Earlier this week, Barnes & Noble dispensed with their original, clever hybrid E-Ink+LCD Nook to introduce a dedicated E-Ink eReader. In some respects, it may appear that the Nook platform has devolved. Yet I’m sure B&N has reduced their production costs with the new Nook ($139)… while, at the same time, made the device fully touch capable (as Sony’s been doing for awhile) – a much more natural form of interaction. And, for its primary purpose, the greyscale screen is sufficient. Perhaps even preferable.
What we’re beginning to see is line drawn in the sand. Power users and gadget aficionados such as myself are attracted to multipurpose tablets, while there’s a segment of folks who will be content with a more limited but affordable media consumption device. In fact, the trend is most clearly evident with Barnes & Noble product line — the Nook Color, marketed as “the reader’s tablet”, with the new Nook pitched as a “simple touch reader.”
Hardware and content expense will continue to be a factor for many, though. And while Amazon’s subsidizing some Kindle models via advertising (bleah), neither they nor B&N have hit the magical $100 price point. However, I expect the lower end of this market to (continue to) flourish as this is rectified in time for the shopping holidays. On the higher end, B&N seems to have found a sweet spot at $250 for a color Android tablet. Especially given its hackability. Our household already possesses a 10″ iPad, but I often pine for my own more compact 7″ tablet (to replace a 2nd gen Kindle) for e-reading… with web surfing benefits. If I find the willpower to fight off the Nook Color urges and all the refurb Samsung Galaxy Tab deals, I’ll hold out for Amazon’s rumored Kindle 4 tablet given my existing collection of Amazon digital media (books, video, apps).
Specific to the new Nook, the page “turn” transitions look much smoother than anything we’ve previously seen from e-Ink. More of a fading than a flashing. Hope this comes to Kindle as well, although I suspect my second gen with older e-Ink panel is mostly done receiving significant updates. Also, it’ll be interesting to learn how the new Nook’s touchscreen works – in terms of responsiveness and potential impact on screen readability. Guess we’l find out closer to launch (June 10th).
“Power users and gadget aficionados such as myself are attracted to multipurpose tablets” I would like to think of myself as a power user and I personally love my 2nd Gen Kindle (my wife’s 3rd gen is nicer but not that much). If I want to read books, I want to read books with a good screen. So far the color tab / ipad just don’t have the screen flexibility of the Kindle. I still wonder if there can be a hybrid screen that is both e-ink / matte and color LCD. Somehow make one screen transparent when off to allow the other screen but get best of both worlds including battery life.
“What we’re beginning to see is line drawn in the sand. Power users and gadget aficionados such as myself are attracted to multipurpose tablets”
I will also take exception to this.
I’m a power user and gadget aficionado who also loves elegant single purpose devices at the spokes of my various hub/spoke organization.
Any hub must be multipurpose, but I like my spokes to be as simple as possible, for a wide variety of reasons.
Of course, the two camps won’t be mutually exclusive in all cases. I do appreciate my Kindle. But if I can have more features and one less device to charge, at a reasonable price, I’ll go with the more powerful tablet.
Screens similar to what Brian describe (see Pixel Qi) have been developed. Not sure what the pricing is and if it makes sense to implement. There’s also a color version of e-Ink being developed, but I’m not sure what sort of solution that would be. We’ll see if any of the big players take advantage of them. However I suspect continued refinement of grayscale e-Ink on the low-end and traditional color LCDs on the higher.
I am tempted to sell the 2 “nook 1st editions” that i have to get the wife the new nook touch.
I have been very excited about the drop in e-ink mfg costs, i’m hoping that it means it will show up in more consumer devices, like watches, or maybe even GPS for athletic activities.
The key thing that keeps me from getting a Kindle or NOOK at this point is the lock-in to a single store. I know you can load your own eBooks as well as library books. But on an iPod touch, iPad, or Android device you can run apps for most major eBook stores as well as third party apps such as Aldiko or Stanza for reading eBooks.
While B&N doesn’t plan to offer Android apps for the new NOOK, it *does* run Android 2.1. Hopefully someone will figure out a way to root it and get third party apps to run. The experience of using an app designed for a full-motion screen on an E Ink display might not be ideal, but if I could run Kobo, Amazon, and other apps on the new NOOK, I might pick one up for $139.
Brad, the original Nook runs on top of Android too if memory serves. Given Kobo’s US ties to Borders, and their downward spiral, it’s not even worth a mention. ;)
My wife has a Kindle 2, and our family also has an iPad 2. There are many positives for the Kindle: size, weight, screen and battery life. The big negative is the controls. To say that they suck is being polite. If someone can develop a touchscreen e-reader that minimizes fingerprints, and sell it for $100 or less, they could have a real winner.
