CONC: Day of the digital book may be dawning

eBooks. They're going to take over the world. Just not very soon. My post at Masimumnews follows:

For a portable electronic reader, the E INK screen is as much a problem as it is a solution. It solves the problem of letting human eyeballs read electronic documents for long periods of time. At the same time it poses a problem because it’s functionality is limited (currently) to static, black & white images precluding it’s use in a multi-tasking device. An E INK device that could display web content, video, and photographs is not possible.

Since E INK’s functionality is limited, pricing power for such a device is limited too. Sony doesn’t have a prayer for a successful product if they’re selling this device for over $100. It’s simply not very useful - it’s functionality would be limited to reading novels/non-fiction books, magazines/newspapers (without pictures). Period.

The upshot is: success of E INK will not be achieved as a stand-alone consumer product (portable or otherwise). These E INK displays must get cheaper and thinner so they can be integrated on to existing products which have other functionality (such as the back-side of a video iPod or as a notebook computer’s 2nd screen). Once that happens, it will be a home-run because the killer apps (newspapers, books, journal articles, instruction manuals, textbooks, PDF’s, etc. etc.) will already be in place.

CONC: Rupert Murdoch sez digital video is small time.

I replied undeer the headline "...at the moment"

CONC: Dell kills DJ

It's official now. I posted under the headline: "Couldn't turn up the volume on the DJ"