Dedicated E-Readers: They're History

Really, I don't want an iPad and wouldn't have one if it was given to me for free. I read for pleasure and I read a hell of a lot, commuting on the train, breaks at work, waiting on my coffee from the machine, walking to the post office, etc, I have a Sony pocket, does me just fine, is a pleasure to read from with no eye strain, it's light in weight and the best this is I can fit it either in my jacket pocket or my handbag (which is a small handbag and not an overnight bag with wheels). I had a play with the iPad and totally hated it, there is a glare from the screen, it gets covered in fingerprints, is bloody heavy and the battery only lasts a few hours, its too big to fit in either my coat or my bag, the list is endless. When I need the capabilities of a computer I have a laptop. Dedicated e-readers are here to stay for people of all ages who like to read (yes even my 5 yr old niece has one to read form and loves it).

So let me see if I've got this straight -- I spend $500 to get an iPad, and then $30-$60 a month for a 3G connection to download free books that I have to pay for from Apple, instead of paying $150 for, say the Nook, which allows me to walk into McDonald's, link through their wifi while sucking on a Mocha Frappe, and download hundreds of free books or whatevers, just so I can also use the iPad to play PacMan, or some other "game"? You bet I buy that logic, because I've got nothing better to do than play games, and of course I'm also going to take my $500 iPad into my car in place of my $99 Magellan or $20 Thomas guide, because I want to support the income of those people who make a living breaking into cars?Thaats the same kind of logic that calls a hammer an all purpose window opener.

I have to disagree I love my Kindle for $189. I already have a cell phone, ipod, personal laptop and I sit in front of a computer all day at work so why would I want a very expensive ipad with a smaller computer screen to read from when relaxing. Had I been under a rock the last 15yrs and didn't already have products that take care of my entertainment needs then perhaps an ipad would be a good choice. Also if I want to discreetly listen to music I wouldn't want to pull out an ipad to do so.

I think dedicated e-readers will be here to stay as long as they don't try to compete with tablet computers. They've got it right they are light weight, easy on the eyes and cross platform... something that tablets are not.

I agree with all of those who disagree with you...I have a kindle...(the first one) and could not be happier. If you are an avid reader, all you want is this device...one that will allow you to read only...And keep 100 or more books at your fingertips at all times. We also want the device to no bigger than a paperback and read just like one...I want to carry it with me in my purse. I don't want to touch my screen or have it in color...My main purpose in an e-reader is simply...READ...and READ...and READ...nothing more or less...and with ebook sales going strong...I don't see that changing in six months...so to all of you avid ebook readers..."happy reading"

So, I go outside to read on the patio. I take an iPad with me. Pray tell me, how much do you have to squint and fidget to see the screen? I know, I know. Outside! How about, a really bright window seat on a bus? Dedicated e-Readers may eventually fade away (they were always niche anyway). However, it won't be the iPad's doing.

This is a greatly misinformed article! While the iPad is good it's not close to the requirements of an e-book reader: visible in broad daylight, long battery lifetime and good support for a variety of formats (yes! the epub for Apple just got crippled!... the standard for e-books nowadays).Today's ereaders can also let you hear music as for playing games... well, that too but I think with a book you might want to read it not do something else. I think it's good that the prices are dropping and I expect to see some serious 10-11" readers soon on that price range. But seriously I won't rely on the iPad for strangling the e-reader market to death.GJMS

One thing the Nook can do that the IPad cannot is download E-Books free from the local public library. I doubt that Apple would ever want their customers to get a book without paying them for it.

True, the iPhone 3GS has drastically dropped in price. But part of that is because it's heavily subsidized by the carrier. That $40-50 going to AT&T every month for *2 years* adds up.At least with the low-end iPad, that subsidy does not exist, so don't expect it to drastically drop in price anytime soon. 3G models? Maybe -- if they require a contract with them, a la the iPhones.

