What will e-readers be like 10 years from now?

[sealbeater]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Not counting KU, do you have proof of this?

I thought that was common knowledge.

https://www.bullguard.com/blog/2015/...how-to-stop-it

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/...forcement-fbi/

https://www.theguardian.com/books/20...y-under-threat

http://www.ibtimes.com/psst-your-ama...ing-you-925439

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...-Facebook.html

https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/201...y-alarm-bells/

Not Gish Gallop, just making the point.

That is one thing I hope isn't a feature of the future. Personally I don't buy devices that report home. I hope that option remains open in the future.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by sealbeater

I thought that was common knowledge.

https://www.bullguard.com/blog/2015/...how-to-stop-it

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/...forcement-fbi/

https://www.theguardian.com/books/20...y-under-threat

http://www.ibtimes.com/psst-your-ama...ing-you-925439

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...-Facebook.html

https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/201...y-alarm-bells/

Not Gish Gallop, just making the point.

That is one thing I hope isn't a feature of the future. Personally I don't buy devices that report home. I hope that option remains open in the future.

I had seen that report elsewhere. I blew it off because no one could show any proof that Amazon does that. That came out right after KU started. Besides if I bought a book from them they know I bought the book. Now Kobo admitted they did it but the media didn't say squat about it. Oh and I really don't care if Amazon knows I read everything from Herman does Tom to Dean & me (a love story). The first one was rated Xxx, the second one is an autobiography about Martin &Lewis by Jerry Lewis.
Oh and that first link uses cookies so they know who is visiting. So pot/kettle.
I did need the giggle.

[Pizza_Cant_Read]

I am looking forward to virtual ereaders. Maybe using a bound book of empty pages which becomes whatever novel I happen to be reading on my AR glasses.

[HLS]

In 10 years we will have color e-readers maybe so advanced we will have eink tablets replacing ereaders all together and have a bright vivid screen without the glare and eye strain of todays tablets

[sjfan]

Originally Posted by Conan46

E-ink will be gone in 10 years. Better phone and tablet screens, and better battery life will completely replace them. They have already begun to do so.

Phones will have better screens and battery life will be great, but that’s missing the primary advantage of e-readers.

Reflective (rather than emissive) screens are still pretty niche, and have low response/refresh rates. But they’re massively better for reading.

I expect that both types of screens will continue to improve apace, and emissive screens (which are far worse for e-reading, but better for videos and gaming) will still be much faster in 10 years. And most phones and tablets will continue to use emissive screens that are better for the majority of use-cases, but not a good replacement for e-readers.

Eventually the two will merge, but that’ll be a lot further down the line than 10 years—10 years ago, everyone thought color e-ink would dominate the market by now, and it’s still got almost zero penetration.

It’s tough to tell where the market moves faster than we think it will, and where it moves slower. But reading doesn’t seem to be a huge growth market, and the needs of dedicated reading devices are still a niche. A reasonably large niche that can drive a small market, but not a niche that will influence phone/tablet/etc designs to a huge degree.

[Alohamora]

Originally Posted by Conan46

E-ink will be gone in 10 years. Better phone and tablet screens, and better battery life will completely replace them. They have already begun to do so.

I keep hoping for a great leap forward in battery technology. But even without that, os power management and processor efficiency have improved greatly. All we need are more sunlight readable screens now. Phones need them too, so I'm confident we'll see improvements soon.

The only reason I see dedicated e-readers hanging on is that it's to the benefit of retailer/manufacturers to maintain their walled garden lock-in. Folks willing to format-shift their ebooks are a niche within a niche.
Tablet users can run any app they want and switch at will.

[sealbeater]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

I had seen that report elsewhere. I blew it off because no one could show any proof that Amazon does that. That came out right after KU started.

Which report are you referring to? There are several, involving both kindle and firestick. I mean, it's not like Amazon didnt file a patent to listen in on people's conversations. I'm not sure what you mean by "no one could show any proof that Amazon does that". What more additional proof do you require?

