Sir Stringer on the Reader: "We're not making enough..."

[Fugubot]

Gamespot: Could you give us an update on the Sony Reader?

Stringer: We are very happy with it. It's selling as fast as we can make it. We're not making enough. We've been very cautious in launching it because, as you know, it failed in Japan two years ago. This is a totally different version with totally different economics and software, and we understand that Amazon is also coming on with something in the relatively short term. So, we need to get a second reader out. We probably need a Wi-Fi component.

But we're very pleased that the acceptance from the consumer is unusually strong. I don't want to be a salesman, but people love the device. How many ultimately can be sold is a question mark. I think the next iteration will be the educational marketplace. We've sent some to England. I haven't heard back from the English publishers that I've sent them to, but clearly there is a component in the English-speaking world where you can stack so much educational content that kids can take [the entire content of] their whole [collection of] textbooks [in their Sony Reader].


http://www.gamespot.com/news/6164270.html

[QueridaNegra]

Eureka!! I am so glad that it's catching on - by the time I go back to school, I won't have to carry my textbooks with me, just the reader! There is a God, and he reads !!!

[radleyp]

No, you will most certainly have to carry your textbooks with you, as they will not be transferable to the reader. I have no idea what Stringer means anyhow: how many did Sony make, how many did it sell? It's still available in the local Borders in Connecticut where I go, and my wife, my daughter and other people who have looked at it with me hate it. You are all forgetting that reading on paper is a perfectly good experience, and does not NEED replacing. So, as Yvan has suggested, the reader makes a good addition to paper, but it is unlikely (at least for now) to replace it. And there is the matter of cost and DRM: until the latter goes, I don't see how this, or any other electronic reader, can succeed. The cost is much too high: $350 for a device that could be outdated in a year or less, plus the cost of the books which you will have to read on that device and no other! I don't see much promise there.

[scotty1024]

So let me see if I've got this straight...

Amazon is coming out with a reader and its got wifi so our next reader needs to have wifi.

Our next reader will be targeted at schools.

Ergo the Amazon reader must be targeted at schools?

I scan in my Wife's text books and she goes to college with a Motion Computing LE1600. We've tried using the Sony but the screen is too small and she can't use it to take notes. The Motion with OneNote 2007 works very well for her. The WiFi in the LE1600 is useful outside of the classroom but only because she has a browser.

So if Sony adds WiFi, will they add a browser? And if they do, can they implement it better than iRex did for the iLiad?

Someone from Sony Reader marketing needs to give Stringer a clue or two as to what is really in the pipeline.

[Cthulhu]

@ radleyp:

Part of this debate rests on what we consider textbooks. A number of classes involve reading classic literature. Most great works are available for $5.00 (US) as a paperback or $12.00 for the fancier, bigger paperback. If one is stingy and crafty, many of the great works needed for a literature class--from 1st grade to senior level university courses--can be found at the local public library.

Due to the lapse of copyrights, nearly all of the same texts are available online at various websites devoting to preserving said texts in digital form.

Now, if a parent pays out the $378 (after taxes in my state) when their child heads off to 1st grade for a Reader and is then able to protect that Reader for a while--which may or may not be possible--the cost could be amortised and result in fewer books littering the house.

For education, it could be a fairly useful tool, especially if a school board was able to get a bulk rate for adopting a Reader program in their district.


Also, I think that one of the primary reasons for the Reader and subsequent e-ink devices is expressly to REPLACE paper. Otherwise you argue that the PRS-500 is just another stupid overpriced gadget.

I believe that adding wi-fi is what everyone says version 1.2 will have, even my coffeemaker. If the Reader had such capability, it could be used for RSS feeds from weblogs and online newspapers and magazines.

[bob_ninja]

Radley,

Reader does make sense and WILL replace pBooks for SOME applications, not all. Certainly students will keep using pBooks as well. However, there are many applications where Reader will blow away pBooks, easily.

