Maybe Sony Did the Right Thing

[mycurlylocks]

I think Sony did the right thing. The light technology is not where we want it yet. Why open your product up for so many complaints, they've been through that.

I may have to use a light, but my Sony has been priceless to me. I've been tempted to upgrade to the T2 just because of Evernote, but I can't really justify it yet. Maybe next year.

[scrapking]

Originally Posted by mycurlylocks

I think Sony did the right thing. The light technology is not where we want it yet. Why open your product up for so many complaints, they've been through that.

I may have to use a light, but my Sony has been priceless to me. I've been tempted to upgrade to the T2 just because of Evernote, but I can't really justify it yet. Maybe next year.

If the only front-lit e-readers were the Kindle Paperwhite, and the NOOK Simple Touch with GlowLight, then I would agree. And if Sony was offering only one e-reader at a time, then I also might agree.

But there is another front-lit e-reader, and it proves it can be done right. Where are the hordes of people complaining about the Kobo Glo? It's been almost entirely accolades. I have one and the lighting is even and effective. The light technology is where we want it, if you do it right.

And no one says you only have to release a front-lit model. There are non-front-lit Kobo, Kindle, and Nook models still available. Nothing says Sony can't do the same.

As I said before, most people are getting front-lighting wrong; so far only Kobo's got it right. Fair enough if you think it's not worth the risk that Sony might join the majority (who got it wrong), as opposed to the minority (who got it right). But it's not fair to say that the technology isn't there yet, just because not everyone has managed to do a broadly successful implementation of it yet. Kobo's proven it can be done. And consumers are excited about front-lighting, so it's not in Sony's best interests to sit on the sidelines as they continue to lose marketshare.

[RG1]

I also think that Sony did it right. The built-in light is not so important to me, but the reading experience and the firmware is. Sony has the better reading experience and there are not so many bugs and glitches in the firmware. Kobo has put a lot of advertising in the firmware and each time they fix a bug, they will probably create two new ones.
Kobo will sell a lot of the glow light devices, but they will also burn a lot of money in their support department.

[scrapking]

Originally Posted by RG1

I also think that Sony did it right. The built-in light is not so important to me, but the reading experience and the firmware is. Sony has the better reading experience and there are not so many bugs and glitches in the firmware. Kobo has put a lot of advertising in the firmware and each time they fix a bug, they will probably create two new ones.
Kobo will sell a lot of the glow light devices, but they will also burn a lot of money in their support department.

I would not buy a non-front-lit e-ink device for my personal use. If that is all Sony ever offers, I will not consider them for future purchases.

Though intriqued by the advantages of e-ink, I nonetheless opted for a tablet-based e-reader a year ago when I got my first e-reader. It was the front-lighting that finally convinced me a few weeks ago to buy an e-ink device for myself the first time. I did actually buy an e-ink reader for my partner a year ago, which was quickly returned to the store for a tablet-based one as non-front-lit e-ink didn't prove to work well with the lighting in our place.

I read in bed at night, and a reading light would be more distracting for my partner than my front-lit e-reader is. Light falling on the bezel, light falling off the sides of the device onto the bed, or light reflecting off the device and being converted into ambient light would not be good for us.

I'm not alone. There's a reason these devices are selling well; many consumers see value in the option of turning on front-lighting when they need it. Remember it's just another option, in a device full of them; do it right, and they'll sell well.

Kobo's done the hardware right*, therefore the premise that this thread was based on (that no one is doing the hardware right yet) is demonstrably false. If what you say about Sony having great hardware and great software** is true, then it seems like they might be a good candidate for also doing it right. In fact, doing a front-lit e-reader, and doing it better than the competition, might be just what they need to get their mojo back, since their marketshare has been falling in the face of Amazon's advance on the one hand, and bookstores aligning themselves with alternatives (Kobo, Nook) on the other hand.

