Comments on: E-books WILL replace p-books, says Barry Eisler

By: Court

Court — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 03:41:47 +0000

Not yet, no. But the critical mass necessary to reach a tipping point would be a lot smaller than, say, an iPod, because the serious reading public is a lot smaller than the music-listening public. And, I imagine, more discerning, so, slow to take action, but decisive when they do.

A vast generalization, I know.

By: Con

Con — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 23:57:58 +0000

Clay tablets, ostrakha, and vellum scrolls, analog TV, dialup bulletin boards, the telegraph, the phonograph record, the floppy disk, the zoetrope and zoopraxinoscope, VHS and Beta videotape, film photography, the typewriter, the fountain pen … it’s true these supposedly obsolete media are all thriving and none have been replaced by anything else. Wait – what?

The historical blindness of some people is not to be underestimated. Seriously: people think “I prefer (paper) books, therefore … books will continue to exist for ever”.

By: chris bates

chris bates — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 20:43:01 +0000

Kindle 2 = $AUD560

Kindle 1 (ebay) = $AUD400

Sony PRS-505 (ebay) = $AUD380

Sony PRS-700 (ebay) = $AUD740

I could be wrong, but tipping point is a little way off yet.

By: Rob Preece, Publisher

Rob Preece, Publisher — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:50:22 +0000

Will I miss pBooks? Of course. Will some pBooks be printed indefinitely–I think so. Then again, you can still buy scrolls or clay tablets if you shop hard enough. It’s just that ordinary readers don’t think, hmm, I wonder if I should buy the latest Tom Clancy in paperback or scroll.

I’ve been preaching the dominance of eBooks for a long time, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t coming.

Rob Preece
Publisher, http://www.BooksForABuck.com