Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Sony Launches Another eBook Platform
Posted by Ed Hansberry in "OFF-TOPIC" @ 09:00 AM
http://news.sel.sony.com/pressrelease/6394
From the people that brought you the Sony Rootkit for your PC comes another piece of hardware that will no doubt give new life to DRM frustrations. I have no doubt the new "paper-like" screen will make it one of the better ebook solutions available, despite the fact that no ebooks exist for it yet as it surely will have a new Sony format. :roll:
"In recent years millions of people have become comfortable downloading and enjoying digital media, including eBooks. But until now, there has not been a good device on which to read," said Ron Hawkins, senior vice president of Personal Reader Systems marketing at Sony Electronics. "Our research has shown that people are looking for a device designed exclusively for immersive reading. The Sony Reader with its electronic paper display, thin format and extraordinary battery life fits the bill."
I couldn't possibly disagree with that statement more. Dedicated ebook platforms, no matter how much extra stuff is put on them, will never be a big success. People just aren't willing to spend hundreds of dollars for a shell that they then have to go out and buy content for. This isn't music. People expect to have a player of some sort for their $15 CD, be it a portable CD player or an MP3 player to hold all of their songs, but you can go out and buy a $7 book and that is all you need. Why buy a device and then spend $7 for the book? I am not sure what the right model is. Pocket PCs are getting too small to comfortably read ebooks. My K-Jam, as impressive as the screen is, is just too tiny to comfortably hold for hours, unlike my larger iPAQ 3900. What do you think? Will Sony be successful with this, or can anyone in the foreseeable future be successful with a device that is for ebooks first and foremost?
From the people that brought you the Sony Rootkit for your PC comes another piece of hardware that will no doubt give new life to DRM frustrations. I have no doubt the new "paper-like" screen will make it one of the better ebook solutions available, despite the fact that no ebooks exist for it yet as it surely will have a new Sony format. :roll:
"In recent years millions of people have become comfortable downloading and enjoying digital media, including eBooks. But until now, there has not been a good device on which to read," said Ron Hawkins, senior vice president of Personal Reader Systems marketing at Sony Electronics. "Our research has shown that people are looking for a device designed exclusively for immersive reading. The Sony Reader with its electronic paper display, thin format and extraordinary battery life fits the bill."
I couldn't possibly disagree with that statement more. Dedicated ebook platforms, no matter how much extra stuff is put on them, will never be a big success. People just aren't willing to spend hundreds of dollars for a shell that they then have to go out and buy content for. This isn't music. People expect to have a player of some sort for their $15 CD, be it a portable CD player or an MP3 player to hold all of their songs, but you can go out and buy a $7 book and that is all you need. Why buy a device and then spend $7 for the book? I am not sure what the right model is. Pocket PCs are getting too small to comfortably read ebooks. My K-Jam, as impressive as the screen is, is just too tiny to comfortably hold for hours, unlike my larger iPAQ 3900. What do you think? Will Sony be successful with this, or can anyone in the foreseeable future be successful with a device that is for ebooks first and foremost?