I've been following e-readers avidly since they first were made commercially available in Canada a lot of years ago. Several times in the early days of e-reading I almost bought a Sony e-reader (for many years, before the launch of Kobo, Sony was the major player in e-readers at retail in Canada). But I stopped myself every time due to cost (back when they were more expensive) and the lack of an in-built lighting solution. I'm open to the Sony option, but front-lighting isn't a "nice to have" for me, it's absolutely essential in an e-ink device. I know not everyone will feel the same as me, but remember that e-readers are pushing past the die-hards and into the casual/mainstream market now; for example, in the past 18 months, e-ink e-reader penetration has gone from 4% of Canadians to 12% of Canadians owning them. These people are used to smartphones and tablets, and to many of them e-readers won't even make it onto their radar unless they have an integrated lighting solution of some sort.

I think it's a matter of when, not if, Sony attempts to deploy new front-lighting technology (I know they tried it without success years ago). But if they wait until it's mature, and being done right by competitors who are growing faster and tied to bigger retail networks who are pushing them harder, then Sony will just be one of the pack rather than seen as a leader (again, we're talking about the person on the street here, not the e-reading die-hards).

* Just because someone, somewhere, wasn't happy with their Glo doesn't mean the hardware isn't being done right; you'll never make 100% of people happy 100% of the time. The user complaints about the Glo on Mobileread have been pretty meagre compared to the accolades.

** You say it's the best, does it have "font weight" like the new Kobo firmware? That's a big feature for me. And you complain about ads, by which I'm guessing you mean reading recommendations? I've never seen an ad on either of my Kobos (reading recommendations to me is a feature; not one that everyone appreciates, but a feature nonetheless; if it were an ad for, say, The Gap, then I'd be pissed off ).

[AnotherCat]

Originally Posted by scrapking

...so it's not in Sony's best interests to sit on the sidelines as they continue to lose marketshare.

I have been wondering what the reader market statistics are for some time but have been unable to find them. From your claim it appears that you know them, so would you post them here?

Sony's market share over, say, the last 5 years, and as there has been brand proliferation over that time with new entrants to the market, which will dilute market share for some or all earlier entrants, could you also post the same figures for other manufacturers in order for comparison of performance.

Would you also post Sony's revenue from reader sales over the same period?

Thanks for that.

[scrapking]

Originally Posted by AnotherCat

I have been wondering what the reader market statistics are for some time but have been unable to find them. From your claim it appears that you know them, so would you post them here?

Sony's market share over, say, the last 5 years, and as there has been brand proliferation over that time with new entrants to the market, which will dilute market share for some or all earlier entrants, could you also post the same figures for other manufacturers in order for comparison of performance.

Would you also post Sony's revenue from reader sales over the same period?

Thanks for that.

I'm not sure why you can't just use Google to look this stuff up for yourself, but OK.

Comprehensive global statistics are impossible as market research is unavailable for some countries, but we can make some observations. And digging into the financials of e-reader sales misses the point, as most companies look to e-books as the profit driver, not the readers themselves.

In the U.S. market, various market research has suggested that the Kindle has an outright majority of the market, and the Nook has grown to a strong second place. A lot of that simply has to have come from the marketshare of previous entrants, like Sony. Kobo's growth in France, the UK, Australia, and NZ probably also came at the expense of Sony, as they were the main incumbent at retail. And you're right to say that Sony's market position was diluted due to new entrants coming into the market, so there's limited value in looking over a five year span IMO (though it would sure be interesting).

So here's something that may provide some value: http://stevenhurdle.files.wordpress....tober-2012.pdf

It's only the Canadian market, but it is solid market research from a large, reputable firm. In that time no significant new entrant came into the market. In that time Sony's market share went from first to third, dropping from 28% to 17%. This is not quarterly sales, it's cumulative life-to-date sales (meaning, 28% of Canadians with e-readers had Sony branded ones in January 2011, and 17% of Canadians with e-readers had Sony branded ones 18 months later). In that time the market went through explosive growth, with 4% of Canadians having e-readers at the beginning of 2011 and 12% of Canadians having e-readers by the midpoint of 2012.

