Why are large e-ink ereaders so costly?

[charmian]

The Kindle DX costs $379, which is around the same price as some of the Android tablets (like the Asus Transformer) around that size. Given that e-ink readers have less powerful processors, less storage, no GPS or camera, etc., why is this so?

1) Large e-ink screens are much more expensive than LCD screens.
2) There isn't that much demand for large e-ink readers, so not many are produced, and lack of economies of scale keep prices high.
3) There isn't much competition in the large e-ink reader market, so prices remain high.

[Dulin's Books]

2 and 3.

[Ekaros]

2 leads to 3... And then 3 keeps up the 2... Also low demand keeps the screen costly. Eink-film itself isn't bad I belive but the part which controls it hasn't same mass product effect...

[anamardoll]

I'm eying the Boox M92. I think that'll be coming home with me this year. I think.

(I'd prefer it if it were full touch screen.)

[Beryll Snyder]

Originally Posted by charmian

The Kindle DX costs $379, which is around the same price as some of the Android tablets (like the Asus Transformer) around that size. Given that e-ink readers have less powerful processors, less storage, no GPS or camera, etc., why is this so?

1) Large e-ink screens are much more expensive than LCD screens.
2) There isn't that much demand for large e-ink readers, so not many are produced, and lack of economies of scale keep prices high.
3) There isn't much competition in the large e-ink reader market, so prices remain high.

Basically it comes down to 2) - which leads to the question why demand is so low.
After having experimented with a couple of devices I have come to the conclusion that the two relevant companies in the field have no idea what they are doing.
So so hardware and lousy software.
There are two groups who could use these kind of devices, namely education and academia.
Education, that means textbooks - they are often in color, so the development is only about to start.
Academics have no use for the b/w readers because only the most basic software features are implemented.
Demand could be in the millions.
But for that to happen a major player has to enter the field - to hope that small niche companies can do the trick is just wishful thinking.

[Penforhire]

Well, there is also the medical industry. But I expect the next iPad to gobble up that market after it gets a much higher resolution screen, to display x-rays and such.

[Beryll Snyder]

Originally Posted by Penforhire

Well, there is also the medical industry. But I expect the next iPad to gobble up that market after it gets a much higher resolution screen, to display x-rays and such.

We are just at the beginning ...

[QuantumIguana]

There just isn't demand for them. People prefer the smaller readers. There are those who like the larger readers, but that market just isn't very large. Color is great, but color e-ink displays just aren't ready for the market. The demand for larger displays just isn't large enough to have the economy of scale to make them cheaper. If people want a larger color display, they are going with an iPad.

[fafaforza]

And the primary reason for a large size are technical docs or full size PDFs, and honestly, eInk is too slow to quickly flip through documents, go from page to page, open a diagram that's a few pages away from the text you're currently reading, zoom in, etc.

Android of iOS on LCD are much better for that, so that market is dead, I think.

[Ken Maltby]

http://www.ectaco.com/jetBook_Color/

And be sure to follow the link to http://www.ck12.org
for free etextbooks. Check out their examples of interactive features.

Luck;
Ken

[Beryll Snyder]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

http://www.ectaco.com/jetBook_Color/

And be sure to follow the link to http://www.ck12.org
for free etextbooks. Check out their examples of interactive features.

Luck;
Ken

Thx. Great site, I have just registered.

[fjtorres]

The current commercial ebook market is centered squarely on recreational readers as the core customer. That means narrative text; novels, bios, etc. Light weight and portability are a plus on the hardware size. Software needs run more towards the stability/reliability side than towards interactivity/flexibility. The markets where today's large format displays are viable are just too small to attract product development as long as there is more money to be made elsewhere.

The industry is, properly, ramping up by going after the low-hanging fruit first while waiting for display and/or battery tech to evolve and enable going after the educational and academic markets. (For example, weight goes up with screen size not just gecause the screens themselves are heavier but also because they need more support and reinforcement. Larger size also means more power consumption and hence bigger, heavier batteries. Mass scaling law has something to say there, too. )

Current tech *is* good enough for a variety of corporate/industrial applications but those vertical markets are fragmented, specialized, and *low-volume* compared to the million-a-month sales of the recreational readers in recent times. Less investment, bigger payoff...for now.

Once the recreational reading market levels off (it may already be happening) attention will shift to other markets.

Given Apple's textbook play, one would expect B&N, at least, to quickly offer up *something*. Ectaco, as pointed out, is also making a play. Others will follow.

But the tech and support infrastructure really isn't there.
It'll be years, yet, before those markets really begin to take off. Until then what we'll see is essentially experimental products testing to see what works and what doesn't, what sells and what doesn't.

Expect to see a few iRex-scenarios.

[Billi]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

There just isn't demand for them. People prefer the smaller readers. There are those who like the larger readers, but that market just isn't very large.

Really? Why do you think so? I personally can see a vast market for larger readers.

There is the huge group of students and scientists and there is the huge group of business people of all kind who get any kinds of documents and have at least to skim them, for instance lawyers.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Billi

Really? Why do you think so? I personally can see a vast market for larger readers.

There is the huge group of students and scientists and there is the huge group of business people of all kind who get any kinds of documents and have at least to skim them, for instance lawyers.

And those people seem to be better served with Tablets.
They trade off battery life for color displays and application abundance.

Think of it as a feedback-loop; low demand keeps prices high, which keeps demand low because once the price of a dedicated reader gets high enough, tablets start to look like a more viable option.

The bulk of the "huge group of students and scientists" that large-format readers might appeal to tend to be pretty price-sensitive to start with, so the extra capability of the multi-purpose device is going to be more attractive.

[RainingLemur]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

http://www.ectaco.com/jetBook_Color/

And be sure to follow the link to http://www.ck12.org
for free etextbooks. Check out their examples of interactive features.

Luck;
Ken

That textbook site is very cool. Thank you.