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Infographic: Cost/Benefit Analysis of the iPad Vs Five eReaders

doestheipadcosttoomuch[1]Here’s something fun.

I was doing some Googling this morning when I came across the following infographic. It compares the iPad with 5 ereaders, and offers a basic comparison analysis based on a few technical details.

The Kindle is not included, but I want you to see which devices were. From left to right we have the iPad, Fusion garage Joo Joo (never released), the Kindle DX, Sony Reader PRS-900, Irex Iliad, and the original Nook.

doestheipadcosttoomuch[1]

This infographic is over 3 years old, and based on the time stamp it was made very shortly after the launch of the iPad. But I thought it was worth posting just to highlight just how much has changed in the past 3 years.

The Joo Joo never made it to market, Sony gave up on ereaders and instead focused on reading apps on smartphones, Irex went bankrupt, and the Nook is on its last legs. The only ereader maker mentio0ned in this infographic which is still around is Amazon, and these days they are much more interested in tablets now than in ereaders .

In all honesty, in January 2010 I would have predicted that Sony, Irex, and Nook were going to be around for the foreseeable future. I didn’t think Irex was terribly competent at making devices, but then again I also didn’t think they would implode into bankruptcy.

But in spite of all the changes, some details remained the same. Amazon still dominates the ebook market, agency pricing has come and gone, and Amazon is still virulently hated by the legacy publishing industry. Fun times.

BTW, if you’re wondering why Kobo isn’t included that is because in January 2010 they had yet to release their first ereader. Kobo was still calling itself Shortcovers a bare 2 months before this infographic was created, and only announced their first ereader in March 2010.

So what do you think was the most significant change in the past 3 and a half years?

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Comments


Paul June 12, 2013 um 4:43 pm

The belief by the majority of ebook readers that they could sell the product at below cost and make it up some other way (or in amazon’s case, selling books at $9.99 when they needed to sell them at $15 to make a profit).


Alexander Inglis June 12, 2013 um 6:27 pm

Kobo actually launched in Canada May 1, 2010 and in the US a few weeks later. It was Kobo’s announcement that they were going to launch at $149 that drove B&N and Amazon to reduce their pricing from $259 down below $200 in late June.

Kobo, e-ink e-readers and e-reading as a business has really morphed at warp speed in three years. Why, there’s even a blog called the-digital-reader which provides background material daily.

In January 2010, who knew?

Nate Hoffelder June 12, 2013 um 8:46 pm

Kobo announced the ereader in March 2010. I blogged about it.


Sturmund Drang June 12, 2013 um 7:04 pm

Two things, neither of which are related to this story,

Nate, you might already know this but when I http://the-digital-reader.com, instead of http://www.digital-reader.com, I only see your page as it was 6 days ago. I’ve been thinking you’ve been down! Sorry if there was a better way of sharing this than gloming onto this story.

Second thing, the In Ess Aye is shutting down my anonymous emailer so I may have to stop commenting here soon.

Nate Hoffelder June 12, 2013 um 8:11 pm

You’re experiencing a problem with the site cache I was using (I replaced it). Press F5 to refresh the web page.

And you don’t have to use a valid email to leave a comment, though you do need one if you want to subscribe to the comments.


Sturmund Drang June 12, 2013 um 7:05 pm

Sorry. The correct second link of course is http://the-digital-reader.com


R. Scot Johns June 13, 2013 um 1:45 am

Should read "left to right" not "right to left".

Biggest surprise to me is that the iPad is still selling at $499, and people are still buying it in droves, even with unemployment at unacceptable levels for an affluent society. Go figure.


Tre anni e una eternitĂ …Kindle Italia June 16, 2013 um 6:11 am

[…] sito The Digital Reader ha proposto unacuriosa infografica, riportata alla fine dell’articolo, che può definirsi […]


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