Thursday 20 October 2011
How E-Books Are Coming Full Circle, Thanks to Tablets
Posted on 00:26 by Maria Scott
As tablet sales, led primarily by Apple's (AAPL) iPad, gain momentum, it seems everyone wants in on the market. Not only are traditional computing and smartphone companies launching or announcing new slates, but makers of e-readers look ready to do the same. The Barnes & Noble (BKS) Nook Color, built to run on Google's (GOOG) Android platform, will reportedly gain an app store next month, while Amazon (AMZN) just launched its own app store for Android devices earlier this week, possibly in advance of launching its own tablet. Standalone e-book readers have their benefits, but the shift to reading on multipurpose tablets is on.
Ironically, this situation has come full circle, although I suspect few realize it. I bought my first e-book in October 2003, more than seven years ago. Back then, there were no e-book reading devices. Instead I was reading my digital books on a PDA, or personal digital assistant. At the time, my Toshiba e805 was perfect for reading on the go, with its built-in Wi-Fi and 4-inch VGA color touchscreen. The handheld ran Microsoft's (MSFT) Windows Mobile 2003 operating system, so I had the ability to browse the Web and even install apps (yes, before there was an "app store"). In short, I had a great e-book reader that did a lot more besides.
Then the Kindle arrived in the fall of 2007, and with its arrival, the standalone e-book reader went mainstream. Sure, there were earlier attempts at bringing an e-ink device to the masses—Sony's (SNE) PRS-500 Reader made its debut more than a year before the Kindle—but Amazon's strength of brand and ability to negotiate with publishers, plus the inclusion of mobile broadband book delivery for no additional charge, turned the Kindle into Amazon's best-selling product. A number of other standalone e-ink readers have since followed, creating a whole new market. But the trend began to revert back to multipurpose devices with the launch of Apple's first iPad last April. I ended up selling my beloved Kindle because the iPad did so much more, plus it offered a Kindle app.
Slates With Many Functions
There's still a market for e-book readers that do nothing more than show e-book content. Some people will prefer e-ink displays that cause less eye strain and use power only during page turns, which allows the Kindle to last weeks on a single charge. But the growing tablet market, expected by some to sell 24.1 million or more units this year, indicates people are looking for a mobile device that can browse the Web, run various apps, and even be a portable television and movie theater, in addition to providing a solid e-book reading experience.
But why would Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or others even be interested in tablets when they already make a cut of the digital book content purchases? Two answers come to mind: losing control over that revenue stream on other devices and leaving money on the table.
Source: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2011/tc20110325_523054.htm
Ironically, this situation has come full circle, although I suspect few realize it. I bought my first e-book in October 2003, more than seven years ago. Back then, there were no e-book reading devices. Instead I was reading my digital books on a PDA, or personal digital assistant. At the time, my Toshiba e805 was perfect for reading on the go, with its built-in Wi-Fi and 4-inch VGA color touchscreen. The handheld ran Microsoft's (MSFT) Windows Mobile 2003 operating system, so I had the ability to browse the Web and even install apps (yes, before there was an "app store"). In short, I had a great e-book reader that did a lot more besides.
Then the Kindle arrived in the fall of 2007, and with its arrival, the standalone e-book reader went mainstream. Sure, there were earlier attempts at bringing an e-ink device to the masses—Sony's (SNE) PRS-500 Reader made its debut more than a year before the Kindle—but Amazon's strength of brand and ability to negotiate with publishers, plus the inclusion of mobile broadband book delivery for no additional charge, turned the Kindle into Amazon's best-selling product. A number of other standalone e-ink readers have since followed, creating a whole new market. But the trend began to revert back to multipurpose devices with the launch of Apple's first iPad last April. I ended up selling my beloved Kindle because the iPad did so much more, plus it offered a Kindle app.
Slates With Many Functions
There's still a market for e-book readers that do nothing more than show e-book content. Some people will prefer e-ink displays that cause less eye strain and use power only during page turns, which allows the Kindle to last weeks on a single charge. But the growing tablet market, expected by some to sell 24.1 million or more units this year, indicates people are looking for a mobile device that can browse the Web, run various apps, and even be a portable television and movie theater, in addition to providing a solid e-book reading experience.
But why would Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or others even be interested in tablets when they already make a cut of the digital book content purchases? Two answers come to mind: losing control over that revenue stream on other devices and leaving money on the table.
Source: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2011/tc20110325_523054.htm
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