Despite iPad Success, eReaders Might Be Harder To Kill Off Than Expected

Maybe Amazon and Barnes And Noble are going about this the wrong way. Maybe Kobo Reader has it right after all. How so?

Maybe digital book readers should be a combination of the follow two factors that Kobo reader has:  simplicity and a relatively low price (though recently, the Kindle and Nook both had about $50 chopped off their retail price).  

Kindle/Nook Versus "Just Readers. Until the Kindle came on the scene, readers were fairly expensive and it was not easy to upload books into these readers.  Kindle made that iPod-like simple and has since been joined by Sony Reader and the Nook.  However, despite Amazon's claims of success, there is still no figure provided by Amazon about how many Kindles were actually sold and how may ebooks have been bought by Kindle owners since its debut.

But Kobo with its simple read-only device isn't shy about saying how well it's done in New Zealand.  According to Stuff, the first two batches of thousands of Kobo readers have sold out and a third batch is on the way in July.  And with books costing $10-15 (7.15-10.75 USD), this is cheaper than even what Amazon, BN, and Apple sells.

Kobo - Cinderella Reader? So what has made the Kobo such a large success?  It is more simple than the Kindle to install books?  First, the Kobo reader has no 3G or wireless access so the reader would need to buy books form a computer and then install it on the reader.  That might be cumbersome but it isn't any different from what many users do to sync media with Apple's mobile iOS devices for nearly a decade now.

What likely makes Kobo a success is that it just lets the user reader books.  It does not nothing else.  Just read.  And quite frankly, I, and likely many readers, find that refreshing.  I was not always impressed with the Kindle because it has a lot of features and yet it does none of them well.  Then along came the Nook and it was great to see the Kindle with a competitor and while it was based on Google's Android OS, my complaints against it was the same as that of the Kindle. It has features other than being a reader but none of them are easy to use.

Then the iPad came along but let's be honest. It's a great tablet and Apple has been hugely successful by selling three million iPads in just 80 days.  The complaints I had against the Nook and Kindle were solved with the iPad but the iPad isn't a great reader.  I've read only two books on it since I got it and I've got five others to read and I've been putting it off.  Plus, the iPad with its plethora of features, apps, and multimedia functions are a distraction.

And that's where readers like Kobo are different and might find success.  The Kobo reader just let users read books.  And just like a book, it offers no distraction.  When BN released a 3G-less Nook last week at $150, I nearly pulled the trigger (I've already bought two Nooks for family members) on it.  But then the old complaints about it still exist.  Honestly, trying to browse the Web or play games on the Kindle and Nook is very maddening and suffocating.

Borders is currently offering the Kobo reader for pre-order in the US.  So for anyone looking for a dedicated reader that is free from half-baked features like the Kindle or the Nook or isn't in the market for a full-featured tablet like the iPad, I definitely encourage anyone in the market for a good digital book reader to take a look at Kobo reader.  

So I think Kobo and other readers should do well in the market long-term.  I also foresee a significant price drop in the next year or so.  At $150 (Borders price), the Kobo is a still mildly expensive so it isn't out of the realm of possibility to see a $25-$50 decrease in the retail price.  Heck, just wait until a Chinese company come out with a $50-$75 reader in the next year or two.  

Conclusion.  The iPad is a success and its the standard bearer for tablets.  The Kindle and Nook will try to add features because the companies that produced them will try to match them with the tablets feature for feature.  But at the end of the day, book lovers just want to read.  And that where Kobo and others will dominate.

More at Teleread, Stuff, Kobo, And Borders (Kobo's Page)

Note: I've included a link for Borders' Kobo reader page but I don't have any interest (ie. associate link) from any sale of the reader.

Waiting Is Hard: This Time, It's eBook Reader

We had our first book club meeting about a month ago. I've mentioned this before. I finished the book finally and I went to start looking for the next book to suggest for the club at Borders.

When I walked in, there was a while table displaying Sony's Reader. A whole table. Previously, the reader is tucked in the corner of the store where it's hardly seen and if you happen to come across it, it's by chance and for the most part, it's a dummy model.

Now, the table full of eReader boxes and accessories (the boxes are empty) demonstrates how serious bookstores like Borders and Barnes and Noble are getting into electronic reading. As I've previously mentioned, I've been reading books on a Palm for years and more recently on my iPhone and iPod Touch. But upon see the display, it got me thinking about getting a reader again.

For a full looking at ereaders, factors to consider in deciding which is best for you, and what the future may hold in the market at Onxo Mobile Goodness.

Kindle 2: WhisperSync for Mobiles

Competition. Competition. Competition.

That's what I see when Kindle books from Amazon becomes available on mobile communication platforms other than Amazon's Kindle.

Gizmodo and Alley Insider have some details about Whispersync that didn't quite make a big splash in the live blogs. You can visit them to see if you gather anything from this. So far, from what I can tell, Amazon is looking to distribute as much Kindle material as possible.

