[MGP-Forum Announce] ebook readers and the future of newspapers

[Wayne MacPhail]

I agree that Sony's e-reader is a transitional technology. While I'm a
big fan of information appliances (online a la Web 2.0 apps, or in
hand), I'm also limited by the number of appliance gizmos I can carry.
Right now I've got it down to my Treo 650, my video iPod and my Exilim
camera. Some days I have to add my audio recorder for podcasting. So,
which gets tossed for the e-reader? None. I've taken to viewing these
devices the way a single mom would view a new site on raising kids.
She won't have more time in a day, so she'll have to jettison an old
site for the new one. If it doesn't replace the functions or info or
one or more old sites, it loses.

Look on a subway. A ton of commuters have cellphones, PDAs and
laptops. Few would dump any for a dedicated e-book reader. And, around
the house an e-reader makes little sense. Plus, the two-step of
transferring books from a PC to the e-book is a deal killer for all
but early adopters.

So, while in many cases (the iPod being a prime example) info
appliances make sense, book-reading isn't one of them. As for
newspapers become e-books. Yikes. A newspaper company, already feeling
death rattles, should hardly make a capital investment in a transition
tech solution to a more fundamental problem.

In my opinion, anyway.

cya,
Wayne