subject: Ebooks and suburban moms [print this page] Ebooks and suburban moms Ebooks and suburban moms
There was a raging debate going on last week at Engadget HQ over the role of dedicated ebook readers that spilled over on to the Engadget Show. You can watch the show here, but essentially big boss Joshua Topolsky and Paul Miller feel that the new Barnes and Noble Nook is going to be a hit -- the one machine that gets suburban moms to buy. On the other hand, Nilay Patel, rationally (as he agrees with me) says it's not going to happen and there's no mass market for dedicated ebook readers. I'm going to weigh in and say Nilay is probably right.
Now don't get me wrong, this is not entirely an integration vs. convergence story. I believe there's a market for dedicated devices: cameras have not been displaced by music phones, media players have not been displaced by music phones and ebook readers could serve bibliophiles, especially those who travel a lot. However, mobile reader apps like those from Amazon and Barnes & Noble can easily tap into more casual markets, allowing users to leverage the investment in screens they already own instead of buying a dedicated device. That's one reason why I think it has been important for Amazon and B&N to get their ebook platform onto as many devices with screens as possible, and why Sony's making a mistake by ignoring the opportunity.
So were the readers themselves. The readers go for paper-made books to read on, but when eBook reader has made our reading experience more convenient, comfortable, and easy, then ebook reader has become the current trend for white-collared circles that make this device and attire to impress or status to be proud of.
There's a lot that's right with dedicated ereaders like the Nook and the Kindle, however. Yes, there could be more content available, but retailers are making sure there is enough important content -- bestsellers make a
difference. It doesn't matter how good hardware is, if there's nothing to read.
There's also no PC required to use a dedicated ereader, thanks to the integrated wireless, which comes at an invisible cost to the consumers. A user has the ability to get content anywhere. Of course, this is also true on other mobile devices.
