07-05-2007, 09:20 AM | #1 |
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Forum Power - Before It's Too Late
As an avid Sony Portable Reader user and a strong supporter of this forum and it's message I think we are all missing the signs coming out of Sony regarding the Reader. There is talk of Sony getting out of the retail (Connect) business. There is talk of Sony adopting a new format from Adobe. There has not been a software update in almost a year. There is talk of Borders not selling the Sony Reader. There is talk of poor sales. There is no move by Sony to expand the Reader to TROTW (The Rest of The World) which at last count has just passed 5 billion. What is not being discussed is that Sony may just decide to drop the reader, drop the Connect connection and run to hide behind the PS3 (big target - small hiding place).
I think the time is now to inform Sony that the Sony Reader community, although small, can be very vocal if threatened. We need to keep the pressure on this mega-corporation to support this product and it's users. This is not like Microsoft stopping support for Windows 95, the Sony Reader is hardware and has become a life shifting revelation to most Reader users. Put it this way, if Sony supported us the way we support them then we'd be on our 3rd software update, the Reader would be sold worldwide, there would be greater format support and we'd all be trying to justify buying the new Sony Portable Reader 3. As it is, I can only dream that maybe Apple will announce it's i-Reader soon. Doom & Gloom, Hughdal |
07-05-2007, 10:01 AM | #2 | |
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And sure, when you put it all together that way, it sounds pretty gloomy, but let me put it in a slightly different way, and see how that looks to you. Yes Sony did close the Connect Store -- except the e-book part, they were very clear that it's staying open. Sony's announcement that they were going to go with Digital Editions is a good thing: it will replace the PDF reader on the PRS-500 (which so many dislike so strongly) and it adds a format that has a really good shot (in my humble opinion) of becoming a 'standard' e-book format. That's not something to be alarmed about in my estimation. By my count, it's a little over 5 months since the firmware update in early February, so "almost a year" may be just a wee bit of an exaggeration. In that time they've announced that they're going to add D.E. support, so that may have something to do with why there haven't been loads of updates to the firmware. Besides, excepting the battery bug (which they've only recently admitted exists) there's really not anything functionally on the Reader that needs fixing, only stuff that we'd all like to work differently. The battery bug is more of an annoyance than something that impairs the Reader's usability, though I do wish they'd fix it already. Sales have been rumored to be poor, but nobody has any figures that they're talking about, it's all speculation. All Sony has said on the matter is that the Readers have sold beyond what they expected -- a nicely ambiguous statement that everyone can interpret differently. It's really tough to have any sort of meaningful discussion of the point with so little actual information. You didn't mention the 1000 Readers that sold from Tiger Direct for $99 each yesterday, which some folks were suggesting might mean that Sony is dumping the line/product/etc. However that was apparently a 4th of July special that Sony worked out with Tiger Direct, as TD is now listing the Reader back at it's more usual price. It may also have been an experiment on Sony's part to test the response to the lower price point, who knows? I also think that all the other e-ink reading devices that are popping up in the market place are a good indicator that Sony was right to bet on this horse. I somehow doubt they're going to bail just as the race is getting started. I hope they're not that stupid, anyway! The move into the rest of the world has been pretty well discussed too: there are issues with book distribution rights, they don't have them in every country in the world, and they can't sell books where the don't have distribution rights. They seem to believe that the Reader's success is fundamentally dependent on the availability of books from the Connect Store (which they can't sell worldwide, until/unless they get the distribution rights worked out). I happen to disagree with them on the ConnStore dependency, but I can see their point. Perhaps this will change when they get D.E. on-board and other outlets start offering D.E. formatted books -- who can tell? We have seen pretty good evidence that somebody at Sony monitors this forum, they know what sort of user base they've got going, and they even seem to listen to some of the things we kick around here. That's a pretty tenuous channel, I know but there it is. |
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07-05-2007, 10:11 AM | #3 | |||||||
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07-05-2007, 10:16 AM | #4 |
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I certainly missed it, at any rate, HarryT -- do you remember who it was that said that? I'd like to see what they said.
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07-05-2007, 10:24 AM | #5 |
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I'm struggling to find it, Nat, but the gist of it is that someone wrote to Sony UK and asked them when the Reader would be released here. The reply was that they hadn't been given a definite release date yet, but had been told that it would definitely be by the end of the year.
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07-05-2007, 11:12 AM | #6 |
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I read that too, it occured about the same time some similar announcement was said to set a Canadian distribution to come.