Kobo, backed up by the dominant book retail chain in Canada, went from 27% of the total market to 47% of the total market 18 months later. I have some stats for intervening periods and did some back-of-the-serviette math, and concluded that over the last 6 months Kobo had about 55% of the Canadian market.

What this suggests is that having an energetic campaign from a major retailer can be very effective. Nook may still be second place in the U.S., but they've managed to carve out a slice of the market that's estimated to be in the 20-30% range, from 0%, and that likely would have been impossible without B&N's B&M stores. (And it's worth noting that, with Kindle estimated to be in the 60% range in the U.S. by some estimates, that doesn't leave a lot of room for Kobo, Sony and other players.)

Some market estimates put Sony in first, Kobo in second, and Kindle in third in Australia and New Zealand. It's my understanding that some book retail chains there sell Sony e-readers, and that this has been part of the secret of their success there, much as it was Kobo's in Canada. And would Kobo be in second place if not for Whitcoulls, Borders Australia, and the like? FNAC in France has pushed Kobo to 50% marketshare there due to FNAC's energetic support, another success not likely to have been created any other way IMO.

The converse appears to be true: in countries where Kobo is not found in stores that sell books, their marketshare is piddly compared to countries where they do.

In Canada, I have seen Sony e-readers for sale in electronics stores, even in office supply stores, but never in bookstores. How hard is Staples, or Future Shop, pushing e-readers? They show up in their catalogues every now and then, they're on the shelf, but I don't think they're moving a lot of them or pushing them very hard, not from what I can see. And when I do see big in-store displays for e-readers, they're usually for Kindles (I've seen these at Staples and The Source, for example).

So I wasn't speaking entirely out of my ass earlier, I do have some (however limited in scope) market research behind my comment. On top of that we have other studies with some vaguer comments (who's first, second, and third) without numbers attached for other markets. My takeaway from all of it is that Amazon has been very successful at growing through e-commerce, and that Kobo's been very successful where they've been able to partner with a dominant retail partner who is not simply going to stock the product but who will push it aggressively. Sony has mostly relied on their traditional electronic store partners, and in those markets they've "missed the boat" somewhat as e-reader sales have exploded. Where they've partnered with partners who will push them harder, especially where it's a bookstore chain with the vision to be open to replacing revenue being lost to e-readers, they've been more successful.

Kindle succeeds because it's tied to the largest e-commerce platform on the planet. Kobo's succeeding based on revenue sharing arrangements with dominant retailers. Nook is succeeding on the same basis as Kobo. If Sony's plan is to focus on product and selling through their traditional channels, when by all appearances new channels (e-commerce, bookstore alliances) are where the growth potential is being demonstrated, then they'll continue to miss out. Sony was at its strongest when most bookstores didn't sell e-readers, it seems to me.

tl;dr Book lovers shop in book stores, and/or on Amazon. Book lovers are converting to e-readers. Kobo/Nook/Kindle e-readers are the ones most broadly available in the places where book lovers shop. Ergo, the majority are selecting Kobo/Nook/Kindle devices now.

[AnotherCat]

Originally Posted by scrapking

I'm not sure why you can't just use Google to look this stuff up for yourself...

As I said, I have looked for comprehensive data for some time. But if you continue to be unsure as to why "this stuff" cannot be found on Google, let me just refer you to your very next comment.

Originally Posted by scrapking

Comprehensive global statistics are impossible as market research is unavailable for some countries...

Which I assume also means that you have not found, or possess them either.

The one insignificant data set you gave is pretty much useless on its own as it is apparently for Canada only, is very limited, and does not address matters such as the effects of brand proliferation, revenue by manufacturer, etc as was the brunt of my question.

The rest of your (quite long) post is in the main assumption, and quite unrelated to the provision of the specific data I assumed you must of had in order to have made the quite confident sounding claim in your earlier post.

So, I am afraid, not of much help. But thanks anyway.

[Kolenka]

Originally Posted by scrapking

If the only front-lit e-readers were the Kindle Paperwhite, and the NOOK Simple Touch with GlowLight, then I would agree. And if Sony was offering only one e-reader at a time, then I also might agree.

