Sony Reader

A few weeks ago Mrs Tech Splurge and myself were have a coffee in Waterstones when I happened upon a stand of Sony’s new eBook – Sony Reader. Against all expectations I was impressed. It felt good in the hand, the screen was attractive and very like a book and the battery only appeared to drain on page refresh so would last for ages. However even though I’m a technology fan, was impressed by the product and I like a good book I still didn’t buy it. Why on earth not?

I believe that eBooks themselves are fundamentally flawed particularly as compared to MP3 players which must be the business model that Sony is trying to follow.

The Flaws

1. You need earlier adopters and tech evangelists to push your product. While geeky nerdy types will get excited about audio systems or home cinemas the enthusiasm for a home library system surely would be more muted


2. With music I’ve maybe got 20-30 CDs that I would regularly listen to. I can’t carry them all around with me so an MP3 player is the ideal solution. With books I’ve only maybe got 2-3 on the go at any one time. So picking one and carrying it round with me isn’t a fantastic hardship that cries out for a technological solution.


3. I would imagine that demographics of book readers includes a lot more older readers than music fans or film buffs. A decent proportion of these would be late adopters and outright refusers of new technologies.


4. If I was an author I wouldn’t licence my work for electronic distribution. As soon as it’s out there then I’ll be in the Peer2Peer copyright hell that musicians are currently dwelling in.

Even though the idea has flaws I don’t think it’s a stinker. It’s just more niche than Sony would probably want. There are a couple of circumstances when it would have real value.

Niches

1. I spend inordinate amounts of time deciding which books to bring on holiday. With an ebook reader – no problem, bring them all.


2. I like to have an IT book or two on the go but I’m not going to carry them round with me. However if they were nestled inside an ebook reader I might.


3. There is probably a good model for magazine subscriptions buried in the ebook reader. Throw in a bit of wireless connectivity (i.e. Kindle) and you could get an update of your favourite publication when you’re in Café Nero enjoying your mocha chocca double expresso latte.

Overall, I reckon that ebooks will never be the killer app and disruptive technology that MP3 players were. No matter how cutesy, leather bound and easy on the eye they become they’ll always remain a solution looking for a problem.