gizmodo: how can ebooks compete?

[ignatz]

Gizmodo has a good article on what it will take to get wide adoption of ebooks. It's well thought out, though I don't completely agree with all his points. The author focuses on devices that are designed solely for ebooks. All those folks reading on their PDAs (like us) go unmentioned, which I found odd. Still, worthwhile reading...

[Link from Slashdot]

[test]

Please fix link. Thanks.

[ignatz]

Originally Posted by test

Please fix link. Thanks.

Fixed! Sorry...

[Roger1322]

And he's right. For those of us who are truly interested in reading books and not tinkering with gadgetry we want dedicated ebook readers. I don't want to surf the net, I don't want to write a report and I sure don't want to listen to music when I'm in the mood for Agatha Christie. I have a Cybook and an eBookwise and am fairly content. On the other hand I get really revved up when I read about the iLiad. Finally, when I come home from work I can have a cool one on the patio with book (iLiad) in hand. Man, that's (will be) living.

[Snappy!]

wow, cool article! Just read it and its written back in July 2004!

[drachasor]

We don't need dedicated book readers. It probably would help make adoption more widespread (single purpose machines are generally cheaper).

What we need are devices that we can read from just as easily as a book, and are just about as portable as a book. The device can, and probably will, do more than just display books. Afterall, why not give it some general pda functionality so you have a calender and other useful functions? There is little reason to purposefully cripple versatility in any ebook reader, and I don't any ebook reader without a decent method of input will succeed--people will want to jot notes and such.

[ultim8fury]

Most people don't jot notes in novels. I don't want or need the ability to write in an e-book. I don't need or want another calendar application that I have to sync up with my main one. I certainly don't need mp3 playback as when I read a book, I read a book. There are no surrounding distractions to ruin my immersion in what I'm reading.

Selling to schools and businesses I can see a need for some input method, but whilst these markets are generally willing to pay more than avg joe consumer, there are more people out there who read for pleasure.

The divide in professional/consumer requirements is being addressed by iliad-pro and sony/hanlin - consumer.

If these devices live up to expectations the e-book market could get very active very quickly.

[drachasor]

Originally Posted by ultim8fury

Most people don't jot notes in novels. I don't want or need the ability to write in an e-book. I don't need or want another calendar application that I have to sync up with my main one. I certainly don't need mp3 playback as when I read a book, I read a book. There are no surrounding distractions to ruin my immersion in what I'm reading.

Selling to schools and businesses I can see a need for some input method, but whilst these markets are generally willing to pay more than avg joe consumer, there are more people out there who read for pleasure.

The divide in professional/consumer requirements is being addressed by iliad-pro and sony/hanlin - consumer.

If these devices live up to expectations the e-book market could get very active very quickly.

As far as more than just ebook features, this makes sense considering the number of different devices already on the market. Who wants to carry around a cell phone, pda, digital camera, ebook reader, laptop, mp3 player, etc at the same time? An ebook reader is already going to be large enough to handle pda-type functions and still have a good battery life (especially with eink tech), so that isn't an issue.

Looking at a device in this broader context, mp3 playback isn't necessarily for when you are reading a book, but quite possibly for when you are not. A scheduler wouldn't be something to sync with your pda, but something to replace your pda. Rather than lugging around 5+ device, it would be better to just lug around one. Cheap ebook readers have their place, but anyone halfway interested in getting a pda would probably appreciate an ebook reader than can handle pda functions more than two devices for both jobs.

[transman]

Electronic book technology is aiming at a display technology niche not currently occupied by laptops. The three main things that consumers will look for from these devices are good screen quality, long battery life and low price. If ebooks are put at a price point where they have to compete with laptops then they will fail.

Until there is either widespread adoption or the technology has gotten to a point where the extra features you mentioned can be cheaply integrated these are going to have to be very specialised devices if they are to succeed.

[NatCh]

Speaking for myself, all I want from an e-book reader is, well, a device to read e-books. I care primarily about readability, battery life, ease of getting material on the rascal (preferably SD cards, as I have them already), and that it not cost me any limbs or internal organs.

