Introduction To E-Readers

Every now and again a gadget or device hits the market and turns out to be a complete game changer.

The Walkman did it in 1980s, bringing the concept of portable music to the masses for the first time. Then there was the CD player which dominated the music landscape for so long before its big brother - the DVD player - did the same for movies. And how can we forget the iPod which totally transformed how we purchase and listen to music?

Well over the last few months a new breed of device has been starting to show signs that it could soon be ready to burst into the mainstream and revolutionize our lives. That device is the E-Reader.

That fact that we're still appending "E" to the front of anything makes it seem clunky by default, but this family of devices could completely transform how we as humans digest the written word.

So for today's post, I want to explain exactly what E-Readers are and why we should even care.....

So what exactly is an e-reader?

E-readers are compact electronic devices that allow you to read books, magazines, newspapers and a whole host of other print-based content.

How do I get a book or a magazine onto my device?

E-readers allow you to to purchase books and magazine/newspaper subscriptions online through special e-reader content stores. Once you've made a purchase, your book/magazine/newspaper is transferred onto your e-reader for you to read anytime. Current E-Readers allow you to store multiple pieces of content, so you could carry around a whole library of book purchases on your E-Reader. Think of it as an iPod for books.

Another bonus is that the content is often cheaper than the paper equivalent. You can buy books for around $9.99 each and there are hundreds of thousands of books currently available for E-Readers. Same is true for magazines, where subscriptions tend to be cheaper than signing-up for the hard copy.

Sounds interesting, but reading books on a computer screen is awful.

That's one of the key selling points of today's E-Readers - they're not simply computer screens. Most E-Readers use electronic ink display technology which eliminates glare and replicates the experience of reading from a printed page. That means no eye strain and no annoying reflections on the screen.

How big are these things?

Most are as thin as any magazine and extremely light - around 10.2 oz.

Who are the major E-Reader players?

There are two big-guns right now - Amazon with its Kindle and Sony with its Reader Digital Book. More companies are developing E-Readers and plan to enter the market this year including Hearst (a major magazine publisher) and others.

How much will one of these set me back?

They're not cheap. Around $300-$359 will get you an Amazon or Sony device. Prices will likely come down as the market becomes more competitive and since the price of books are so much cheaper, if you make a lot of regular book purchases you'll eventually re-coup the cost of the device in savings.

Any drawbacks?

Apart from the high-price of entry there are a couple of points to consider. E-Readers are still relatively new and the market will likely change quickly. Some current E-Readers may become obsolete, while new players may emerge. Think Betamax vs VHS or Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD as similar examples from the past.

Consumers will also have to get used to carrying around yet another device. Some believe that the cell-phone will ultimately satisfy consumers' digital reading news and Amazon E-Books are already available on the iPhone.

So What's The Conclusion?

The publishing industry is hurting and the hunt is on for a new business model that can be just as lucrative as paper and ink has been for the last 50 years. The E-Reader is definitely one to watch and as the price drops and the technology is refined, this could well and truly hit the mainstream as we move into 2010.