Consider literature classes. You have to read a bunch of books. The last time I went to a university bookstore I don't think I ever paid less than $100 for anything. So for a single semester you will easily drop $200 or $300 or more. In comparison Reader is not expensive. Especially as many/most of the texts for literature classes are free and available from Gutenberg. Thus one or two literature classes alone can pay for a Reader.

Moreover, who wants to carry around pBooks? Sure it is fine for non-students who use a few books at a time, works great. But how many books students have to deal with? How many papers they have to read and reference later? For them it is a no brainer. Of course they'll jump at the opporunity to copy as many texts as possible into a Reader as it will be much easier to read and recalls/refernce later.

Publishers may not be accomodating and may drag their feet offering eBooks. Sure. Students are very resourceful. Bottom line is that Reader and eBooks are always going to be preferable to pBooks for students.

[radleyp]

Good points, and I see where the reader does make sense for students. Originally, however, the Sony pitch was not to students, but to the general public, and they are now pitching the student market as the savior. That makes me think they are fishing for a market, which in turn makes me think they sense that this device will not be a hit. Besides, as you well know, there is excellent reader software already out there, and while it is for devices that do not use E-ink, it does allows for a satisfactory reading experience. I must confess that I did not find e-ink so much better (don't all howl at me at once), but then I'm an old guy and don't see the improvement as clearly, I am sure.

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by radleyp

...they are now pitching the student market as the savior.

Hmm. I'm not sure I see it quite so strongly. I assume you're referring to this statement:

I think the next iteration will be the educational marketplace.

That sounds to me more like they recognize that they might can offer a version that would be of particular interest to education.

That shouldn't really be a surprise to any of us, as we've discussed a number of different areas that could make excellent use of a Reader variant with different feature sets: education (students and educators), legal, medical, insurance, etc., etc.

Of the lot, education arguably promises the best benefits as it will bring up a generation that are used to using such devices. Personally, I'd probably aim at the legal as there are apparently an infinite number of lawyers in the world, and they plow through a lot of paper -- it'd be nice to get some sort of benefit out of them, and driving down e-ink production prices would be a nice one. (that's all meant tongue-in-cheek, for you lawyer types out there )

In any case, I wouldn't place too much confidence in the details of what Sir Howard said, as he is the CEO, and therefore necessarily distanced from a lot of the details on the various products (note that they original linked story already contains one retractive statement from Sony for something Sir Howard "misspoke" on). Aside from CES rumors (all of which seem to go back to Sir Howard), I haven't been able to dig up any indication at all that there's any actual design work being done on a Reader 2.0 at this stage.

[Leaping Gnome]

They never made textbooks available in a digital format in any significant amount for laptop/etc reading, I don't know why eReaders would be different, it's not like Sony is the first one on the market. If there's any industry stuck in the past it's the textbook industry. It would be great if it happens, but I'm still counting on my kids having to carry textbooks, and they're not even born yet.

And am I the only one that doesn't care about wifi? I hook the thing up maybe once a week, I think I can manage that, especially since the cord is the same USB cord as almost every other digital device on the planet, I think I have eight of them lying around the house.

[NatCh]

I don't give a fetid pair of dingo's kidneys for wifi in a Reader either, LG.

[bob_ninja]

Radley,

That is your interpretation. Mine would be simply that they are encouraged with the initial feedback/sales and are now looking to expand/promote to specific market segments for which this device is especially well suited. It is the standard procedure. Many companies have been doing the same.

I am astonished how little appreciation there is for eInk (as opposed to LCDs that are dominant today). I starte at a monitor 8 hrs/day and my eyes hurt. I love meetings simply to get away from monitors, take a break. Active displays such as LCD are fantastic for the initial 1-2 hours and then eyes become very tired. Everyone needs glasses these days (although I admin there aremany factors causing eye strain).