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Besides if I bought a book from them they know I bought the book. Now Kobo admitted they did it but the media didn't say squat about it. Oh and I really don't care if Amazon knows I read everything from Herman does Tom to Dean & me (a love story). The first one was rated Xxx, the second one is an autobiography about Martin &Lewis by Jerry Lewis.

I prefer people not know what I am reading. I also prefer corporations not know how much battery power I have on my device, where I am when I am reading, how fast I am reading, what books I have in my library, what web calls my devices makes, etc. Know what books a man reads and you know the man.

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Oh and that first link uses cookies so they know who is visiting. So pot/kettle.
I did need the giggle.

There's a bit of a difference between maintaining server logs and collecting analytics about your individual reading habits en masse. Glad you found something to laugh at.

[sealbeater]

Originally Posted by Pizza_Cant_Read

I am looking forward to virtual ereaders. Maybe using a bound book of empty pages which becomes whatever novel I happen to be reading on my AR glasses.

I want the same thing only I want it to be a blank bound book of empty pages that fills with words depending on what book I load.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by sealbeater

I want the same thing only I want it to be a blank bound book of empty pages that fills with words depending on what book I load.

I certainly would not want anything resembling a paper book. Compared to e-readers they're clumsy and much less comfortable to hold. If I wanted paper books, I'd read paper books.

As to company-controlled readers, I would not fancy them overmuch either. My Kindles stay in airplane mode most of the time and I sideload my books. But I don't really sweat it either. So what if a corporation knows what I read? They can read my e-mail too by that logic and listen in to my phone calls and know what I watch on Netflix etc. etc. If one wants to retain total privacy in today's world, one must get off internet and live in a desert somewhere. I don't want to live in a desert without internet, so there'll always be some compromise on privacy.

[sealbeater]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

I certainly would not want anything resembling a paper book. Compared to e-readers they're clumsy and much less comfortable to hold. If I wanted paper books, I'd read paper books.

I dunno about that. I think they may be the most comfortable. Turn pages with either hand, if it were lightweight, durable and possessed massive storage and was bendable, I would be interested. I never worried about dropping a paperback and they fit in my cargo pants. Don't get me wrong, I prefer ebooks over paper but wouldn't mind the best of both worlds. To each their own.

Originally Posted by Sirtel

As to company-controlled readers, I would not fancy them overmuch either. My Kindles stay in airplane mode most of the time and I sideload my books. But I don't really sweat it either. So what if a corporation knows what I read?

Well, you may not care about your privacy but I do. I vote with my dollars by not purchasing hardware I know has software I can't trust.

Knowledge of what I read is actually something of a deal for me. Last bastion of privacy and all that.

It's fine to stay in airplane mode most of the time. I wonder if Kindles store logs for when they have network connectivity.

There are always options. If more people cared, they would exercise their options but if people are content to be spied on, that's their choice. Personally, I make a different choice.

Originally Posted by Sirtel

They can read my e-mail too by that logic and listen in to my phone calls and know what I watch on Netflix etc. etc. If one wants to retain total privacy in today's world, one must get off internet and live in a desert somewhere. I don't want to live in a desert without internet, so there'll always be some compromise on privacy.

They can read your email and they can listen to your phone calls. Difference being if you care enough, you can make sure they can't read your emails and there are privacy options for making secure phone calls. People don't care so they don't exercise them. I don't have Netflix for the same reason I don't have a Kindle but I certainly don't suffer from a lack of viewing options. You may not be able to achieve total privacy but that's no reason to throw away what little you can carve out for yourself. In my way of thinking anyway.

The future will be an interesting place.

[sealbeater]

Originally Posted by kcladyz

In 10 years we will have color e-readers maybe so advanced we will have eink tablets replacing ereaders all together and have a bright vivid screen without the glare and eye strain of todays tablets

I wouldn't mind that. That way I could go down to one device for both books and comics. I would still want the e-ink screen or something like it.

