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(Gallery: E-book e-reader list is growing)

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What did you expect?
Edouin 22nd Oct 2009
Eh? Did you say the same when them new-fangled net-books came out too?

It's a new concept in mobility and eLiterature, its a new product (relatively speaking) and it's an aggressive market. Each publisher wants their readers to read on their software and hardware. Kinda like the old PC wars back in the 80's, eh? IBM, Commodore, MS, some upstart called Apple, and hundreds more.

Eventually it will settle itself out as everything does, we just have to give it time.

However #4 is totally out to lunch! Have you ever priced a first edition hardcover book? If you walk out with change from a $50 bill, you're doing good! I'm not talking about some cheap serialized ghost-authored action/romance/comedy/teen angst novel. I'm talking about a "decent" novel that is written by someone who actually knows how to write a book! Luddites easily drop $50 or more for one of those books. I can get the same book for between $7 and $15. I can also get "pre-release" editions (not fully edited, but can't wait for it to come out...), called Advanced Reader Copies (ARC's) also for $15. A serious reader/collector with sufficient funds would pay almost anything to find out who did what to whom months before the official release date. My most expensive ebook I've ever bought was $15, half of what it would be at Amazon.com. And it was an ARC! Why would I want to go back to paper books? Devices? who needs them, eh? I have over 300 books on my cell phone. I cannot carry half that many novels in boxes - People want to be able to de-clutter their lives, not create libraries in their basements - they have better uses for their houses than a book repository. Heck, I cannot even give my complete Encyclopedia Britannica's away!

True, I have a lot of books in boxes, many of which I could never part with as most are complete sets by authors, or series', or no longer in print, and grew up with them and cannot get them in ebook format, so yes, I still read real books, but I never travel to them - even for my morning coffee - my cell phone is my book. It is also my Reference library, my data storage device (to my online data archives via my website), and I can access and edit any of my MS Office documents on my cell too. Why do I need a netbook, laptop or e-Reader? Simply because it is more efficient to use the appropriate device for the appropriate task. I get eye strain from using my cell, and my netbook even (yes, I have one of those). I would like an eReader, but I am not ready to drop $200 just yet. When they come down to sub-$100, then I'll look more seriously. I'm not a geek, and I'm not a luddite. I just like technology because it makes my life easier - which is what it is supposed to do, right?
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