Interesting Article On Increased E-book Reader Sales

[ctol]

Just read this article and thought it might be of interest to all here. It talks about how the sales of dedicated e-readers have actually increased because of the tablet wars.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/24339...blet_wars.html

[Ken Maltby]

Something telling prospective ereader makers that they may have to compete with
free ereaders might not be too encouraging.

Luck;
Ken

[J. Strnad]

Comparisons between e-readers and tablets are now rightfully deader than dead; they're entirely species with separate markets.

One can hope.

[RainingLemur]

I need this cereal. Several boxes.

[fjtorres]

Considering B&N is still trying to sell their inventory of leftover original Nooks at $89, I doubt they have the stomach for any kind of "free" Nook deal.

Amazon, however, already offers "free" Kindles; just ask fans of their Special Offers.

I suspect entry level pricing has maybe one more drop (to $49) before the market plateaus. But current growth rates likely won't last more than another year, if that much.

[allinhi/]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Considering B&N is still trying to sell their inventory of leftover original Nooks at $89, I doubt they have the stomach for any kind of "free" Nook deal.

Amazon, however, already offers "free" Kindles; just ask fans of their Special Offers.

I suspect entry level pricing has maybe one more drop (to $49) before the market plateaus. But current growth rates likely won't last more than another year, if that much.

There has been some speculation that households once they own their first device are buying additional devices. Certainly I wouldn't expect gameboy type devices to remain popular when a media tablet can provide games, movies, music, books, web surfing and email in one device. Those kid restriction apps are going to sell like crazy.

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by allinhi/

There has been some speculation that households once they own their first device are buying additional devices. Certainly I wouldn't expect gameboy type devices to remain popular when a media tablet can provide games, movies, music, books, web surfing and email in one device. Those kid restriction apps are going to sell like crazy.

I think that there is a sense in which one's first e-reader is experimental, and after the experiment proves successful, it is expanded. (Of necessity, if for no other reason).

I think that more serious portable gaming devices will continue to remain popular for now. While there's some overlap between tablets/smartphones and portable gaming devices, there's not really that much. I.e., the types of people who play the relatively simple games on their phones may never have been in the market for one of the Sony or Nintendo portable game devices...so these companies aren't really hurt by the massive expansion of these kind of games.

I'm not the target market for the portable devices, either - but without the absence of physical controls for tablets/phones, etc., their gaming potential is limited.

However, if Android or iOS came out with a standard controller system that you could use with the devices (standard so that it would work with all games that wanted to use it), I think the writing would be on the wall for the dedicated portable game devices.

[wizwor]

There has been some speculation that households once they own their first device are buying additional devices.

Sounds like my household. I passed on ereaders a long time ago. They were too expensive, not capable enough, and had little content.

I sat in on Bezo's Fire launch event and came away wanting a Kindle not a Fire. I've had one for a month now and everyone in my family has had a chance to use it. I can't understand how I lived without a kindle, kids are not at all interested, and wife is not very interested. Two are holding out for Fires. College boy wants a Win8 tab. So we will move from zero to three ereaders in three months.

Price is a factor, but so are size, battery life, and content availability. I use my kindle almost exclusively as an ereader of media aggregated by Libre. My family will more likely use the Fires to play games and watch movies.

[SeaKing]

Originally Posted by wizwor

Sounds like my household. I passed on ereaders a long time ago. They were too expensive, not capable enough, and had little content.

I sat in on Bezo's Fire launch event and came away wanting a Kindle not a Fire. I've had one for a month now and everyone in my family has had a chance to use it. I can't understand how I lived without a kindle, kids are not at all interested, and wife is not very interested. Two are holding out for Fires. College boy wants a Win8 tab. So we will move from zero to three ereaders in three months.

Price is a factor, but so are size, battery life, and content availability. I use my kindle almost exclusively as an ereader of media aggregated by Libre. My family will more likely use the Fires to play games and watch movies.

I asked several family members if they wanted a GPS for Christmas. The answers were always No. Why? Too complicated. and so on.

Then my mom went to the doctor following detailed instructions from the doctor and Google and got there fine, but then she spent a frustrating hour trying to get out of the maze. She had her map, but couldn't find where she was. It was raining and not a lot of signs. I told her with a GPS just touch the "HOME" and you would be on your way.

Now she swears by her GPS. I got her a new one recently with lifetime maps rather than spend about the same thing renewing the old one's maps. She keeps the old one as a backup.

People just need a little prod at the right time, and then it is a whole new life change.

[Scott Nicholson]

Prediction for Christmas 2012: get a Prime membership and get a Kindle fire free.