TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home

I tend to agree too – why not have an eReader that can play video, surf the Web, store photos, etc.? However, history seems to tell a different story. For years we’ve been able to get phones with cameras and MP3 players on them, but there is still a robust market for digital cameras and MP3 players. I think the reason is that most phones’ camera and MP3 abilities are sub-par. Will the same hold true for eReaders? Only time will tell.

More, in the ebook reader arena, extreme specialization has value in two forms:
1- Cost, as the current product baseline drops in price and slots in as the entry level ereader hardware config
2- Optimization, as the two signature features of dedicated readers (paperlike B&W screen and extreme battery life) are complementary and difficult to maintain while adding support for other features.

This isn’t to say that ebook reading as an activity can’t occur elsewhere (as cellphone camera usage attests) but there is no reason to expect this newly emergent gadget category to go away any time soon. If anything, the higher-end variants might actually steal users from some multi-purpose devices (Netbooks and laptops come to mind). After all, a high-end connected ebook reader with a color screen (coming!) and fast refresh (probably coming) would be indistinguashable from a webpad, feature-wise. Lets not forget, Kindle already has a vestigial browser built-in, and the defining feature of ebook readers is the *consumption* of information. (Creation of content is the PC’s signature feature and communication is the cellphone’s core.)

We need to get away from this zero-sum thinking, guys; there is room for many hardware platforms under the ebook umbrella. The rise of usage in one category does not imply the demise of another. That is narrow-minded thinking.

(Reminds me of the early days of the PalmPilot; a Palm enthusiast allowed him self to be presented to the national media proclaiming that a PalmPilot allowed him to do without his laptop and that a PalmPilot was “all the computer anybody needs.” Yeah, right. How’d that turn out, huh?)

We’re all different people with different needs and preferences; what works for some won’t work for others. As pointed out, even a casual glance at other product categories proves that the exact opposite is true; single function devices prosper and dominate despite competition from multi-purpose devices: despite all the smartphone hype over iphones, winmo, symbian, and android, 90% of all cellphones sold in a given year are pure communications devices with no internet, no gaming, no apps, and (alas) no ebook readers.
The rise of gaming in cellphones hasn’t stopped Nintendo DS from printing money like a mint, nor has Sony’s PS3 done much to hurt (or help, for that matter) BluRay’s slow natural adoption.
Standalone digital cameras still take the bulk of vacation and birthday party photos and the vast majority of digital audio is still played on music-focused gadgets.

Let’s not let hype get in the way of reality, guys.
Accessibility and convenience through multipurpose devices has its uses but it also requires trade-offs that single purpose devices don’t have to make. Optimization usually means higher performance and lower costs and lower cost means greater sales.

For ebooks to prosper what are needed are cheaper dedicated readers (preferably in blister packs in drugstores and supermarkets) and software apps that support multipurpose devices like PCs and smartphones. Both have a role to play.
Neither is going kill anything.

I just don’t understand why Amazon, Sony and Apple continue to spend so much time developing eReaders when all it will take is for one manufacturer to build a portable, wireless, rollup screen. Game over.

Because some people don’t want video, email, games, internet, or phones when reading. I know I don’t. I think the true success of the Kindle comes from not being like a computer and many sundry thing you can do with it. There is no way I’m going to read on a !@#$ phone!. The game is afoot. There will be both.

E-readers are no longer single-purpose. Most of the newer ones can also play MP3 files. So in a strict sense they are not single purpose. Other functions are also creeping in. Their main advantages are, however, screen size and the readability. EInk screens are better for reading than other displays. In the future probably most screens will get the quality of these screens. Remains the size. I read ebooks on my iPod Touch because I don’t have a dedicated e-reader yet. Or I read them on my laptop. One is too small to be really confortable, although it is bearable. The other one is too large for example in bed. Even on the couch it is a bit bulky and it gets hot. So I think I will get an e-reader too. Just waiting for the perfect model to appear here. The Nook seems nice but there is no indication when it will be available in my country.

I don’t consider battery life a big point. It is nice if you can read ebooks during your vacation without charging the device but you will have to charge your phone anyway, so why not charge the e-reader also? Moreover battery technique is gradually increasing so the differences may become insignificant in the future.

So I think in the end the main reason to have more than one device will be the size. I don’t see people making phone calls with a pocketbook-sized devices. The phone should be quickly accessible in your pocket because it is used for brief, unplanned actions. That also includes address book lookups and diary. E-readers and laptops are used for activities that last longer and they can be kept in your bag or briefcase. For listening to music size doesn’t matter whether you do it off the phone or anything else.

…and XKCD shall lead us.

http://xkcd.com/662/

I swear that strip is scary.

Regards,
Jack Tingle