Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Kevin Maney says that Amazon has an electronic book reader in the works, and he discusses the ups and downs of the concept in general:
File this, also, under fidelity v. convenience. The fidelity of a reader can't beat the total fidelity of a book yet. So an e-reader will have to be far more convenient (which includes being more economical) before consumers make the switch en masse.
Call me old-fashioned, but I can't imagine an electronic device ever replacing the feel of a book in my hand--not to mention how they look on my shelves ("I have many leather-bound books..."). And how many hours can human beings spend reading text on a computer screen each day before their retinas spontaneously combust?
File this, also, under fidelity v. convenience. The fidelity of a reader can't beat the total fidelity of a book yet. So an e-reader will have to be far more convenient (which includes being more economical) before consumers make the switch en masse.
Call me old-fashioned, but I can't imagine an electronic device ever replacing the feel of a book in my hand--not to mention how they look on my shelves ("I have many leather-bound books..."). And how many hours can human beings spend reading text on a computer screen each day before their retinas spontaneously combust?