I had an iPad for a week then I returned it to the store. It was heavy and awkward, iBooks is a joke, and while the kindle app was fine, the LCD ruined the experience. No matter how you adjust the colors and contrast, it still didn't compare to reading with an eInk display. The only reason ebooks have been successful is because of eInk. If it goes away and people are forced to read books on an eye killing LCD, then ebooks will go away, too.

the iPad drops in price to $149.99 and the weight drops below a pound and then I'll consider dropping my Sony Reader in favor of an iPad.

You cannot compare ereaders to the ipad,they are not the same devices. Yes Apple is touting it's ereader ability but the kindle and nook blow the ipad away for people that actually like to read things other than tweets and useless blogs.

It's always interesting to see how ignorant fangirls can be when it comes to the world outside of their pet toys. eBooks have been around for over a decade. Dedicated eReaders have been around for a decade. In fact Apple was there in the early days as the Newton was originally designed as an eReader (any Apple fanboy should know that little fact). Yet they never became a mass market seller until 2007. People didn't like reading on LCD screens and didn't like low battery life that lasted under a day. It wasn't until Sony introduced the world to eInk based eReaders that they finally picked up. Then Amazon introduced everyone to wireless 3G eInk based eReaders.. and that was all she wrote. eReaders finally came into their own. Apple going backwards in technology (LCD and sub-day battery life) isn't going to change that. 2007 showed that the mass market was waiting for eReaders that were small, light, comfortable to hold with 1 hand, easy to read inside and outside, with a battery that can last an entire vacation without a recharge. People have been reading eBooks on computers, laptops and PDAs alongside dedicated eReaders for the past decade. They have reading them on netbooks, tablets, and smart phones for the past few years.. right alongside dedicated eReaders. Nothing is going to change. Just becasue Apple releases a giant iPhone (aka the iPad) and others will be releasing new slate computers.. that won't change a thing. People will continue to read on those other devices right alongside the dedicated eReaders. Becuase people buy what they want, not what other people tell them they want. I've been reading eBooks on a wide range of devices for the past decade. I own a number of eReaders, from the first Franklin to the first Sony as well as 2 Kindles and a Nook. I've also been reading eBooks on my old Palm and Windows CE PDAs over the years, as well as my 2 [soon to be 3 this Thursday :)] iPhones and my wicked cool iPad. But dedicated eInk based eReaders will remain my main form of eBook reading and nothing that Jobs or his army of fangirls try to claim will change that. History and facts trump rhetoric and stupidity every time.

I disagree with your point of view. I am an avid reader that reads almost two hours a day.I have tried a lot of gadgets in order to read eBooks and I stopped searching two years ago when I buyed a chinese e-ink reader (Hanlin V3). Since then I haven't tested any other device. Some days I can spend up to five hours reading without problem, even in the beach under strong sunlight.I haven't tried an iPad yet, but I bet you that if you try to spend two hours reading a book in the beach on an iPad, you'll be seeing (it is a form of speech) a doctor the next day with your eyes as red as a tomato.Regards

I own a Kindle and I have played with the iPad. Both pieces of technology are great fun; however, their audiences are completely different. Though I think the iPad is a fun toy, I will not purchasing one for eBook reading for two reasons. The first is simply that the iPad is to big and bulky for casual reading. I read in bed. I read in line. I read in between commercials... I need something lightweight that is far more portable than the iPad.Also, while I did love the touch screen, special effects of turning a page, and color, the fact remains that the back lighting of the iPad fatigues the eyes and is not conducive to long periods of reading. Will the Kindle's format change? Probably. Technology has a habit of morphing over time. But, the Kindle is here to stay.... Oh yeah... this was written on a Mac... one of those pieces of technology which was not supposed to withstand the tests of time...

"My reasoning is quite simple. Everything a Nook or a Kindle can do an Apple iPad can do better. And, what's far more important, an iPad can do far, far more."Well why not go a bit further and say "A laptop at the same price point of an iPad can do far, far more than an iPad." Oh wait, then you wouldn't be promoting the iPad fad.Were you at a deadline when you wrote up this silly article?

