An estimated fifty thousand e-readers were shipped last year in the Netherlands. A disappointing result. The e-reader market seems to vanish before it even got started. The success of Apple’s iPad seems nothing less than a death warrant for the e-reader. Having shipped over a quarter of a million iPad devices in less than six months time, Apple is telling us something: people love high-touch devices that produce colorful moving images, are easy to grasp yet come with a multitude of options, applications and connectivity. In that respect, the e-reader doesn’t stand much of a chance. It is a single purpose device that lets you merely read documents. Is this the end of the e-reader?
It is interesting to see what happened to the e-reader in its short period of existence. The introduction of e-ink technology gave us a superior reading experience compared to traditional LCD panels. The drawback is that the screen buildup is much slower than LCD screens that PCs and laptops are using. The idea was that the slow build-up of the screen shouldn’t matter in a reading environment where readers would prefer a superior screen.
But as with most things it takes a bit of time to get it right. The e-ink technology needs maturing, proper positioning and a good understanding of the content eco-system. Paying over 300 Euro for a device that can only read is an easy mark for alternative devices. The netbook alternative gained serious traction during the last 2 years. Same price, more functionality, very mobile and well connected. These are all features that consumers, the main target group, are very keen on. The battle on publishing formats doesn’t add to the popularity of the e-reader. Amazon got a long way with its Kindle and free 3G, but it is pretty useless in non-English speaking countries. The late iRex did not support Amazon’s document format and like most e-ink readers it was way too expensive for a single purpose device.
Nevertheless the true benefit of the e-reader is still out there: its superior reading experience. In fact the new ARM Cortex A8 core technology makes it faster, more energy efficient and enables color e-ink technologies in new readers. There is more. Research shows that with multi function devices users get much more distracted. For professionals a superior single purpose reading device could be a winner. Also avid consumer readers could be easily attracted to the e-reader. But even with the technology on track and potential markets being large, one could wonder if this is enough to withstand the onset of the iPad and the expected competing products arriving later this year.
Notwithstanding the success of media tablets we don’t think that single purpose e-ink readers are doomed. Prices of e-readers are coming down rapidly. We expect that the 100 Euro barrier for entry-level e-ink readers will be broken this year. This could significantly increase the chances for the e-reader to become the reading platform of choice catering to both the professional and leisure reader. While e-ink screens are more expensive than LCD displays the price of a complete single purpose e-ink reader device could and should be less than a third of a media tablet. At that price level it can simply become a new personal device at work, at home and while travelling.
But clearly potential buyers want a service as bad as they want a device. This is exactly why the e-reader hasn’t been an instant success. Why buy an overpriced gadget if there is hardly anything to read? Amazon was the first to understand this and now pushes its Kindle proving the e-reader to be a viable device. There is also no reason why a combination of content publishers and e-reader manufacturers can’t repeat the success of the mobile phone sector where more often than not you get a free phone with a subscription. Subsidizing the e-ink reader by the publishing industry opens up a new market. For the device manufacturers it could mean a mass market while for the publishing industry it would open up a whole new way of selling information by bundling books, magazines, and newspapers. They could bundle subscriptions for specific target groups or even offer individuals to pick their own combination of subscriptions.
Therefore the ideal basic e-reader should come free with a subscription, uses e-ink technology, supports all document formats including ePub, PDF, HTML, AZW etc. and has payment and basic web browsing functionality. Premium versions will have color, writing capability, free 3G connectivity, email and mp3.
At the METISfiles we think that there definitely is room for a superior reading device, both for the consumer and for the professional market. To do that publishers and the e-reader manufacturers should get their act together and think of a new business model. This takes courage and may go against old publisher habits but as time is running out for the key players they should take the initiative. If they don’t they could both be sitting ducks but if they do and succeed they should be thankfull for Apple’s wake-up call. We’ll know by 2012.
Hi Marcel,
Mooi verhaal over de e-reader. Dat gedoe met die verschillende formats moet natuurlijk de wereld uit. Je koopt niet een e-reader om het FD te lezen, een andere om boeken van de bibliotheek te lenen en weer een andere omdat Kluwer het niet eens wordt met SDU over welk format… enz, enz. Zal de opgekochte boedel van I-Rex door LG niet worden ingezet om een connecteable apparaat te maken dat door professionals (de markt waar I-Rex opgokte) kan worden gebruikt voor werkzaamheden?
Het grote -bijna A4 formaat- sluit aan bij het leesoverzicht dat men gewend is van dossiers (niet te veel heen en weer schuiven aub, dat leidt maar af en verstoort “het overzicht” of bladspiegel).
Het kunnen maken van aantekeningen “in de kantlijn” en plakken van geeltjes maakt dat je je de tekst kunt eigen maken. Lezen, tekst eigen maken is stukmaken, stukjes bijplakken, net als het omgooien van de stapel gekleurde blokken, aldus de oude prof.dr.ir. G.C. Nielen ooit op een symposium dat ik bezocht.
Omdat het als zonde wordt beschouwd om een boek te bekladden doet men dit niet veel, op zijn best plakt men geeltjes of de voorloper daarvan, de ezelsoren. Dit kan met de e-reader perfect worden opgelost. Ik kan mijn “eigen gemaakte”, i.c. bekladde artikel weer in originele staat aan jou doormailen, want mijn kanttekeningen en markeringen zijn de jouwe niet.
Ook kunnen in de e-reader diverse bronnen met persoonlijke links tussen de tekstdelen in die bronnen worden opgeladen. Zo hoef ik niet hele teksten mee, maar stukken tekst die relevant zijn voor mijn betoog; die moeten doorklikbaar zijn.
Tot slot de verwachtingen van professionals ten aanzien van nieuwe apparaten/gadgets. Laatst zag ik een officier met een I-Pad met daarop een Tekst en commentaar Strafvordering. Die was teleurgesteld, want de tekst was niet de meest recente tekst van het artikel dat hij zocht. Dat had zij automatisch van het nieuwe/hippe apparaat verwacht. De netwerkpc biedt namelijk dezelfde ingang op T&C Sv , maar linkt automatisch door, of vraagt in ieder geval of je de jongste tekst wil zien. Het besef van achterliggende systemen, bronnen is niet voldoende ontwikkeld dat men door de bomen het bos nog ziet.
Voor nu,
Groet,
Paul
De website van the Metis files ziet er goed uit. Wel werd de site makkelijk geblokkeerd door beveiligingssystemen. Ik weet niet waar dat aan ligt. Misschien moet je daar op verdacht zijn (en eerst op attent worden gemaakt: bij deze).