[GlenBarrington]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

I had seen that report elsewhere. I blew it off because no one could show any proof that Amazon does that. That came out right after KU started. Besides if I bought a book from them they know I bought the book. Now Kobo admitted they did it but the media didn't say squat about it. Oh and I really don't care if Amazon knows I read everything from Herman does Tom to Dean & me (a love story). The first one was rated Xxx, the second one is an autobiography about Martin &Lewis by Jerry Lewis.
Oh and that first link uses cookies so they know who is visiting. So pot/kettle.
I did need the giggle.

As a retired Teradata DBA, I can assure you, every business on the planet collects information on its customers. Though sharing that information is rare, most businesses don't want their competitors to know about their customer base.

How do you think those tailored casino offers get made, or those coupons that spit out from the cash register in the supermarket get printed? What drives the oil change offers for your car that come in the mail?

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is a vital component of a successful business operation and has been since the 1960s, at least.

To the original question, I don't see eBook readers changing all that much, at least not in any revolutionary manner. Minor things like a lower price, more memory and better battery life are evolutionary not revolutionary.

Tablets are beginning to morph into the hybrid PCs similar to that of the Microsoft Surface devices, and phones are getting ever more sophisticated. I see that while many WILL read on the hybrids and phones, I suspect there will always be a demand for some sort of reading appliance. The eBook devices are a pretty mature product category.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

As a retired Teradata DBA, I can assure you, every business on the planet collects information on its customers. Though sharing that information is rare, most businesses don't want their competitors to know about their customer base.

How do you think those tailored casino offers get made, or those coupons that spit out from the cash register in the supermarket get printed? What drives the oil change offers for your car that come in the mail? ...

I know. At this point it's kind of fruitless to try to avoid it. I figure if they want to bore the hell out of themselves following my life, go for it.

And it's not just big corporations that give up the data. Our own government agencies sell this information. A few years ago I compiled mailing lists for a regional printer and would get mailing list catalogs sent to them. If I wanted to target people who registered a Mercedes Benz (for example, or any specific type of car) I could buy a mailing list for that, including name, address and phone number of the "target." Where would these mailing list sellers get this information? From the Department of Motor Vehicles of each state. If they're selling vehicle registration information, can you imagine what else the Federal and State governments are selling to the mailing list compilers? And this was ten to twelve years ago. I have no clue what it's like now.

The right to privacy is basically a joke in this country now.

[Conan46]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Isn't that what they were saying five years ago? You may be right, I don't know. I hope not. I don't like LCD screens for reading.

5-10 years ago E-ink looked like it was going to be so good it would end up on laptop computers. It has barely moved an inch over the past decade. We still do not have color e-ink devices in the mainstream and affordable. Meanwhile, led/lcd screens keep leaping forward, battery life increases, Android's operating system keeps improving. I was all in about a decade ago for e-ink, but mostly 6" black and white screens haven't excited me. I would have expected a 10" color e-ink device in the mainstream by now. I think e-ink at its snail pace of improvement hasn't gained much ground compared to years ago. Indeed, my first e-ink Kindle had more features than my last Paperwhite 3 exception only being the light on the Paperwhite.

[Conan46]

Originally Posted by Alohamora

I keep hoping for a great leap forward in battery technology. But even without that, os power management and processor efficiency have improved greatly. All we need are more sunlight readable screens now. Phones need them too, so I'm confident we'll see improvements soon.

The only reason I see dedicated e-readers hanging on is that it's to the benefit of retailer/manufacturers to maintain their walled garden lock-in. Folks willing to format-shift their ebooks are a niche within a niche.
Tablet users can run any app they want and switch at will.

Agreed. And it is kind of shocking that OEM's are so focused on improving screen resolution yet completely ignore the problem with glare and reading in sunlight. Major fail there.