At Last Some Credible Competition For Amazon’s Kindle
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The electronic book reader market may still be in development but the early indications are that it is going to be a lucrative and fiercely contested marketplace. At the moment Amazon is dominant with the Kindle reader family. However, many of Amazon’s competitors have new readers in the pipeline, many of which are scheduled to launch prior to the end of 2009 or in early 2010.
For instance, the launch of the new Sony Daily Edition reader has now been set for December this year. The price will be $399 and it will have a larger display than the Kindle 2 at 7” wide, which will incorporate touch screen control, a feature that the current Kindles lack.
It will also have wireless connectivity – even if only to the Sony bookstore – provided by AT&T. Visitors to the Sony website will be able to access their local library’s collection of e-books using Overdrive “Library Finder” digital distribution technology. Using a valid library card it will be possible for users to download e-books to their reader. These will expire at the end of the “loan”.
Considering at the device specification, it does ]spin]appear that|seem very much as if|look like[/spin] Sony has an excellent opportunity to make up ground on Amazon. The wireless connectivity, with no monthly fees, has been a notable shortcoming of the Sony readers on offer to date. The touch screen technology is something that Amazon does not, for the moment at least, offer and will be seen as a positive advantage in favour of Sony by many.
Aside from the technological aspects of the various readers on offer, the choice and type of e-books available will be a key factor in future. Amazon has a vast collection of e-books available at their online store. However, these are all proprietary to the Kindle reader. Sony, along with other reader manufacturers have emphasised their “open policy”, the ability to read a variety of different e-book formats and this will also be a key factor in the development of the e-book marketplace.
For the moment, it looks like Sony and Amazon are going to slug it out. However, there are a raft of other reader manufacturers who will be unveiling new readers fairly soon. Apple will release a tablet PC, Plastic Logic have confirmed a 2010 launch for their virtually indestructible reader, and others such as iRex and Samsung are also working hard to ensure that they get their share of the future market.
Increased competition and choice is always beneficial for consumers. It’s to be hoped that prices will fall as the number of competitors increases and that, eventually, some common electronic publishing format will be adopted as the industry standard in the near future.
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