Is this the end?
A new article has popped up by Jason Perlow which is declaring the end of the dedicated eReader in light of the eReader price war that broke out earlier this week.
Perlow cites the bold price cut by Barnes and Noble as being their realization that their only hope is to compete based on content and not by profiting from device sales. And therefore, they had to force Amazon and other competitors into the same position by cutting their Nook to a measly $199.
This will in turn force all secondary competitors like iRex, Bookeen, Kobo and Plastic Logic out of business within just a few months. According to Perlow, such companies will not be able to remain profitable and still compete on price with Amazon and B&N.
Sony on the other hand, MAY be able to continue to survive in the market IF they can muster up the courage to lower their prices. As of this moment, their midrange Sony Reader Touch goes for $199 and does not come with wireless, something both Kindle and Nook have for the same price. Sony’s other “Daily” wireless reader DOES come with wireless, but goes for a whopping $300, making it extremely uncompetitive. Sony have historically shied away from pricing their readers on the low end, so it remains unclear how they will respond.
He goes on to say that with Android tablets coming out in the next few months, consumers will be able to buy more capable devices for only a small addition expense at around $200-300. These devices appeal far more to the growing market of millennials whereas e-ink readers are mostly for hardcore readers comprised mostly of baby-boomers. And for the former group, the app versions of these ebook stores on iPhones, iPads, and Droids will work just fine for the majority of users.
The question is… Is he right?
My answer is yes and no.
Yes, some secondary eReader companies will indeed be priced out of the market by the recent cuts. We will indeed see some devices go away. This point seems sound.
But will that mean the end of eReaders altogether? Probably not.
As long as there is a significant demand for a device that is perfectly suited to long hours of reading and just reading, there will probably be room for an e-ink type device.
The reality is that not everyone WANTS a fancy gadget that is half laptop, half eReader. Some people already have netbooks. Others are happy with their iPhones.
And some people just want to read, period. And for that, they need a device that will allow them to do that better than if they were to just pull out their laptop. They need a device that will not hurt their head from staring at it too long. A tablet with an ebook app will simply not do in this case.
Yes, we will see very affordable android tablets appear in the coming months. But there will still be a place for eReaders as long as they are significantly cheaper than their tablet rivals. If not, then it makes less and less sense to buy ebook readers except for a few hardcore enthusiasts.
Hopefully, we will see something approaching the $49 Kindle that Seth Godin suggested a few weeks ago.
