J. Gerry Purdy’s 15 requirements for an ebook reader
By Paul Biba
J. Gerry Purdy, Ph.D., is the VP and Chief Analyst with the Frost & Sullivan North American Information & Communication Technologies Practice. In an eWeek article, “Why Ebooks and Ebook Readers Will Eventually Succeed“, he lists his 15 criteria for a successful ereader. He predicts: “My prediction again: someday–let’s say, hopefully by 2025 but certainly by 2050–technology and business models will have matured so that eBook readers will be used by more than 50 percent of the population. At that time, reading an eBook will become a far better experience than reading a paper-bound book is today. And we’ll honestly look back and wonder how we possibly managed to kill all those trees and print millions of books on paper, when it’s such a better experience reading them on an eBook reader. “
The article is fairly lengthy but I suggest you go over and read it. His 15 criteria (each explained in detail) are:
1. Correct size
2. Instant on/off
3. Great (natural) user interface
4. High contract, high resolution, bright color display
5. Random access
6. Durability
7. Storage
8. Easy annotation
9. Easy access to the dictionary and synonyms/antonyms
10. Acceptable cost of device
11. Built-in wireless communications
12. Acceptable business models
13. Broader distribution
14. Integrated animation and video
15. Acceptable digital rights management (DRM) and intellectual property protection
October 14th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
What’s that sound in the Dilbert comic strip when the characters encounter something so DUMB their head bangs onto their desktop?
Oh yeah.
THUD!
October 15th, 2008 at 1:16 am
Acceptable price is what gets me here. I understand that 300-400 hundred dollars is steep for most people, I’m an undergrad working at a Pizza Hut so I don’t make anything, but I don’t believe that the price of an e-reader is as great when compared to cut-rate desktops and laptops($300-600), Ipods ($250-400), smart-phones ($200-600) and video game systems ($200-400). When also considering the price-point of video games for computers and systems like the Xbox, which run between $50-60 new, compared to the price of an e-book at $10-25. What I’m saying, in a long-winded way is that people pay a similar price for other electronic gear that e-book readers are priced at today and they are also paying more for video games than the cost of a book. The problem is not in the price, it’s in the importance people are placing in e-books. Of course, I’ve spent over 1200 in the past three years just on readers so I’m obviously not as affected by my low wage and high cost of readers. People on minimum wage will pay $600 for a new PS3 but they won’t spend 25 cents on a used paperback. It’s apathy for the product not a magic sell-points
October 15th, 2008 at 4:57 am
> 15. Acceptable [DRM]
I assume he means “Support for non-DRM-infested content.”
October 15th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Dunno, its hard to argue with most of those point *individually* but collectively… Its easy to see how he ends up with a 2050 adoption timeframe.
Biggest problem I see is he is defining a *single* device. Sorry but that’s not the way the world works; one size does not fit all.
Even today there are *three* clear markets for ebooks, pulling the hardware in three seapate directions. The obvious result will be three separate form-factors/feature sets. And instead of having to wait til 2050 for broad adoption we’ll probably see it this next decade. It just won’t be on a single gadget is all.
As is, we have had productive representatives for all three markets for years now and there’s plenty of people getting good use out of them; the only real limitation is this desire for a magic-bullet single dominating gadget that will serve everybody equally well.
*That* is not going to happen any time soon.
October 15th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
According to a newspaper report I read in 1962 or thereabouts, compiled from the prognostications of the Eminent, we would all by 2008 be:
1. Working 20 minutes a week (tops, workaholics only)
2. Having our every whim satisfied by robots
3. Eating a single pill once a day to provide all our nutrition
4. Riding around in hovercars
5. Wearing Bacofoil suits
6. Holidaying on Mars
etc., etc.
It’s fun to speculate about e-readers, but all you can really say about the future is this: “It hasn’t happened yet.”
October 16th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
One very important requirement was missed:
Long battery life and/or the ability to quickly recharge on-the-go.