Hey eReaders, You Are Doing It Wrong

Okay I admit, that I have wanted an eBook Reader since I first heard of the Amazon Kindle. Which now boasts up to 3,500 books, 3G wireless networking, whispersync, rotating display and a whole other slew of features. Next came the Sony Reader and the Barnes & Noble Nook. All of which boast exciting features and look great. Their is one major problem though. None of these major eReaders fall below $250. Which makes people who have not tried one, or are currently happy with paper predecessors, fail to try one out. It is not that you have a poor product by any means. It’s that you have the wrong business model.

Their is a huge opportunity with a free, or a less expensive, eReader alternative. The smartest business in the rat race for publishing domination will be the one that figures this out before one of the others do. If I have an eReader, who am I most likely to buy my books from? Probably not the other guys that failed to provide me with an easy entry point into an emerging market.

Other industries use this model well. Gillette does this with disposable razors. I recall my 18th birthday I received a free Gillette razor. How nice of them. I have bought numerous razors from them since, more than enough to pay for that first razor they gave me. Any time I order a computer, guess what comes free? A printer. It is why the printer companies such as Canon and Epson offer free or inexpensive printers, but the cartridges cost a small fortune.

Since I want an eReader, bias could have taken hold. But then again maybe eReaders are doing it wrong. If Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Sony own the platform, a substantial profit stands to be made. Especially when gone are the days where you have to roll out large drums of ink and send it to press. Also gone are the days of having to do in store promotions or even worry about shipping and handling.

So hey, give it some thought,maybe for my next birthday I will receive one of these fine gadgets via mail and you will have me as a lifelong customer.

Drew

2 Comments

weaselNerd on October 21, 2009 at 6:09 am

I still use that same Gillette razor I got in the mail. Perhaps it worked too well as I never upgraded to one of they’re vibrating, face shredding, 20 blade models and can now buy generic cartridge refills.

Unless they’re getting subsidized by a locked-down book store, not sure how one of these could be distributed on the cheap, especially considering licensing of the wireless data features. I would want an eReader to be able to open one of the open eBook formats the books I bought from O’Reilly are published in, and not locked into a proprietary market with heavy markup. Some might go for it for a free reader though. But my guess is it would be “jailbroken” by the end of the month 😛

admin on October 21, 2009 at 4:11 pm

I agree that some capital would be needed to start something like this, but for the store that can do it also comes the reward of . I would also think that the eReader developers would be foolish not to allow pdfs and O’Reilly content. Maybe it should be subsidized like cell phones, or even dare I say ad supported. Regardless, their has got to be a better way than charging what they are now.

weaselNerd on October 21, 2009 at 6:09 am

I still use that same Gillette razor I got in the mail. Perhaps it worked too well as I never upgraded to one of they’re vibrating, face shredding, 20 blade models and can now buy generic cartridge refills.

Unless they’re getting subsidized by a locked-down book store, not sure how one of these could be distributed on the cheap, especially considering licensing of the wireless data features. I would want an eReader to be able to open one of the open eBook formats the books I bought from O’Reilly are published in, and not locked into a proprietary market with heavy markup. Some might go for it for a free reader though. But my guess is it would be “jailbroken” by the end of the month 😛
- admin on October 21, 2009 at 4:11 pm
  
  I agree that some capital would be needed to start something like this, but for the store that can do it also comes the reward of . I would also think that the eReader developers would be foolish not to allow pdfs and O’Reilly content. Maybe it should be subsidized like cell phones, or even dare I say ad supported. Regardless, their has got to be a better way than charging what they are now.