Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

The idea behind ebook readers is to create less clutter and keep your bag light while still being able to read lots of books.  Best Buy will be selling the $399 iRex DR800SG that has Verizon 3G access in October 2009.  The device has an 8.1-inch touch screen and should get a lot of exposure being in Best Buy stores.  However, unless there is a unified ebook format adopted by all ebook reader makers (Amazon, we’re looking at you), you might need different readers to read different content and then you are back to the clutter problem. 

These ebook readers are already a niche product.  The Barnes & Noble deal seems to make the most sense.  People go into a bookstore to buy books.  The Amazon Kindle also works in a way.  Tech savvy people like gadgets, so maybe they will like the Amazon Kindle because tech savvy people shop online frequently?  But what about Best Buy?  It’s a store that a confused person enters to purchase something usually at a premium price.  Will the masses adopt ebook readers because they are available everywhere? 

As Gadgetell’s Associate Editor JG Mason has said, the best model for adoption will probably be the cell phone method.  Get the hardware out to the people at very low costs and charge for services.  Don’t forget that cell phones were once niche items, but they became so cheap that almost everyone has one now. 

Read: [PaidContent.org]