4 ms·

His point is that people will own an ebook reader or a tablet. If they own an ebook reader and they turn it on, 100% of their time will be reading a book. If

His point is that people will own an ebook reader or a tablet. If they own an ebook reader and they turn it on, 100% of their time will be reading a book. If they own a tablet and turn it on they have lots of options, maybe only 10% of the time they will read an ebook. The argument hinges on the idea that people pick up tablets only so many hours of the day and then decide what to do. I think it's flimsy because using a tablet is a different act than wanting to read a book.

shmerl 13y ago
Yeah, I'd say if you want to read an e-book and you have a tablet - you would use your tablet for that. So I don't see how this can reduce your interest in buying e-books.
- michaelt 13y ago
  Because instead of buying two e-books while traveling, you buy one then go on Facebook/HN/Angry Birds.
  - shmerl 13y ago
    Your need to buy some particular e-book shouldn't depend on whether you need to access HN or not. So I don't see any relation there.
    - michaelt 13y ago
      Assume you read at a constant rate, so reading for twice as long means you read twice as much. And assume you buy ebooks at the rate you read them, so when you read one ebook you buy one ebook. Hence reading for twice as long means you buy twice as much; and reading for half as long means you buy half as much. Assume also that you take a fixed-duration journey during which you entertain yourself with your e-reader or tablet. Time spent reading = journey length - time spent doing things other than reading. Number of ebooks you buy = reading speed constant * time spent reading So the relation is: Number of ebooks you buy = reading speed constant * (journey length - time spent doing things other than reading) Does this clarify things?
      - shmerl 13y ago
        > And assume you buy ebooks at the rate you read them, so when you read one ebook you buy one ebook. Not in my case at least. I buy e-books irregularly, only when I need one, or interested in particular one and etc. I don't buy just for the sake of buying another one. Also, if there is a sale on something, you can buy it to read in the future, just because there is a good deal. So I don't think constant buying rate for e-books which is equal to the rate of reading is a good general assumption.
        michaelt 13y ago
        Personally I'm still on paper books, but I can't remember a time when I didn't have at least one book I was reading, and usually more than one waiting to be read. I regulate my book purchasing to stop the unread book stack getting out of hand. So in my case buying rate approximately equals reading rate. I guess it depends on how long it takes you to read things, and how easily you can find things you want to read :)
- tjoff 13y ago
  "Yeah, I'd say if you want to read an e-book and you have a tablet - you would use your tablet for that." No. You would buy a hard copy or a real e-reader so that you could actually read it. Tablets are just terrible for book-reading and apple killed the e-book market with the release of the tablet. Hopefully someday it will recover, but after spending so much money on a toy few are eager to buy a real e-reader.
  - shmerl 13y ago
    >Tablets are just terrible for book-reading No idea, since I never had a dedicated e-reader. I prefer a general purpose tablet which can be used as e-reader in addition and also can run free software without any DRM to begin with. What benefits does dedicated e-reader have?
    - tjoff 13y ago
      A screen that is suitable for reading books. Battery life that is measured in months instead of hours. Those are the only benefits I can think of. But they both make and break the e-book experience. Reading an e-book on a tablet? Wouldn't cross my mind, ever. I'd much rather buy the book. Read an e-book on a e-reader? Yes, please - I'll gladly pay more than the book costs if I have to (which I do a lot of the times).
      - shmerl 13y ago
        > I'd much rather buy the book. I have several problems with this. You can't carry many books with you, and you need too much room to store them. If I really really need something that I read quite regularly, then sure, I'd buy a paper book. But in most cases I'd prefer a digital book, and I have no problems with reading it on a tablet. May be there are DRM-free hackable e-readers out there, but I didn't research this.
        tjoff 13y ago
        While I agree with you completely I just don't consider reading on a tablet an option. Yes, DRM is an issue. Personally, when paying about the same or more for a DRM-e-book than for the real thing I consider it fair game and morally acceptable for me to strip the DRM (no one can claim that I'm getting a cheaper version because of DRM when the DRM crap costs more than a physical book). Currently this is childs play so I'm gambling somewhat on that this won't change or my e-reader won't be able to new books from certain places. Of course, this makes me a criminal.

