Is iPad the end of ebook readers?
The iPad came with a brand new offering from Apple: iBooks. Apple is entering the book industry and immediately becomes the 800-pound gorilla for Amazon and Sony. A few blog posts have discussed iPad’s implication to the Kindle. This TechCrunch post is one example. The New York Times Bits has opposing views on whether the Kindle will survive.
A common question is whether Amazon and Sony should upgrade their ebook readers to match the iPad feature-by-feature. Sony may want to evaluate this strategy, given their brand and other product lines. However, I think Amazon should focus on books (and I never understand Amazon’s strategy with Kindle apps). In either case, both Sony and Amazon will have to compete with Apple’s already established apps store, mature OS, and so on. It would be an uphill climb to go this way.
The opposite way is to focus on making a better ebook reader. I am in the opinion that single-p urpose devices can and will continue to exist. New technology does not always replace old technology (think of paper notebooks, radio, etc.). Here’s how I think single-purpose ebook readers can still exist:
- Focus on form factor. Despite it’s capability, the iPad does not make a good reader. It is about 3 times as heavy as the Kindle and you won’t be able to hold it with one hand comfortably. The iPad would also be too heavy for reading while lying on your back. Ebook readers, on the other hand, are for book lovers who want to immerse in the reading experience. We don’t need video, games or other apps — we just want to read. So make ebook readers lighter and thinner, have faster screen refresh rate and use color screens. But keep the e-ink technology as it’s a lot more eye-friendly than LED and lighter on batteries.
- Cut price in half. Ultimately this is the bottom line. The iPad is only about twice as much as the Kindle but can do so much more. To me it’s a no-brainer to pick the iPad over the Kindle with the current price. For a single-purpose device, the price of the Kindle should be at least cut in half to make it competitive.
- Make all books available digitally. Right now, maybe 50% of the books I want are available as ebooks. Should I spend my money on an an ebook reader that can only give me half of what I want? Or should I spend it on a device that can compensate that weakness with other things like video, apps and email?
One thing for sure, book readers will benefit from this competition.
Posted via email from And You Wanna Be My Latex Salesman? | Comment »
posted 2 years ago | Permatime
