E-Readers part II

4. Content or Hardware?
Panelists had differing opinions on what is driving e-readers. Is it all about the content, better access to content or is it about the hardware providing a better reading experience and ability to annotate, etc.? Access to content is the key to customers. When Barnes and Noble initially looked at the e-reader market, their main goal was to be able to have content available on all devices. For example, Barnes & Noble supports the i-pad and Amazon has an Android kindle application.

5. DRM - Can I move a book that I bought on kindle to a sony reader?
The answer "legally" is no because you will have to break the DRM for Kindle books. However, some e-reader (Sony) supports ePub open format. Sony also lets you reading the book on 5 devices.

6. Is the indusrty headed to a subscription model like netflix where one can check-out and check-in books for a subscription?
This is certainly possible considering the way delivery of books has changed (compare to buying music on a CD versus iTunes), but in the book industry this will take some time and thinking. Key is to get support from publishers.

7. Will text books be digitized?
Barnes & Noble has started digitizing text books but this is much slower as it needs support from universities, students, etc. but will slowly happen.

My Droid X

It has been 4 weeks since I have been using my DroidX and I am happy with it. Of course, people comment me about carrying a bulky device just like in the "old" days. One of the things that I do like about the device when compared to HTC incredible (3.7") is the Droid X's 4.3" screen. The bigger screen along with a fast browser has definitely slowed me down on buying the i-pad and has given more time on deciding if I have to really buy the i-pad when there are a bunch of other Android tablets coming to the market this holiday season.

Now getting back to the DroidX, the one apprehension I had about this device (or any touch device for that matter) was my ability to continue with my 40+ words per minute typing on a phone which I have been doing on my blackberries for the past 3 years and a Palm treo device before that. Typing on glass is definitely different but the 4 weeks has been good enough for me to get used to it. The automatic word suggestion feature on this device is pretty good as well. I do not see why I would go back to a device with a keyboard. I also predict that the days of smart phones with keyboards will be long gone in the next couple years.

Apart from the big screen, I like the 8 MP camera and the 720 p HD video. The phone has noise cancellation mic and great call quality - best I have seen in the market so far.

Getting on to the email, well of course, nothing at least for now can beat the blackberry email service. While Android 2.0 has built in support for the Microsoft Active Sync push technology, I have seen performance issues such as lag times in syncing of the Sent and the Inbox folders.

Thanks to Verizon, they have ensured that the UI is not "BLUR" ified like the earlier versions of the Motorola Android devices (like the Devour). On the Devour, user had to create a Moto Blur ID as part of the initial set up of the phone. (Another account that user has to maintain for the phone and the irritating experience of going through the set up to use the phone were both "bad" user experience. I wonder how Motorola thought this could be a selling point). While the UI is not "BLUR" ified, Motorola has retained the useful BLUR functionality of unification of all the contacts whether it be from email, facebook, twitter or your corporate contacts. By now, this feature is probably added on most mobile platforms (Blackberry 6.0 being the latest). The unified social networking inbox is kind of useful but I am more comfortable with launching the specific application when required.

I am yet to use the wireless media sharing functionality (uses DNLA technology) and the HDMI port. I will post more once I use this functionality as well as more of the device.

E-Readers - part I

Earlier this week, I attended a panel presentation of the state of the E-Reader market with panelists from Sony, HP and Barnes & Noble. I had a few interesting take aways from this event.

1. Do E-books threaten publishers?
E-books will still need publishers to brand, market and sell. While there may be some very few , popular authors who may decide not to go to a publisher and use the e-book channel to go directly to the consumer, it is not expected that the publisher role will be impacted.

2. Considering that e-books are cheaper than physical books, will the total sales in dollar terms decrease?
While a physical book sells for $25, the same book in e-format sells for $12.95 with 70% share to the publisher and 30% share to the e-book sales channel. This is almost 50% reduction in the average selling price. However, the economics will still favor the e-reader market as new reading habits and selling patterns develop. E-readers provide for better discoverability, easier shopping experience, instant gratification (unlike ordering a book and receiving it later), recommendations based on users' preferences and integration with social media of content thereby increasing the total sales. New selling patterns such as being able to sell a portion of the book will increase the total audience.

3. Will i-pads and other tablets kill e-readers?
While there was no convincing answer from the panelists, the price points of an e-reader, battery life, less strain for the eye, e Ink display (better for reading and certainly on the beach on a sunny day) will be some of the key distinct features of e-readers atleast for the near future. It is my opinion that the market will continue for e-readers but there will be some overlap of users who would just use a tablet for multiple purposes including reading.