But there is another front-lit e-reader, and it proves it can be done right. Where are the hordes of people complaining about the Kobo Glo? It's been almost entirely accolades. I have one and the lighting is even and effective. The light technology is where we want it, if you do it right.

The problem with saying "Amazon screwed up, but Kobo got it right" is that they are using the same display and light guide setup. Why are Kobos coming out more consistent? I suspect Amazon's real mistake here is in their limited sampling of batches for defects in an effort to get larger volumes out in time for holiday, along with shipping devices straight to users from manufacturing. Since Kobo needs to send theirs through retail partners, they spend extra time in warehouses/etc during the trip to stores. If adhesive is causing blotching, these two things definitely contribute to the higher rates of blotching, but the Kobo isn't immune to this effect either.

Amazon's advertising isn't terribly helpful here either, as it tended to overstate the nature of the front-light.

Kobo's biggest problem is software QA. If they can lick that, they've got a real chance to effectively kick Sony right out of the market in the west and give B&N a run for their money. Amazon is a tougher nut to crack in the US since they have the brand, the ecosystem, and a good device selection that tends to be reliable (despite first-run production hiccups).

And for the record, Sony *is* offering only one e-reader at a time right now.

[RG1]

Originally Posted by scrapking
does it have "font weight" like the new Kobo firmware?

No, "font weight" and "font sharpness" can not be changed on the T1/T2. But the fonts look good on the sonys without any fiddling and also most of the sideloaded and epub embedded fonts have a good rendering.
This font tuning feature works for the fonts delivered in kobos firmware only and messes up a lot of sideloaded and embedded fonts.

The sonys have no hyphenation feature like the new kobo firmware has. But kobos implementation is really bad for my language and you can not turn it off.

[scrapking]

Originally Posted by AnotherCat

The one insignificant data set you gave is pretty much useless on its own as it is apparently for Canada only, is very limited, and does not address matters such as the effects of brand proliferation, revenue by manufacturer, etc as was the brunt of my question.

As I mentioned in my post, brand proliferation does not affect this data set as no new high profile brands were launched in Canada during this time (if, in fact, any new brands were launched at all during this period).

Obviously it's a limited data set, but what it shows (IMO) is the power of an e-reader manufacturer with an e-book store partnering with a powerful bricks-and-mortar bookstore, as opposed to the traditional model (that Sony still uses in most markets) of partnering with electronics stores.

Do you dismiss what Kobo has done with Chapters/Indigo in Canada (0% to 47% marketshare), what B&N accomplished with Nook in the U.S. (0% to 27%*), and what Kobo has accomplished with FNAC in France (50% marketshare**)? What market research we do have access to is starting to show a consistent picture: that e-reader sales growth is happening through stores (online and B&M) where people traditionally go to buy paper books.

* https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=122908

**Reid, Calvin (2012-04-20). "With More Funding, Kobo Steps Up". Publishers Weekly.

[scrapking]

Originally Posted by Kolenka

The problem with saying "Amazon screwed up, but Kobo got it right" is that they are using the same display and light guide setup.

Do we know that they're exactly the same, or based on the same principle? I have a sneaking suspicion that, in an attempt to make it come out looking whiter, that Amazon modified it in a way that (when it goes wrong) creates the colour blotching that people refer to.

Kobo's biggest problem is software QA. If they can lick that, they've got a real chance to effectively kick Sony right out of the market in the west and give B&N a run for their money. Amazon is a tougher nut to crack in the US since they have the brand, the ecosystem, and a good device selection that tends to be reliable (despite first-run production hiccups).

Without a doubt, software Q&A issues are at the root of most of the complaint threads here in the Kobo forum. And without a doubt, Amazon is a tough nut to crack in places where they're already strongly entrenched. So I agree with all of the above on every count.

And for the record, Sony *is* offering only one e-reader at a time right now.

Really? Crazy. They used to release multiple models in the past, didn't they? I recall looking at several models at a time, each time I evaluated Sony e-readers in the past. Interesting.

