming new 6" inch) will reflect B&N's price drops. Fingers crossed

I don't think you need to keep your fingers crossed. The manufacturers won't have a choice, so long as they want to stay in the market.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

And here we go!
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-...eadlinesArea.0

B&N's Free $50 Gift card expired today so they followed up with... the expected price cut.
Nook is now $199.
And they intro'ed a WiFi-only Nook at $149.

The price war is on!
(And we didn't even have to wait 'til August.)

So now we have 6" WiFi Nook at $149, 6", no wireless Kobo at $149, 5" barebones Sony PRS-300 at $149 and the LCD-based Aluratech and Jetbook at $129 to $159 depending on retailer.

Obviously, to be continued...

I know I saw that this morning and I thought of this thread, too funny.

"you ask and you shall receive"

This is pretty huge. The wi fi only Nook is going to be like a Man among boys who have just the bare bones entry level features as opposed to a full feature minus 3G at the same price

[BenLee]

Could Amazon be next to make a move? *fingers crossed*

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by BenLee

Could Amazon be next to make a move? *fingers crossed*

The rumors have been around for a while (with some circumstancial evidence) but at this point if they weren't, they *have* to.

I'd say the odds of a WiFi-only Kindle just got pegged to 100%.
And, since Amazon *is* playing internationally (which B&N better get to and fast!), a WiFi Kindle priced anywhere near the Nook is going to be humongous.

Things just got dangerous for the second tier vendors.

[flyash]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Things just got dangerous for the second tier vendors.

I'd imagine over the next two years, we whittle down from the roughly 20 e-ink reader manufacturers to a half dozen that have 99% of the market. There's just too much competition from smartphones (iPhone, etc.) on the smaller end and tablets (iPad, etc.) on the larger end (and the resulting price compression) to justify the current number of manufacturers hanging around the e-reader hoop.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

The rumors have been around for a while (with some circumstancial evidence) but at this point if they weren't, they *have* to.

I'd say the odds of a WiFi-only Kindle just got pegged to 100%.
And, since Amazon *is* playing internationally (which B&N better get to and fast!), a WiFi Kindle priced anywhere near the Nook is going to be humongous.

Things just got dangerous for the second tier vendors.

If the Nook contiues to grow it's market share and builds up a stronger name recognition, something the Kindle did very well, Amazon is going to have to think about a redesigning The Kindle.

People love touch screen, "NOW" type of features. The Kindle has a very antiquted hardware navigation feel to it.
When I was in the market, I was sold on the Kindle until I played around with the Nook. I then went back to the Kindle and thought "Are you kidding me?" navigation via a stubby joystick in this day of age of technology? It was like going from a smart phone to the old cell phones that had the green lit LCD screens, like the old Motorola Startech or something.

Amazon has the name and marketing but the Kindles design and hardware, well is in need of a much needed upgrade.

The nook compared to it, the Nook is so much sleeker and nicer, just more stylish and more comfortable to hold.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by BenLee

Could Amazon be next to make a move? *fingers crossed*

Ask and ye shall receive:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0015T963C

US$189.00

And if the price cut is global the casualties will be extensive.