Is the ereader dead?

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Conan46

It is for me. Last summer I sold my remaining 3 e-ink devices: Paperwhite 3, 4th gen Kindle, nook Touch. A 6" screen was just too uncomfortable to read on as I need large print. Not enough screen real estate. I now read on a 10" fire tablet.

I guess how large you need the font will determine how large you want the screen. I still like small fonts and my favorite eReaders are currently my Sony 5" screen readers (PRS-300 and PRS-350). I think the PRS-350 will probably handle most of my reading in the future (I like it that much). The PRS-350 and Calibre (and the Constantia font) make for a great Reader.

[barryem]

Originally Posted by LordP

I'll throw in my two cents.

Yes, we can read ebooks on all sorts of devices, but we can't do so comfortably.

Having said that, I'm actually going away from e-readers, I've owned three Kobos and on all of them I've eventually had problems with the micro USB port and charging becomes a challenge. I'm sick of that and refuse to keep buying these devices. I had Kindles in the past, and I remember having issues with at least one of them too.

Before I get slammed about being rough with the devices - I've never once had issues with phones or other micro USB devices.

I currently have 4 Kobos. In the past I've had 3 other Kobos which now my neighbors have. I live in a retirement home. When they have problems I'm the one they call and none, including mine, have ever had any kind of hardware problem.

I currently have 4 Kindles and everything I just said about Kobos is also true of my Kindles, past and present.

I have 2 Nooks and they're problem free as well.

Also when one of my neighbors wants an ereader they come to me and I help them get it since I'm the one here with internet access. It gets delivered to me and I set it up for them and help them get started. Those include both Kobos and Kindles and a couple of Nooks. All those are still working perfectly.

I've been buying ereaders since I got my first Kindle in 2009 and the only hardware problem was with one I lent to a neighbor who returned it with a screen scratched by her dog. Amazon replaced it under warranty even though I told them what happened. I did have to replace a battery in a refurbished Paperwhite I bought several years ago. Does that count?

Offhand I'd estimate I've bought or helped buy about 30 or more devices. All are still working well.

Consider this your slam about being too rough with your ereaders.

Barry

[haertig]

If I have to be seen in public staring at an electronic device, please dear God let it be an eReader. At least you look intelligent that way, unlike the folks who are non-stop staring at their cell phones.

If you want eReader sales to take off, just have Apple make one called the iReader and sell it for $2000 including 256k of memory, $3500 for the 1Mb model. Requires a special charging cord that sells for $75. No side-loading from anything, except a Mac. Memory and battery not upgradeable or replaceable, of course. Obsolete in one year, when the newer model comes out.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by barryem

Offhand I'd estimate I've bought or helped buy about 30 or more devices. All are still working well.

About forty or fifty for me (all together). The only one that had a broken screen was a Kindle 3 where the battery had swollen quite a bit and was pushing the back case out of whack. (I imagine it was also putting pressure on the substrate.) No eReader I've received in working condition has ever been broken.

[Tarana]

Originally Posted by Conan46

It is for me. Last summer I sold my remaining 3 e-ink devices: Paperwhite 3, 4th gen Kindle, nook Touch. A 6" screen was just too uncomfortable to read on as I need large print. Not enough screen real estate. I now read on a 10" fire tablet.

I have a hoard of ereaders, but this is the one issue I have. I'm not sure there is a big enough market for 10" ereaders, but I'm hopeful that eventually Amazon will come out with one. There are plenty of baby boomers with diminishing vision who would certainly benefit, but it won't succeed if it is significantly more costly than current models. I use a tablet now to read magazines and I don't really enjoy the reflection or running out of power all the time. I like to be able to go a couple of weeks without recharge!

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by Tarana

I have a hoard of ereaders, but this is the one issue I have. I'm not sure there is a big enough market for 10" ereaders, but I'm hopeful that eventually Amazon will come out with one. There are plenty of baby boomers with diminishing vision who would certainly benefit, but it won't succeed if it is significantly more costly than current models. I use a tablet now to read magazines and I don't really enjoy the reflection or running out of power all the time. I like to be able to go a couple of weeks without recharge!

There used to be a Kindle DX. Now there's not. Instead, Amazon has the Kindle Fire. I expect that tells us all we need to know about how big that particular market is.

