The first thing you will notice about this picture is that I did not include the IPad this is because the IPad is not a ereader! I classify a ereader as a device that is using e-ink technology. I am a avid reader and I tried the IPad for reading to find out two main items. First it is not a easy on your eyes as a book with text with NO back light and second is holding this heavy item up while laying in bed or even sitting and reading is just to much.
No on to my views of the ereader wars.
Each of the three ereaders pictured here are created equal or are they?
They are NOT! Each company uses and not at you knowledge their own form of processing their books for their readers. I also found out this morning while doing some research is that it seems they all use a form or DRM or Digital Rights Management. So what does this mean for you? Once you buy a book for a couple bucks cheaper then the printed version more on that in a minute, you can not share or even read this book on any ereader above. If I buy a hard back book I can lend it to anyone in my family or even sell it to half priced books later. I can’t share my digital book or sell it later this makes no sense to me at all. Then this morning I found out that you can not read epub books on the Kindle this is another way of roping you into buying only from their store. Can anyone say MONOPOLY? Didn’t Microsoft get sued for this same type of practice when they would not allow any other browser to be installed on Windows?
Now let’s talk about price? Who in the hell every thought of this great pricing structure that we have today for ebooks? I can buy a shiny new printer volume of a book which I can share with my family and friends I can also resell the book later if I wish for say $24.95. Now instead I go out and spend $99.00 – $149.00 on a shinny new ereader and then I am asked to pay $21.95 for the ebook? Okay I know you can carry around thousands of books with you which I never really wanted to do in my life anyway. I can also buy a book while on a trip because we no that we never see books for sell at truck stops on the highway?
Don’t get me wrong I truly love to read on my ereader and I am sure I will continue to read on it. But I want this DRM crap as well as ereaders not reading all file types to some how stop. And we need to get this pricing under control. All ebooks should be sold for not more then $5.00 per book then maybe no one would care about the resell value or the sharing part. But once we buy a ebook we should be able to transfer it and read it on any other ereader on the market or anyone to come in the next 50 years.
Last thought is stop trying to make a ereader a IPad. The IPad has it’s use but not as a ereader and the ereader should not try run apps. When I pick up a book it is to read not to be distracted checking facebook or twitter or for that matter email messages.
Please email me and let me know your thoughts about ereaders I would really love to hear them. If you are a company such as Borders who is struggling email me for some really great business ideas for you to take over the ereader and ebook industry. I have an idea to reinvent the entire ebook and revolutionize the World into using ereaders!