Well, despite the amazing success some authors are having selling ebooks for Kindle, at least one person (and probably more) is predicting that dedicated e-readers are going to be history soon. In fact, the article says they'll be gone in a year, if not sooner. Well, good heavens.
Part of the reason is that whatever a dedicated e-reader can do, the Apple iPad can apparently do better (or so this writer says), plus it does much more.
Now, having said that, the writer does acknowledge the matter of cost. On this point, the article states:
"Of course, an iPad is expensive. In fact, it's a lot more expensive. The cheapest iPad is $499 compared to the new Nook's bottom line of $149 and the Kindle's lowest priced model is now $189. But, it's not going to stay that way. Historically, Apple drops the price of its earlier models when it introduces a new one."
Along with that, Borders is setting up its e-bookstore so the downloads offered are "device neutral," i.e., capable of being read on any device. By doing so, Borders hopes to secure "about a 17 percent eBook market share by this time next year."
The Christian Science Monitor poses the question: can Borders do it? While Borders may be late getting into the game, is it better late than never?
I don't know, but Borders' recent ebook giveaways may help.
Whatever happens, I have to agree with Paul Levine when he says "move over Gutenberg!"
No comments:
Post a Comment