Even with the Kindle Fire, Amazon has stopped making premium models and are focusing on fairly basic, super inexpensive models. On the high end of the pricing scale, you pretty much just have the iPad and Windows 10 2-in-1s.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Tarana

I have a hoard of ereaders, but this is the one issue I have. I'm not sure there is a big enough market for 10" ereaders, but I'm hopeful that eventually Amazon will come out with one.

I don't think Amazon will come out with one, but there are still 9.7" and above eInk eReaders being made.

Boox has two of the them, the N96ml (9.7") and Onyx Boox Max (13.3").

https://www.amazon.com/BOOX-reader-C...=Onyx+Boox+Max

https://www.amazon.com/Onyx-Pearl-Di...=Onyx+Boox+Max

I don't know where you would buy one in the U.S. but there's a 10.3" eInk eReader, the Boyue T103.

http://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/201...ch-boyue-t103/

And there's still a few 8" eInk eReaders, and you could probably get a good deal on the recently discontinued Sony (13.3") DPT-RT1.

There's also the large screen reMarkable (10.3"), but this looks like it's more geared to drawing and taking notes than for reading (though it will read PDF and ePub files, as long as the ePub is not DRM protected).

https://remarkable.com

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

[Edit]

In the end, ebooks mean more books and more reading.
Everything else is making sausage.

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.

[maddz]

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.

Now I wonder if that's effectively only for books read within the purchase eco-system. In my case, I tend not to read any of my Kobo-purchased titles on my Kobo (for a start, it's full) and load them onto my Icarus instead. Kindle books it depends on whether all the books in a series were purchased from Amazon or not - if not, then the Kindle version gets format-shifted to epub and read on the Icarus not the Kindle app. I then have a load of epubs purchased elsewhere which I read on the Icarus.

I will admit to having a significant number of unread purchases; however, it's often titles in a bundle where I've already read a print version and don't need to re-read immediately or it's other books in a bundle which I'm not really bothered about reading in the first place (worth buying the bundle for the 3 or 4 books I do want, the others are just padding). Also, often I'm purchasing a deal title to replace a print edition so again I don't need to read it immediately.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by barryem

I currently have 4 Kobos. In the past I've had 3 other Kobos which now my neighbors have. I live in a retirement home. When they have problems I'm the one they call and none, including mine, have ever had any kind of hardware problem....

Also when one of my neighbors wants an ereader they come to me and I help them get it since I'm the one here with internet access. It gets delivered to me and I set it up for them and help them get started. Those include both Kobos and Kindles and a couple of Nooks. All those are still working perfectly....

Offhand I'd estimate I've bought or helped buy about 30 or more devices. All are still working well.

Consider this your slam about being too rough with your ereaders.

Barry

You're a good man Barry. I'm sure that your neighbors appreciate your help.

[buttonz]

The author of that article understands nothing about hardcore readers.

[buttonz]

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.

I buy a lot of books I already have in hard copy and have read. I simply intend to discard the hard copies as I am drowning in books. I wonder how many people are like me and keep their ereader in airplane mode so that their reading habits can't be spied on. My husband has a first generation Paperwhite. The only time it has ever been online was when he registered it. Amazon hasn't been able to tamper with it since.

[Richwood]

Lets face it, book readers are a minority in the USA. Otherwise we would not have the folks elected that we do IMO. Only a percentage of book readers use e-ink ebook readers. As others have stated there are lots of alternatives including old fashioned printed books. For reading I prefer the e-ink screen and have working readers back to the Kindle 1 and Sony PRS-505. Also the latest Kindle Oasis 2 and Kobo Aura One. For some apps the old Sony readers still have their advantages.

For coffee table style heavily color illustrated type books it is still hard to beat the slick paper printed book.

[Richwood]

If you want a large screen ebook reader pick up a Kindle DX. 9.7" screen and it still works great and can still download new books from Amazon via 3G wireless phone communications. Kindle backwards compatibility for their ebook readers has been maintained very well by Amazon. At least one ebay seller offers reconditioned ones with e-ink Pearl screens and new batteries typically. The 7.8" screen Kobo Aura One also works well. About 1.66 times larger screen than a 6" ebook reader screen.

[Alohamora]

Originally Posted by buttonz

The author of that article understands nothing about hardcore readers.

I know a few hardcore readers in real life. None use an eink e-reader. They read on paper or iPads.