I’m certainly a poweruser and techophile, and I don’t own a tablet. I simply don’t have a use case for it. I work in IT in front of a computer, I have a high-powered gaming desktop at home, and an ultraportable laptop for travel. Heck, I just got a chromebook too, surprisingly enough. Tablets are toys.
I love my kindle3. It’s an excellent reading device, with its effectively infinite battery and usability outdoors.
The kindle3’s interface sucks. I hate that little keyboard– I used it maybe once or twice, and yet I have to lug it around. The nook2 is a far superior form factor that will fit in my pants pocket, and looking at the pictures, I can easily imagine it fitting in my hand.
I’ve been enjoying my rooted Nook Color quite a bit, great for web-surfing in bed while watching TV, although the lack of a keyboard does limit my willingness to use it for email, which is frustrating.
Funnily enough, my appreciation for it has really risen since I’ve started actually reading books on it! ;) It really does make a great reading device, and there are TONS of things to get for it when you can load all the various reading/purchasing apps on it, not just B&N.
A hacked version of the new Nook might be a great thing for kids, my 6 year old loves reading young reader titles on the Nook, and she doesn’t really need much more than that functionality-wise.
And finally, while I think the $99 dollar price point will make a big difference for readers commercially, when it happens, I actually still believe the big leap for tablets will be in mid-2012 when you’ll be able to get the power equivalent of an iPad2 for $150 on a generic Android device. For as many Android tablets have and will come out in 2011, I believe we are still only seeing the trickle that will become a true flood very, very soon.
Agree with everybody else, there is a place for e-Readers. With tablets costing a minimum of $499 (for now) and often coming with contracts, you just can’t compare them to a device that goes for $139. I wouldn’t dream of taking my iPad 2 to a hotel pool and leaving it on the chair when I go to get another beer. Not even talking about the part where I wouldn’t be able to read the screen in the sunlight. Yet I do that routinely with a Kindle. The one thing somebody needs to address is to make one that’s waterproof. Shouldn’t be too hard, especially if they get rid of the keyboard…
On recent trips I’ve seen so many Kindles its clearly starting to sell in large numbers given the new pricing, and that’s fine. Its not competitive with general purpose tablets and that’s okay.
I too am interested in how the new IR touch sensors work out. Obviously the fact that they don’t dim the screen like the unacceptable Sony film implementations is crucial. But the video demo I saw looked a little unresponsive. Probably viable for something you use only once in a blue moon though, e.g. just to order new books. Whether its an acceptable tech for a more general purpose tablet remains to be seen.
Dave, as I understand it the page turns work much better for like six page turns and then still do the classic flash to all black and back thing.
Until one of the alternative screen technologies actually ships a product I’m going to stop thinking about them. Pixel Qi has been out there for so long now there must be something wrong with it–production problems, high costs, something.
Personally I wouldn’t want to bet on Barnes and Noble being around for the long haul. They’re obviously afflicted with the same issues Borders had, just not as severely, but the machinations going on with their stock don’t bode well for the future. If I’m going to lock myself into any online stores, for the moment Amazon looks like a much better bet.
I’m rethinking my position. Or maybe it’s just gadget lust. But now I want a Nook Touch. :) Then again, maybe all I need is an iPhone with a larger screen.
Glenn, the way you describe the page turns sounds like a hack. Also, the inconsistency sounds jarring. But who knows. I was looking at the E-Ink site last night, and they’ve redone their color Triton marketing materials. Wonder if Amazon will give it a shot if the price can be reasonable in quantity – the greyscale performance sounds the same and the color is a bonus. Hm.
@Glenn – there are plenty of affordable waterproof cases and sleeves for the Kindle and iPad. But, you are right, I wouldn’t bring my portable device poolside without the proper protection.
I like (and own) the Nook Color (rooted) and iPad because both offer apps that allow me to read from my Kindle and B&N libraries (as does my Android phone for that matter). I don’t want to strand my books on a platform so doubt that I would ever buy an eReader with that constraint.
I’ve been reading through the responses here and they’ve been interesting. I think I’ll stay with my Sony.
All the clamoring about tablets vs ereaders reminds of me of when Steven Balmer claimed that Windows on a laptop was all the ereader anyone would need. He too was missing the point. The point is not what an ereader can’t do, it can’t wash dishes, it can’t take out the garbage, and it can’t do what a tablet does. The point is that is does what is does very well, and is affordable enough to have in addition to owning a tablet – which will never provide the advantages of a dedicated ereader. The features offered in a tablet by definition mean a screen with glare (rather than e-ink), short battery life, greater attraction for thieves, and a real need for security. If somebody nicks your ereader, you’ve lost a reader and some books. If somebody nicks your tablet, you’re looking at the spectrum of identity theft.
People have been underestimating ereaders as a delivery device ever since they were proposed, and it still continues today.
One thing, though, would be to make them all compatible and get rid of the restrictions on books and formats.