SarcasticDwarf
Diamond Member
- Jun 8, 2001
- 9,574
- 2
- 76
I was actually interested in it until I saw that it looks like a cheap plastic kids game from the late 80's.
The battery issue has to do with EVDO. Sony's eBook readers don't do that, and any wireless technology is a battery buster.
I think it looks ugly as hell, but I'd like to try it out nonetheless.
I think it looks ugly as hell, but I'd like to try it out nonetheless.
AgaBoogaBoo
Lifer
- Feb 16, 2003
- 26,108
- 5
- 81
I'd like to try it out too, but the price is a bit too high. If it was $50, I would get it, but $400 is a bit much.
SarcasticDwarf
Diamond Member
- Jun 8, 2001
- 9,574
- 2
- 76
Hardcover is over $10, but paperback are generally $6.99-$8.99. If you read mostly paperback (fiction) you are paying far more.
Yeah, hardcover is WAY over $10.
Paperback can easily be $10. Even at $7 or $9 a pop, what's another buck or two for the convenience?
In fact, I pay more than that for audiobooks.
- Jan 2, 2006
- 10,455
- 35
- 91
I'm not liking this either.
No backlight? Battery should last pretty long then... but it doesn't
No backlight? Can't read in the dark then. Need a separate light.
No color? Come on....
$10 a book? This is the #1 reason I won't be buying it. There are no printing costs, no distribution costs, no store shelf costs. It is almost pure profit for these book companies to sell e-books and yet it's more expensive. I sure as hell won't be buying anything at this price, not to mention they're opening up e-book pirating on themselves with this pricing. And how would you resell your finished books? When I buy a book I want to be sure I can sell it again to recoup some costs.
10 cents an email is really stupid. It's frickin' email. In this day and age it's more common to use you email than your actual home address or even phone number.
No backlight? Battery should last pretty long then... but it doesn't
No backlight? Can't read in the dark then. Need a separate light.
No color? Come on....
$10 a book? This is the #1 reason I won't be buying it. There are no printing costs, no distribution costs, no store shelf costs. It is almost pure profit for these book companies to sell e-books and yet it's more expensive. I sure as hell won't be buying anything at this price, not to mention they're opening up e-book pirating on themselves with this pricing. And how would you resell your finished books? When I buy a book I want to be sure I can sell it again to recoup some costs.
10 cents an email is really stupid. It's frickin' email. In this day and age it's more common to use you email than your actual home address or even phone number.
- Feb 14, 2004
- 50,714
- 6,749
- 136
It will get popular when it's $99. At $49 it would be harder to get than a Wii. It will get more popular when it sports a full-color screen like the iPhone that is sunlight-readable and has multi-touch for easier navigation. But there are battery issues and manufacturing cost issues to overcome before that happens
- Feb 14, 2004
- 50,714
- 6,749
- 136
Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny
I'm not liking this either.
No backlight? Battery should last pretty long then... but it doesn't
No backlight? Can't read in the dark then. Need a separate light.
No color? Come on....
$10 a book? This is the #1 reason I won't be buying it. There are no printing costs, no distribution costs, no store shelf costs. It is almost pure profit for these book companies to sell e-books and yet it's more expensive. I sure as hell won't be buying anything at this price, not to mention they're opening up e-book pirating on themselves with this pricing. And how would you resell your finished books? When I buy a book I want to be sure I can sell it again to recoup some costs.
10 cents an email is really stupid. It's frickin' email. In this day and age it's more common to use you email than your actual home address or even phone number.
I think your reaction is going to be the typical consumer reaction - "why should I buy this over a regular book?" However this is a start...Amazon is the largest online book retailer so they have a lot of power behind them...it can only get better from here!
- Feb 14, 2004
- 50,714
- 6,749
- 136
So far I've heard a lot of complaints...what would be YOUR perfect e-book reader? I think mine would have:
-EV-DO/3G, Wifi, Bluetooth, and USB connectivity
-SDHC support (not sure if the Kindle does those)
-Full-color, sunlight-readable screen with adjustable backlight for reading in the dark
-Multi-touch for easy navigation
-Pressure-sensitive pen (Wacom-style)
-Full web support
-Folds in half for even easier storage (hey, as long as I'm dreaming!)
-EV-DO/3G, Wifi, Bluetooth, and USB connectivity
-SDHC support (not sure if the Kindle does those)
-Full-color, sunlight-readable screen with adjustable backlight for reading in the dark
-Multi-touch for easy navigation
-Pressure-sensitive pen (Wacom-style)
-Full web support
-Folds in half for even easier storage (hey, as long as I'm dreaming!)
SarcasticDwarf
Diamond Member
- Jun 8, 2001
- 9,574
- 2
- 76
There is certainly a convenience cost, but $10 is excessive. If you want an examble of a very successful electronic book market look at Baen's Webscriptions service. A typical paperback is $4-6 (depending on how recently it was released) with hardcovers up to about $10. No DRM on anything and every book is available in about half a dozen formats.
SarcasticDwarf
Diamond Member
- Jun 8, 2001
- 9,574
- 2
- 76
I would say either the ability to convert into a format best for the reader or the ability to display any standard format (e-book formats are txt, doc, pdf, and lit).
- Feb 14, 2004
- 50,714
- 6,749
- 136
That could have proved to be an interesting selling point for Amazon...I bet if books were $3.99 or $4.99 instead of $9.99 that people would be able to overlook the $399 price easier. I definitely think that E-Books are the way of the future, especially as textbooks for schools, but I don't think it's going ot happen anytime soon. People need more of an incentive than "carry your whole library with you" I think. For the majority of consumers, it's almost always about money - convenience is one thing, but it needs to be married to price. Why do they have to charge $10? They don't have to pay for glue, paper, ink, etc. All they have to cover is your EV-DO subscription. Authors who go with big publishers typically only get a small piece of the pie when they publish their book, so it's not like they're going to be making more money if the price is higher or lower. If books were only a few bucks each I think the Kindle would really take off despite being ugly and overpriced.
No SDHC, which is a bit of a bummer.
It does support Audible format.
And the battery is user-replaceable, which is nice.
It does support Audible format.
And the battery is user-replaceable, which is nice.
It's a good idea, but the up front cost of $400 to read $10 books is way too much. Even $300 would be too expensive, and the sweet spot would be more like $99, and I am sure the price go down as it gets cheaper to manufacture.
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