In my case I'm rather optimistic about the state of things. The only push left to get the cart rolling is a stabilizaton of ebook standards. DE is not there yet. The reshuffling of Connect's branches is of no importance. All it means is that they have not managed to get a captive crowd in a dual market sheme à la Apple. Sony is still an excellent hardware maker, and not alone. |
07-05-2007, 12:00 PM | #7 |
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first off, I'm not sure if sony will remain in the ebooksmarket, but frankly, I don't really care... The sony reader is a great product.
But if sony's gone, another company will fill their place eventually with an even more matured eink-technology. I won't buy a Sony Reader 2 just for the brand. I can't buy ebooks from them anyway, so I don't mind if the connect-portal closes down. But I dont think there are signs that Sony is throwing in the towel, except for the PS3 losing them money. |
07-05-2007, 06:18 PM | #8 | |
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Years ago I bought a Rocket (then RCA) eBook, which was wonderful. Actually had many exceptional features that the Reader does not. Books could be purchased and downloaded from amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and other sources. It was easy to load your own documents in it. Anyway, it was later taken over by Gemstar, the British corporation that publishes "TV Guide." In all those years, not one single advertisement or promotion for the eBook ever appeared. Just like the Reader, every time I read it in public, people were curious and then enthralled and wanted to know where to buy it. Had it been advertised, I am certain sales would have boomed, but eventually Gemstar gave notice that they would no longer support it, and after a period of time, no more books would be available for it. I bought two eBooks, and still use them now and then, especially when I want backlighting (in bed, for example), and it is a cinch to load PG books. And, one can pick ANY font and type size that is on the computer for any content. To me, Sony's seemingly lack of interest in advertising or promoting the Reader gives me a horrible feeling that they will eventually do the same as Gemstar. Where did you read that Sony ever said sales were above expectations? In fact, where did you ever read anything a'tall that Sony has published to the general public about the Reader once it was released? Nothing they've done seems that they are very interested it. The dumping of 1K devices to TigerDirect actually makes it seem more like they are getting ready to drop the whole thing. I pray I'm wrong, but once bitten... Last edited by KlondikeGeoff; 07-05-2007 at 06:21 PM. |
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07-05-2007, 06:51 PM | #9 | |||
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I believe this is the origin of that comment: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9305 And this, a companion to it: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9417 Quote:
There's this: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10519 This isn't, strictly speaking, published, but it was an interview with the product manager: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9369 Here's a piece that includes some remarks from the same guy: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9041 And while this didn't come from Sony directly, it did come from Adobe, and it mentions some action and intentions on Sony's part regarding the Reader: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11567 Quote:
You can put the pieces together however you like, and make whatever picture seems most compelling to you, of course, nothing else you can do. But let me point out one other, rather significant piece that seems overlooked here: Sony ≠ Gemstar (or even to RCA, for that matter) and things have changed in the e-book front in the intervening time. It's not just one company trying something new anymore, there are a bunch of e-ink readers popping up now, and there are a lot more options for getting e-books than there were -- if it's not Sony, it might be Bookeen, or someone we haven't even heard of yet. The RocketBook may have failed at changing the world directly, but it put a crack in the ice, and showed the world what might be. The only real question remaining, as I see it, is this: have the cracks yet spread far enough that the break will come now, or will it be a few more "five more years" time? I see a lot of things moving in similar directions that suggest to me that there won't be too many more "five more years" before e-books are mainstream. Too many different people are moving toward it from too many different directions. But that's just my opinion, of course. Salt to taste. |
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07-05-2007, 07:52 PM | #10 |
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Thanks for your input, Nat. I sincerely hope you are correct.
Except for that one ad in the "Atlantic," which was pretty ineffective if you read the thread, there has been a dearth of consumer advertising. How many computers, cars or kitchen appliances would be sold if there were no print or broadcast advertising? To me, it's a big "duh" that Sony has not done much else when they should know the value of advertising. I think it is still a given that advertising sells products. Why the secrecy? How many potential buyers will stumble over Sony's website? What is preventing them from doing more aggressive promotion? An occasional interview now and then and one bad test ad ain't going to sell a lot of the product, IMHO. |
07-05-2007, 08:21 PM | #11 |
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I think there was a Second ad, but I couldn't find a link for it.
But the difference between one and two is pretty small. |
07-05-2007, 09:09 PM | #12 |
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07-05-2007, 09:52 PM | #13 |
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07-06-2007, 09:21 AM | #14 |
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I found the whole thing to be a marketing ploy 'gift to the public' on this 4th of July. I don't think we can identify any business moves from Sony by this.
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07-06-2007, 09:15 PM | #15 |
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Thanks NatCh I needed a cheering up and you have given it to me. My 'doom & gloom' attitude is actually my life view and sometimes I verbalize it (a forum is probably not the best place to spout though). Thanks for your balanced reply.
Hughdal |
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