And so it has begun...Having taken a few weeks away from my usual geeking out on tech news (thanks a lot, TAKS!), I just found out about the price drop on Sony's entry level eReader.
They dropped the price a while back, and now it's pretty much settled in to a ~$150 USD range. Quite nice.
Will this bring about more price drops? Because, quite honestly, for a truly niche device, I can't see folks dropping more that a Ben Franklin (that's $100 USD) one one. Look around at other niche devices. MP3 players, cell phones (maybe not so niche), tennis shoes, even point-and-shoot cameras. Entry level items of these nature fall into that single bill price range.
Sure, the iPod is a bit more, but not much. You could go for the iPod shuffle for even less, that that only supports my theory here. Cell phones have it right, and I think that's the future for the model of eReader business.
Remember those Columbia or BMG music offers? 8 albums/cassettes/CDs with the promise to buy X more in the next year or two? Yeah, that's it. Cell phones do it with a locked in contract. Sign a contract, get a bad ass reader (not just an entry level, but one with 3G or touchscreen...) and agree to buy twelve books in the next two years. Everyone wins, wouldn't they? Maybe book a month? Who knows?
I'll continue watching these trends and wait a bit more, as my tablet is still holding up.
Kris, take note: eBooks are here and aren't going away...
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