Here's where I can kind of guess what is going on behind the scene. Amazon is likely negotiating with the different platforms and trying to figure out how to bring Kindle-like services to say the Blackberry, Android, and the iPhone. They'll likely have a better time of it with Windows Mobile. Maybe even Palm.

There are a few sticking points they have to work out first, which may explain why we didn't hear anything more today:

• Wireless providers. If you read Onxo in the past, you'll know how I love these guys, you know, the folks who want to be our gatekeepers. Protect us from the big bad Web. They'll want a couple of bucks from Amazon for if they want use their networks. Of course, Amazon might just say "screw it" and go Wi-Fi for mobile devices.
• Wireless platforms may be negotiating to get a piece of the pie too. Microsoft less likely so but, others, not sure yet. Apple might insist on it.
• Kindle is more than just ebooks. It offers subscriptions. Audiobooks too. This is where negotiating with Apple is hellish. Apple offers audiobooks through iTunes. Granted that the iPods and iPhones are Audible-compatible, don't think Apple will just let Amazon stick a Kindle app in the app store. There'll probably be stipulations on what Amazon can or cannot sell through a Kindle app.
• Android looks like a perfect fit for Amazon since its music store is already on the Android. I'm guess we'll see Kindle here first. Perhaps even on the Pre when it launches.
• NYT is already free but its a paid subscription on the Kindle? How will Amazon reconcile this and other paid materials that are normally free?

Anyway, we'll know soon enough. But I'm still hopefully Amazon will get clever with Kindle ebook subscriptions like Audible.

Via Gizmodo, Alley Insider

Kindle 2: It's Here!

Is this the Kindle revision you're waiting for? Same price. Same size. But 25% longer battery life?

Well, not quite. $360. That's still quite expensive for an one-trick dog or horse. Still, it has some improvements that will likely get some of those well-do-to folks off the fence and into getting one.

I'll say this though. If and when Amazon does make Kindle reading library available for the iPhone, Blackberries, Android, Windows, and others, I might get it after another price drop. I think I speak for a lot of mobile warriors that we do read despite what Steve Jobs say but a $350 dedicated reader just isn't something to get excited about.

Amazon, make it $99. Provide a discount like what you do with Audible.com when you sign up for a year's worth of books. Something along that line would get the Kindle sales pumping. Readers will like it. Publishers will love it. And you can reach that $2 billion revenue projection and help those Wall Street analysts who love shooting in the dark look good for once.

Think about it, Jeff.

For today's live blog, news, and analysis on the exciting unveiling of Kindle 2, please visit mobile digerati for aggregate of Kindle-related posts and today's other mobile news.

Flexible Polymer Reader

Technology Review published by MIT is reporting on a new polymer reader that will go into product upon completion of a factory in Germany.  Eleven million units will be produced to offer a cheap  and flexible reader.

Plastic Logic, a Cambridge startup, will begin to market the product in January 2009.  So, how is this different from what we've seen on the market from the likes of Amazon's Kindle and Sony's ereader?  Well, this is a plastic reader.  It is mean to be flexible, large screened, and robust enough to handle the day-to-day wear-and-tear of most mobile warriors.  Of course, it will use the E-ink technology.


Here are some specs and features we know:

• 8.5 x 11
• 13 oz - 6" Kindle weighs in at 10 oz.
• No buttons
• Maybe touch-based.  Swiping to change pages.
• notes and virtual keyboard for bookmarking and notations.
• Pricing and partners to be announced in January 2009.
• First product is not likely flexible but may come in the future.

This is something we're keeping a track of.  a light flexible reader is something that is complete separate from other mobile platforms like the iPod Touch or a reader like Kindle.  It's like such a device would compete with Kindle resulting in faster adoption of polymer screens and lower entry prices.


Furthermore, the polymer may result in better battery life.  Of course, we won't know that until more information is presented.  So, stay tuned.  We're very excited they're going into production.


Also consider the Readius, another flexible reader with 3G connectivity.  

The readius is very limited in what it can do.  It is purely a reader.  It is very small when rolled up and that may be its selling point at the moment.  With its Internet connectivity, it can access ebooks, RSS feeds, and e-mails.  It also supports audio as well.  It boasts up to 30 hours of reading.  Input is limited to 5 buttons where as the Kindle and the forthcoming reader from Plastic Logic offers full keyboard input.

I can tell you the e-reading industry is all over the place and no one, including the overpaid analysts, know where the market is headed.  We know it'll grow but that's about it.  If anyone tells you otherwise, they're lying.

It was hoped that Kindle will bring a new age to e-reading but, so far, Bezo isn't making hay about its numbers the way Steve Jobs like to do with iPhone and iPod touch sale figures.  Regardless, I still hold out hope that things will change.