There was a ton of innovation within the e-reader area in 2017. The second technology Kindle Oasis got here out and was the primary e-reader that had the Audible bookstore and Bluetooth to hear with wi-fi audio system. The Outstanding got here out and outlined digital be aware taking and the startup was so profitable that it spawned a really aggressive house the place many individuals have been vying in your wallets and a focus. The Aura One Restricted Version was launched and since no Kobo has an SD card anymore, a 32GB mannequin that featured a brand new speedy web page flip system was very compelling. This yr, we’ve taken a step again.
This yr we’ve seen a variety of e-readers which have already debut or that can be launched afterward. The Onyx Boox Notice S is now accessible and as an alternative of utilizing a ten.3 inch display screen they determined to make use of a 9.7 one and halve the battery life, RAM and inner storage, it’s not promoting effectively. Sony launched their 10.3 inch model of the Digital Paper, however up to now it has been actually underwhelming when it comes to efficiency. I had excessive hopes for the Clara HD, I believed it may need a 5 inch display screen and be low-cost sufficient to be an impulse purchase at Walmart, but it surely was merely one other six inch e-reader with a Comfortlight and price over $100. I believed Kobo on the very least ought to leverage the audiobook retailer they opened final yr and permit folks to purchase and take heed to audiobooks on a Kobo e-reader, however they didn’t do it. I assume it’s simpler to only do the identical factor yr after yr and never innovate.
The one fascinating factor that may happen this yr is the brand new Kindle Paperwhite 4 that may have a coloration temperature lighting system and Bluetooth for audiobooks. Storytel goes to launch their first e-reader that’s tied to their limitless audiobook and book subscription service, you could be subscribed to even use the e-reader, not modern, however fascinating sufficient.
Throughout the early years of the e-reader revolution E Ink was asserting new display screen tech yearly. There have been so many corporations concerned within the house and everybody was making some huge cash. Ebooks immediately turned an enormous factor and publishers have been seeing double digit development each single quarter. Round 2013-2014 virtually each epaper competitor was out of enterprise or simply making prototype shows, such because the Japan Show 500 PPI display screen. E-Reader corporations like iRex, Cooler Reader, Entourage, Hanvon, Kyobo, Power Sistem and dozens of others both went bankrupt or exited the house utterly. There’s solely lower than ten corporations on the earth making e-readers and making a residing from it. There was no new E Ink show in 5 years and the one new processor to make e-readers quicker is the IMX7 twin core, however there may be one single e-reader utilizing it because it first was introduced in 2015, the Oasis. No one else needs to take the chance of utilizing it and paying excessive improvement charges to include all the brand new options into their working system, its simpler simply to do the identical factor yearly.
Right now on the present Michael talks about all the above and the way the smartphone and pill house aren’t precisely shifting ahead, however they aren’t taking a step again in design and innovation.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the previous fifteen years. Newspapers and web sites such because the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Submit and the New York Occasions have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
