famousdavis
10-01-2003, 02:48 AM
From C/NET (http://news.com.com/2008-1012-5083805.html?tag=nefd_ac), the CEO of Adobe was interviewed and I thought this was an interesting Q&A exchange:
Q. Barnes & Noble dealt another blow to the e-book format recently. Why hasn't that idea taken off?
A. It's the device. I've said this all along: Until there is a device that has a similar value to what a book has, the e-book market will continue to be nascent. Today, to get a good e-book experience, you have to spend hundreds of dollars on a reading device, one that can only be read in certain environments because of lighting conditions, a device that has to be re-energized quite often, because the power consumption isn't there yet and a device that isn't very durable. You can't drop it on the floor and expect it to continue to work.
I do believe that as devices become less expensive, more durable, more powerful, with better displays, you will see e-readers--whether it's for books, magazines or industry documentation--that take off. But I think that we're a couple years away from that. The value proposition of a book is still pretty darn good.
Q. Barnes & Noble dealt another blow to the e-book format recently. Why hasn't that idea taken off?
A. It's the device. I've said this all along: Until there is a device that has a similar value to what a book has, the e-book market will continue to be nascent. Today, to get a good e-book experience, you have to spend hundreds of dollars on a reading device, one that can only be read in certain environments because of lighting conditions, a device that has to be re-energized quite often, because the power consumption isn't there yet and a device that isn't very durable. You can't drop it on the floor and expect it to continue to work.
I do believe that as devices become less expensive, more durable, more powerful, with better displays, you will see e-readers--whether it's for books, magazines or industry documentation--that take off. But I think that we're a couple years away from that. The value proposition of a book is still pretty darn good.