If I had to choose between an iPad or a Kindle then the Kindle would win everytime. You clearly don't read for pleasure and probably mostly read articles. The difference is enormous. As far as fads go, the iPad is the fad item of the two, Steve Jobs will make sure of it so he can sell the next overpriced fad. Exactly what does the iPad do? It's not a real computer and a macbook does far more, this is so apple doesn't shoot itself in the foot and kill those sales. It is an oversize itouch. It just kill me that all the tech guys that build gadgets just can't wrapped their heads around why people love the simple single task device. Less is sometimes more and not everyone is under 25 and wants the multi tasking device. Besides how many people that have an iPad don't also have an iPhone, iPod or iTouch. They all do pretty much the same thing (besides the iPod or lack of phone) why if any one of these devices is so amazing because they can do so much do you need all of them? I think Jobs is really good at selling the same basic package in many different covers to all the same people over and over again, he's brilliant. To top it off he has them all using a bad wireless system (ATT)so phone quality and wireless quality is very bad. He's laughing all the way to the bank, oh and don't forget being able to read on his devices is not even a high priority because as he says, "no one reads anymore".

I know that in the past, you have stated that single purpose devices will be phased out by multi-use devices what will be capable to perform these tasks. It is not the first time that I've read from you that statement in different articles. However, if we go back to the late 90's, early 2001's in which small factor multi-use device (the PDA's) And they did well, but being that they were not connected devices, they eventually were substituted by smart phones in terms of popularity.Tablets are also not new, however they did not thrive because of price, for the most part and clunky interfaces.Fast forward 2010A tablet device nowadays is a fairly inexpensive device, even the iPad is reasonably inexpensive compared to tablets from a couple of years ago. So, even though multi-use table/personal devices have been around for more than 10 years, that did not stop the rise of the dedicated ebook reader. Why? like mentioned by many of the folks here, because of the display technology. I own an iPad and a Nook. I use the Nook when I need to sit down to read documents for a couple of hours because it is easier on the eyes. Even though documents retain better their formatting on the iPad, reading on it for a couple of hours can be tiresome because of its display. I do use the iPad for research on the net, emails and as a brainstorming tool, which does a good job for those purposes being that does not tie me up to a desk. Even as it is, the iPad does have its short comings as a "laptop replacement" which many folks have tout about. The lack of multi-tasking, inability to posses a programming language unless I "jail break" it, the inability to see two applications on the same display does severely constraints it to certain segments of use. Eventually some technology will facilitate multi uses device with a better display technology, even with the barrage of Androids tables coming from Asia, digging down to the specifications, those still need to improve the specifications to make it meaningful. Although I agree that the iPad will catapult the use of general use tables, I still do not believe that will eliminate the ebook market because of the display technology.

Steven,As others have pointed out, most of the current and announced tablets are not the preferred means of reading for many people. For me, the most glaring problem (pun intended) is the backlit screen. I haven't and won't read for an extended period on a traditional display despite having the ability to do so on desktops, laptops, netbooks for many years. The eye strain is just too much for me.Second, there is a big difference in holding an e-reader for an extended time compared to many tablets. My Sony 505 with an m-Edge cover is about the size and weight of a typical hardback novel with a screen size about that of a paperback page. The iPad at 1.5 or 1.6 pounds sounds a bit heavy and the physical size perhaps a bit awkward for extended reads. There are other issues. I shouldn't have to think much about battery life (I typically go several weeks, even a month between charges); however, I'd be willing to charge once every day or two. I also don't want to have to touch the screen to change pages; this makes it dirty plus I shouldn't have to move my hand(s). I will admit that I don't like my e-reader for most technical publications, which I typically read and use differently than novels. I tend to jump around as well as do searches in tech pubs, something my 505 doesn't do well/at all. Additionally, image and table support is poor on my 505. A lightweight tablet or convertible (such as the Always Innovating Touch Book) with a screen technology such as Pixel Qi's (Adam) that has non-backlit mode and 16+ hour battery life _could_ potentially become a truly viable all-in-one device that includes comfortable e-reader. However, I don't see the current devices as truly replacing paper or e-ink devices for many people.