All eInk devices are far superior to LCD based devices in terms of eye strain. Anyone reading pBooks and newspapers as opposed to LCD monitors knows this simple fact. I consider PDAs and other Reader like gadgets to be suitable replacement for short term reading, such as reading at a bus stop, checking some info, etc. but not suitable for 4+ hour reading, be it books or whatever.

LG,
May I remind you that eInk devices are only now showing up and still slowly. When Gutenberg built the 1st press we weren't flooded with pBooks the very next year!!!! Of course, eBook availability is still a significant problem and of course it will take some time to be resolved. Concordantly I don't expect every last student to switch tomorrow.

The point is that there is already a significant body of books, magazines, scientific papers and other text in electronic form. My guess that today a scientist can obtain just about any scientific paper in elctronic format. PDF documents are ubiquitous today. So there are many people who already use and work with eText that can immediately take advantage of the Reader. The majority can access only 50% or 30% or even 10% of text in electronic form. So be it.

Here is my example. I probably cannot find all books I'd like to read in the Sony format. True. However, I both need to learn new standards (RFCs and specs) and refer to them from time to time. Most are published in either TXT or PDF format. For me having a library of these docs in a Reader available at any time without lugging around massive amounts of paper is VERY USEFUL. Sure I am usually close to a PC and can lookup using it. However it would be much more comfortable to lookup and read the info on the Reader. Is it worth $350? Is avoidance of eye strain and resulting fatigue worth $350? Hell yeah.

People seem to be fixated on the trivial use case when you read 1 or 2 paperbacks. Who cares about those cases???? There are many others. In particular, Sony is smart and recognizes that students are far bigger text consumers and thus far more likely to appreciate Reader's features. There are many others. Many people deal with great amounts of info that they need to lookup/reference on a regular basis.

[Jack B Nimble]

Two things:

First, Radley, for some of us an ebook reader does make sense. Mine is not a Sony, but I read constantly, and I rarely pick up a pbook anymore (Uncle John's and a few graphic novels are about it). The fact that I can be on a business trip in the middle of nowhere, without good internet access, and still have a small library available without the associated baggage, makes it immensely worthwhile. I will say I would think a student, of all people, would want something that would allow notations and searches, but perhaps they will rectify that.

Second, with regards to wifi on an ebook reader, I don't see any point if it is still tied to the PC. OTOH, if they are looking at direct downloads, like the old Rocket line used to do, then I could see a great advantage.

Jack

[Aprilbeginnings]

Originally Posted by NatCh

I don't give a fetid pair of dingo's kidneys for wifi in a Reader either, LG.

Oh I agree..... if I wanted all that stuff I would just sit here and read my books I have on my computer.......

Main reason I bought this sucker, so I can transfer them here so I don't need to use the computer and can get my butt on a nice comfy couch and read and perhaps even fall asleep

[TheMooch]

Originally Posted by NatCh

I don't give a fetid pair of dingo's kidneys for wifi in a Reader either, LG.

I would have to agree with you here. IMHO wifi in a reader is a waste of space and time. While I can see the possible uses (daily downloading of news and RSS feeds) if a person can remember to plug in and charge their device then they can remember to sync said device. I think they'd be better served by putting their development team to work on the CONNECT interface and strengthening the firmware. Hell even building a decent importer would be more useful than wifi.

Don't give in to the wifi fanboys! (Had to fit the word fanboy in there somewhere as it's use has been so prolific of late)

[Cthulhu]

I think that marketing to students is brilliant. iTunes did not exist until kids rampantly stole and traded music in a digital form. the iPod could not exist without that digital form.
Unfortunately, I see no direct parallel for e.books, no "killer form," a new market is a good idea. Consider this: get kids to bug their parents to fork out dough for the reader, then they can score gutenberg.org, &tc for free lit books and save money for candy bars, video games, and beer.


All right, that might be a bit ridiculous, but do not discount a market for adoption of innovation. The iPod is why Apple stock is so valuable. How many of you people have one? How many people know someone under 30 who does?