When can we expect a price drop?

THJahar · 08-24-2006, 10:47 AM

The only thing preventing me from purchasing an iliad is that I believe the price point to be too high.
£440 GBR seems way too much to me I expected the pricepoint to be nearer £350 GBR.
Do you believe the pricepoint to be too high?
How would you early adopters respond to say a 15-20% price drop, (if that is even possible) and within what time frame (is now too soon, would it have to be 3-6 months or even more?)
Answers below :-)

yvanleterrible · 08-24-2006, 10:53 AM

Same for me.
That and beta problems.
Sony always gets out secure OS (that could be debatable in this case)

verbosus · 08-24-2006, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yvanleterrible

Sony always gets out secure OS (that could be debatable in this case)

That prompted me to do some research on the recent (well, last year’s actually) “Sony Rootkit” fiasco. I recommend everyone to check out this article and further comments in this other one over at Wired, it’s quite scary to think that I might have the same stuff done to my computer by buying Sony ebooks (and devices, possibly).

But then again, maybe they won’t ever do something like this again, now that they have been caught red-handed. Go figure.

rmeister0 · 08-24-2006, 11:29 AM

"Sony always gets out secure OS (that could be debatable in this case)"

Yea, I'd debate that. But their hardware is usually solid.

THJahar · 08-24-2006, 12:26 PM

I've ruled out entirely sony's reader (purely on the basis of their root kit/drm shenaningans). I've already got the Hanlin V2 sample which once stable will do me as a basic reader.
The Iliad I want to mainly use at work as a technical document store and note taker.
unfortunately I have been unable to persuade work to buy one as a trial.
And as I view the current pricepoint as a corporate/early adopter level i'm not going to buy at that price.
My reasoning is that on not a quite 'like for like' comparison i.e. the techincal specs of the iliad versus the same specced PDA you can see how expensive the iliad is that cannot be justified by purely economics of scale in the manufacturing process.
I'm just hoping that the price will come down in the next 6 months.

TadW · 08-24-2006, 12:36 PM

I believe iRex will be able to reduce the price once their B2B business kicks in. $450-550 sounds more reasonable to me.

NatCh · 08-24-2006, 12:45 PM

The Sony Reader is using a Linux OS, probably pretty similar to iLiad's, at a guess. (shrug) Not sure what that means for OS security. But the OS should be solid and reliable, since they've been around long enough to know how to work the kinks out of a new product.

As for their hardware, I've always been impressed with them on that front, even when I didn't agree with some of the decisions. Nobody uses cassette tapes all that much anymore, but everybody still knows what a Walkman is.

If you're worried that they haven't learned anything from the root-kit debacle (understandable, that was pretty heinous), you could just not use the Connect software -- you don't need the software to load files on the Sony Reader via memory card or USB, only to buy books from Sony's store. (shrug) General consensus around here seems to be that most folks don't plan to do that regardless.

Surely not even Sony can root-kit you with software that never leaves the box.

TadW · 08-24-2006, 12:57 PM

Since the Sony Reader is using Linux, shouldn't we expect a somewhat more open approach by Sony, especially since they must comply to GPL?

NatCh · 08-24-2006, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TadW

Since the Sony Reader is using Linux, shouldn't we expect a somewhat more open approach by Sony, especially since they must comply to GPL?

That seems to be a reasonable expectation. I think they've said they'll release an SDK at some near-future point, and they were pretty laid back about the Librie' hacking (unlike the PSP), so I think we can expect a bit of a softer approach in this area, at least.

scotty1024 · 08-24-2006, 01:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmeister0

Yea, I'd debate that. But their hardware is usually solid.

The Librie wasn't. They used a pearly looking plastic that chips into tiny pieces with very little effort on your part. After 15 months no amount of duct tape would keep the corner of the battery compartment working and my Librie became a non-functional member of my IT museum.

So of course I get an iLiad and it promptly demonstrates the dead battery issue.

Having seen the photos of the inside of the iLiad... I don't expect much help on the price point until they can build their second generation unit. You can't build inexpensive consumer devices with so many circuit boards, in which count I also count the 3rd party modules literally, in one case, glued into it.

And you certainly can't make it very inexpensive with not one but two secondary batteries, and separate battery board and big ol' metal strap to secure same into the unit.

The current iLiad is a Rolls of ebook readers, not a Ford commuter vehicle.

And as with a Rolls, missing certain high end features: bluetooth.

Alexander Turcic · 08-24-2006, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scotty1024

The current iLiad is a Rolls of ebook readers, not a Ford commuter vehicle.

And as with a Rolls, missing certain high end features: bluetooth.

But the RR you could at least equip with a Nokia CK-7W Advanced Car Kit ;-)

yvanleterrible · 08-24-2006, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TadW

Since the Sony Reader is using Linux, shouldn't we expect a somewhat more open approach by Sony, especially since they must comply to GPL?

