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| Hearsay: |
Interesting article with great perspective on the e-reader rush. Are you sinking your money into a platform that will be dead in a few years? If you’re a gear pig, go ahead, says this piece. But the buyer looking for some permanence should probably wait a few years. Between hardware wars and software wars, you’re looking at a lot of confusion in coming years for those who have locked in to one product or another.
But e-reader buyers may be sinking cash into a technology that could become obsolete. While the shiny glass-and-metal reading gadgets offer some whiz-bang features like wirelessly downloading thousands of books, many also restrict the book-reading experience in ways that trusty paperbacks haven’t, such as limiting lending to a friend. E-reader technology is changing fast, and manufacturers are aiming to address the devices’ drawbacks.
“If you have the disposable income and love technology—not books—you should get a dedicated e-reader,” says Bob LiVolsi, the founder of BooksOnBoard, the largest independent e-book store. But other people might be better-off repurposing an old laptop or spending $300 on a cheap laptop known as a netbook to use for reading. “It will give you a lot more functionality, and better leverages the family income,” he says.
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December 2nd, 2009 at 12:10 pm
One of the complaints about e-readers mentioned was the inability to loan books. If the other article is right an e-books come way down in price – to let’s say the cost of a latte – then couldn’t people just buy their own? Or even get them from the library?
December 2nd, 2009 at 3:13 pm
Betamax? That’s why I went laser disc baby! Yeah, no obsolescence here. Because unlike little beta tapes, them discs can be used as flashy psychedelic mobiles and wall hangings.
December 2nd, 2009 at 10:18 pm
And come on now. The sound quality from this 8-track machine I have in my living room is truly kick ass!
December 3rd, 2009 at 1:51 pm
I was gonna post this yesterday, when I saw a recent link to yet more hand-wringing over e-readers. With this latest bit of hyper-analysis, let me add my two cents: books will be printed so long as there are dead trees to print them on. Kindle (version w.xyz) will be around as long as there are tech-heads to develop/improve/justify them. Buy a book or buy a Kindle. Neither will stop readers from reading.
December 4th, 2009 at 9:35 am
“‘If you have the disposable income and love technology—not books—you should get a dedicated e-reader.’”
What kind of absurd statement is that? How about “If you love READING — not books — you should get a dedicated e-reader”? Books are simply inanimate objects composed of pulp and ink. It’s what those book contain that makes a difference, and it matters not what medium you use to access that content.
And yes, I’m a Kindle owner. I recognize the abundance of competing formats, but most readers can read an variety of formats. Most of the books on my Kindle are free (and legal) mobi editions.
Sure I run the risk of losing any Kindle books I’ve purchased from Amazon if my Kindle dies and I don’t replace it, but how is that different from losing access to all music you’ve purchased from iTunes if your iPod dies and you want to replace it with another brand? The solution in either case is to buy non-DRM media whenever possible.