Comments on: Walt Mossberg and the ScrollMotion fallacy

By: Chris Kmotorka

Chris Kmotorka — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 08:01:46 +0000

Fictionwise has a fine selection is all you want to read is bad romance, erotica, or second rate sci-fi. Beyond that, it limited and overpriced.

By: Marsha

Marsha — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 21:22:50 +0000

Gideon: …pretending that fictionwise or eReader have selections comparable to the Kindle is ridiculous.”

Heh. I’m unaware that Fictionwise/eReader has a “poor selection” of books to choose from, as I usually just browse their sites to find something interesting to read. I rarely come from the ‘outside’ to search for a particular book on their shelves.

I’ve been a mobile ebook reader for almost 10 years. For me, the most important thing is to be able to read almost anywhere. A dedicated reader would be nice, but I would only use it at home during long reading sessions. Outside of the house, I still want access to my ebooks, so they need to be formatted for whatever gadget I’m currently carrying. Right now, that is a Palm OS smartphone and an iPod touch. (It is rare that I carry 2 ‘main’ gadgets instead of 1.) Both have eReader programs, so I can read almost my entire ebook library on the go.

The problem I have with most ebooks that are sold from Apple’s App Store is that they are stand-alone apps – and/or made specifically for the iPhone/iPod touch. Most have their own icons, cutting down on the number of apps I can have on my touch. (I am a free- app addict and I like to carry a lot of ebooks with me.) Also, if I stop using an iPhone/touch, I lose access to those titles; if I wanted to re-read one of those books, I would have to re-buy it in another format.

As with the Kindle (and print books), no matter how great the reading experience is, if I don’t have the hardware with me, I can’t continue to read something I already started. As it is now, if I leave the house with only my smartphone, I can still download my current book if I find myself with some unexpected free time.

If they are lacking in selection, I wish they would get more good press so the book publishers would release their titles to Fictionwise/eReader…

By: Xelle

Xelle — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 19:36:35 +0000

We have the same kind of problem in France. Last days, there were a lot of posts announcing the revolution of Shortcovers, that would “transform your iphone in ereader”, as if Stanza and eReader didn’t exist.
Furthermore, there will be no french ebooks on Shortcovers. Thanks to Feedbooks and Gutenberg Project, there are many of them on Stanza…

By: Gideon

Gideon — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 18:38:00 +0000

Well, it’s true those places have a selection…. but pretending that fictionwise or eReader have selections comparable to the Kindle is ridiculous. eReader and Fictionwise and other companies poor selections (and godawful prices) are the other prime reason (beside lack poor hardware options before the eInk readers) eBooks haven’t been much of a player until now.

I don’t have any ‘brand loyalty’ but Amazon has done a good job, a phenomenal job, compared to those other companies in terms of content. I’m glad there is some competition, but no one is competing in any real way yet. Even touting number of Stanza downloads doesn’t really mean anything. I have a copy myself and I use it about once every two months. And when I do it’s reference, not reading.

By: David Rothman

David Rothman — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 16:04:29 +0000

Excellent points, Chris. Minor nit: I don’t think Stanza is suffering quite as much in the media as you believe, but eReader certainly is.

Could one reason be, at least in ScrollMotion’s case, that the company seems intent on gouging hardback-sized charges out of readers? That could well make some traditionalists in the media feel comfortable.

The people behind Stanza and eReader, by contrast, are hip to pricing and other nuances of E.

I don’t think Walt is quite there yet, even though he’s far ahead of most folks in the MSM.

Meanwhile thanks for a very useful post.

David