Sadly the only thing open about Sony is their cash registry.

verbosus · 08-24-2006, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TadW

I believe iRex will be able to reduce the price once their B2B business kicks in. $450-550 sounds more reasonable to me.

Yeah, that seems to be their current strategy for now. Have us “early adopters” pay the premium price to do the beta testing and start hacking with the free SDK (once it becomes available), then lower the price point when the device is supposed to be ready for prime time.

NatCh · 08-24-2006, 03:11 PM

In their defense, they did suggest waiting....

drogo · 08-24-2006, 05:32 PM

About the "openess" thing.

Remember, the only thing that the GPL forces you to open up are derivative works. The software that runs on Linux doesn't necessarily have to be open if it was created completely in-house at Sony (or iRex).

So while the reader devices may run Linux, that doesn't mean we'll absolutely see the source code for the reader software.

Of course, I'm hoping they both "see the light" and take advantage of all the benefits that come with going with a more open platform.

Still, the devil is in the details.

08-24-2006, 10:47 AM	#1
THJahar Zealot Posts: 107 Karma: 58 Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Leicester, UK Device: Jinke V2 Prototype	When can we expect a price drop? The only thing preventing me from purchasing an iliad is that I believe the price point to be too high. £440 GBR seems way too much to me I expected the pricepoint to be nearer £350 GBR. Do you believe the pricepoint to be too high? How would you early adopters respond to say a 15-20% price drop, (if that is even possible) and within what time frame (is now too soon, would it have to be 3-6 months or even more?) Answers below :-)

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08-24-2006, 10:53 AM	#2
yvanleterrible Reborn Paper User Posts: 8,616 Karma: 15446734 Join Date: May 2006 Location: Que Nada Device: iPhone8, iPad Air	Same for me. That and beta problems. Sony always gets out secure OS (that could be debatable in this case)

08-24-2006, 11:29 AM	#4
rmeister0 Addict Posts: 270 Karma: 298 Join Date: Mar 2005	"Sony always gets out secure OS (that could be debatable in this case)" Yea, I'd debate that. But their hardware is usually solid.

08-24-2006, 12:26 PM	#5
THJahar Zealot Posts: 107 Karma: 58 Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Leicester, UK Device: Jinke V2 Prototype	I've ruled out entirely sony's reader (purely on the basis of their root kit/drm shenaningans). I've already got the Hanlin V2 sample which once stable will do me as a basic reader. The Iliad I want to mainly use at work as a technical document store and note taker. unfortunately I have been unable to persuade work to buy one as a trial. And as I view the current pricepoint as a corporate/early adopter level i'm not going to buy at that price. My reasoning is that on not a quite 'like for like' comparison i.e. the techincal specs of the iliad versus the same specced PDA you can see how expensive the iliad is that cannot be justified by purely economics of scale in the manufacturing process. I'm just hoping that the price will come down in the next 6 months.

08-24-2006, 12:36 PM	#6
TadW Uebermensch Posts: 2,583 Karma: 1094606 Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Italy Device: Kindle	I believe iRex will be able to reduce the price once their B2B business kicks in. $450-550 sounds more reasonable to me.

08-24-2006, 12:45 PM	#7
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	The Sony Reader is using a Linux OS, probably pretty similar to iLiad's, at a guess. (shrug) Not sure what that means for OS security. But the OS should be solid and reliable, since they've been around long enough to know how to work the kinks out of a new product. As for their hardware, I've always been impressed with them on that front, even when I didn't agree with some of the decisions. Nobody uses cassette tapes all that much anymore, but everybody still knows what a Walkman is. If you're worried that they haven't learned anything from the root-kit debacle (understandable, that was pretty heinous), you could just not use the Connect software -- you don't need the software to load files on the Sony Reader via memory card or USB, only to buy books from Sony's store. (shrug) General consensus around here seems to be that most folks don't plan to do that regardless. Surely not even Sony can root-kit you with software that never leaves the box.

08-24-2006, 12:57 PM	#8
TadW Uebermensch Posts: 2,583 Karma: 1094606 Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Italy Device: Kindle	Since the Sony Reader is using Linux, shouldn't we expect a somewhat more open approach by Sony, especially since they must comply to GPL?

08-24-2006, 03:11 PM	#14
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	In their defense, they did suggest waiting....

08-24-2006, 05:32 PM	#15
drogo Connoisseur Posts: 54 Karma: 321 Join Date: May 2006 Location: Virginia, USA Device: PRS-500	About the "openess" thing. Remember, the only thing that the GPL forces you to open up are derivative works. The software that runs on Linux doesn't necessarily have to be open if it was created completely in-house at Sony (or iRex). So while the reader devices may run Linux, that doesn't mean we'll absolutely see the source code for the reader software. Of course, I'm hoping they both "see the light" and take advantage of all the benefits that come with going with a more open platform. Still, the devil is in the details.

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