I just don't care one way or the other about whether it will play MP3's, do Wi-Fi, provide PDA Functions, work as a cell phone, take pictures/video, crunch spreadsheets, decrypt military code, calculate the value of Pi to 300 decimal places, or keep my sodas icy cold.

Please understand if someone chose to incorporate any or all of those features it wouldn't keep me from buying one, but if they wanted to jack the price up for the privilege of having features I see as uninteresting extras, used only occasionally, well ....

[drachasor]

Any device that has a high ease-of-use with ebooks is going to be able to handle pda-functions. The Iliad is a good example of this. It has, by far, the best ease-of-use system. It can natively read pdfs, text files, html, xtml, etc. Other devices coming out have to convert such documents and require you to have a computer to do so (as I understand it). The Iliad can stand alone, and with wifi you can get a new ebook when you are already out on the go or in the middle of something; or potentially a friend could share a (free) ebook with you without requiring a computer (which must have the right software) intermediary.

Adding wifi doesn't cost much (20 bucks or so, at most 30-40, american). As for pda-functions, if the device is running linux you can get a lot of those for free through open source software, and more would be made for the device (again, for free).

The Iliad is probably expensive not because of the xscale processor or wifi, but rather because it is using a new screen technology, using it a bit differently than Sony or Hanlin, has a touch screen interface akin an electronic drawing pad, and it is a first model of this new technology. Don't underestimate how nice it can be to take notes or mark down special passages in a book either; especially if you aren't really marking the book up in anything close to a permanent way; the interface is a very nice touch.

Hmm, I do see that some people wouldn't care about anything else. However, I think they are the minority of the population in general. That doesn't prevent them from potentially being in the majority of the people who buy the first run of more limited devices. In fact, it makes it more likely they'll be in the majority of that smaller group. In any case, I think the first really popular ebook reading device will likely do a number of other things, even if that isn't its focus. It will probably have eink technology (which makes ebook readers very practical). It will do these many things merely because there is no real reason for it not to, so devices that only do one thing probably just won't sell as well. That's my prediction anyhow (and I expect balloons and such if I called it).

-Drachasor

[NatCh]

Drachasor,

I think you are likely correct that the first successful device will do more than just read books. I realize that things which are mostly software (like MP3 playing, for instance) are going to cost effectively nothing extra. Nor do I underestimate the value of note jotting -- I don't do so myself, but my wife is finishing a PhD in English Lit., and believe me, there are a LOT of books around the apartment with "jots" in them.

I am in no way saying that these "extras" won't or even shouldn't be there, I further agree that a lot of folks will pay twice as much for a unit that has 42 features they'll never use, over a unit that has only 3 or 4 features they'll use all the time -- people are ... short-sighted that way about some things.

All I'm saying is that I, personally, would rather have the cheaper unit that does just what I need. Back in '96 I had been looking at electronic organizers (as they were then called) for a couple of years. All of the ones I could find were too big, too expensive, and usually did stuff I didn't need, while also not doing stuff I did need. Then came the Pilot 5000. It was exactly what I was looking for: pocket sized, calendar, alarms, notes, phone book, PC Sync and not much else. Pricey? Not compared to the Newton which was my next choice. I bought it on sight. I now carry a ... much newer Palm (which I still refer to as my "Pilot"). As you commented, because the software/OS is so flexible, my current unit does a whole lot more than the original did -- heck, I was adding 3rd party softs to the original within the first 3 months (still run some of them, actually, like eReader ) -- and I'm quite grateful for the flexibility.

But my point is actually the same as yours: the platform is inherently flexible, and these functions can be added for little or no extra cost. And within a few years, the user community itself will provide softs to do things we haven't even thought about wanting to do yet.

I just would prefer not to pay a premium price for something that shouldn't cost much to do, and doesn't really add any value to the device's usability. Yes, the "majority" will probably put us all in that position, whether that's a good idea or not is irrelevant -- it will likely happen. I'm not even trying to convince anyone that such a scenario may be self-defeating, only wishing for what seems to me to be a more desirable way.