Well, they have released multiple models in the past, and could do so again if they so chose.

Personally, I would love for them to. I would love for two companies with great hardware (Kobo & Sony) releasing better front-lit e-readers than Amazon and Nook (at least we get to call the company Nook, now, that it's been spun off by B&N into a separate company ).

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

Kobo seems to have gotten it right. Kindle has maybe had a bad first batch. Sony got I wrong because despite not having light tech its the same price as the other readers. If they had come out with their T2 for only 69.99. Then I could see how they might have made a wise move until waiting until light tech was more fleshed out.

It's better not to have a front light then to get it wrong like Amazon.

[AnotherCat]

Originally Posted by scrapking

...Do you dismiss what Kobo has done with Chapters/Indigo in Canada (0% to 47% marketshare), what B&N accomplished with Nook in the U.S. (0% to 27%*), and what Kobo has accomplished with FNAC in France (50% marketshare**)? ...

I am not dismissing anything. You gave the impression you had the hard data that I asked for, that is all I was looking for. Instead it turns out that you have not got it, which is just fine if that is the case. You could have just said so, but instead you seem to feel free to try to beguile me with your lengthy opinions which I am not seeking, nor am I interested in them.

I am not defending nor criticising any brand, and have no need to. Nor do I have any particular allegiance to Sony nor any dislike of Kobo, all as you seem to be assuming by your prattling on about Kobo in a defensive manner.

So I suggest you just let it go instead of trying to justify yourself and Kobo. I am not interested in responding to your opinions.

[scrapking]

Originally Posted by AnotherCat

I am not dismissing anything. You gave the impression you had the hard data that I asked for, that is all I was looking for.

Is that what this is about? I never asserted that I had the hard data you asked for, though I did have hard data to make the assertion I made: that Sony's marketshare had fallen in the wake of competition aligning itself with bookstores. That doesn't mean it had done so everywhere in the globe, just that I had hard data that demonstrated that phenomenon had occurred somewhere (and therefore could occur elsewhere, if it wasn't already).

Then you go into a long, insulting aside that I somehow want Sony to fail, which is completely bizarre and inconsistent with my comments about wanting Sony to release a front-lit e-reader, and wanting them to succeed at it. The whole reason I joined this thread, in fact, was essentially to say three things:

1) I believe the assertion this thread is based on is false; the technology is there, the challenge is in implementation; Kobo did it correctly once, Sony can do so again.

2) I believe Sony would benefit from doing so now, when the competition is scrambling to get it right; if Sony does it right now, they can steal share from those who haven't quite got it right yet, I believe.

3) I would like Sony to do so, and I would like to see them succeed at it.

[Prestidigitweeze]

Succinctly and aptly put, scrapking. This post, like others of yours on this thread, add to the conversation and benefit other people who happen to be reading it despite the annoyance of individuals with rather particular criteria. Feel free to expand and expound for those who don't mind walls (or wells) of text. Again, well said.

Originally Posted by scrapking

Is that what this is about? I never asserted that I had the hard data you asked for, though I did have hard data to make the assertion I made: that Sony's marketshare had fallen in the wake of competition aligning itself with bookstores. That doesn't mean it had done so everywhere in the globe, just that I had hard data that demonstrated that phenomenon had occurred somewhere (and therefore could occur elsewhere, if it wasn't already).

Then you go into a long, insulting aside that I somehow want Sony to fail, which is completely bizarre and inconsistent with my comments about wanting Sony to release a front-lit e-reader, and wanting them to succeed at it. The whole reason I joined this thread, in fact, was essentially to say three things:

1) I believe the assertion this thread is based on is false; the technology is there, the challenge is in implementation; Kobo did it correctly once, Sony can do so again.

2) I believe Sony would benefit from doing so now, when the competition is scrambling to get it right; if Sony does it right now, they can steal share from those who haven't quite got it right yet, I believe.

3) I would like Sony to do so, and I would like to see them succeed at it.