shmerl 13y ago

Yeah, I'd say if you want to read an e-book and you have a tablet - you would use your tablet for that. So I don't see how this can reduce your interest in buying e-books.

michaelt 13y ago
Because instead of buying two e-books while traveling, you buy one then go on Facebook/HN/Angry Birds.
- shmerl 13y ago
  Your need to buy some particular e-book shouldn't depend on whether you need to access HN or not. So I don't see any relation there.
  - michaelt 13y ago
    Assume you read at a constant rate, so reading for twice as long means you read twice as much. And assume you buy ebooks at the rate you read them, so when you read one ebook you buy one ebook. Hence reading for twice as long means you buy twice as much; and reading for half as long means you buy half as much. Assume also that you take a fixed-duration journey during which you entertain yourself with your e-reader or tablet. Time spent reading = journey length - time spent doing things other than reading. Number of ebooks you buy = reading speed constant * time spent reading So the relation is: Number of ebooks you buy = reading speed constant * (journey length - time spent doing things other than reading) Does this clarify things?
    - shmerl 13y ago
      > And assume you buy ebooks at the rate you read them, so when you read one ebook you buy one ebook. Not in my case at least. I buy e-books irregularly, only when I need one, or interested in particular one and etc. I don't buy just for the sake of buying another one. Also, if there is a sale on something, you can buy it to read in the future, just because there is a good deal. So I don't think constant buying rate for e-books which is equal to the rate of reading is a good general assumption.
      - michaelt 13y ago
        Personally I'm still on paper books, but I can't remember a time when I didn't have at least one book I was reading, and usually more than one waiting to be read. I regulate my book purchasing to stop the unread book stack getting out of hand. So in my case buying rate approximately equals reading rate. I guess it depends on how long it takes you to read things, and how easily you can find things you want to read :)
tjoff 13y ago
"Yeah, I'd say if you want to read an e-book and you have a tablet - you would use your tablet for that." No. You would buy a hard copy or a real e-reader so that you could actually read it. Tablets are just terrible for book-reading and apple killed the e-book market with the release of the tablet. Hopefully someday it will recover, but after spending so much money on a toy few are eager to buy a real e-reader.
- shmerl 13y ago
  >Tablets are just terrible for book-reading No idea, since I never had a dedicated e-reader. I prefer a general purpose tablet which can be used as e-reader in addition and also can run free software without any DRM to begin with. What benefits does dedicated e-reader have?
  - tjoff 13y ago
    A screen that is suitable for reading books. Battery life that is measured in months instead of hours. Those are the only benefits I can think of. But they both make and break the e-book experience. Reading an e-book on a tablet? Wouldn't cross my mind, ever. I'd much rather buy the book. Read an e-book on a e-reader? Yes, please - I'll gladly pay more than the book costs if I have to (which I do a lot of the times).
    - shmerl 13y ago
      > I'd much rather buy the book. I have several problems with this. You can't carry many books with you, and you need too much room to store them. If I really really need something that I read quite regularly, then sure, I'd buy a paper book. But in most cases I'd prefer a digital book, and I have no problems with reading it on a tablet. May be there are DRM-free hackable e-readers out there, but I didn't research this.
      - tjoff 13y ago
        While I agree with you completely I just don't consider reading on a tablet an option. Yes, DRM is an issue. Personally, when paying about the same or more for a DRM-e-book than for the real thing I consider it fair game and morally acceptable for me to strip the DRM (no one can claim that I'm getting a cheaper version because of DRM when the DRM crap costs more than a physical book). Currently this is childs play so I'm gambling somewhat on that this won't change or my e-reader won't be able to new books from certain places. Of course, this makes me a criminal.