Reader Poll: Are E-Readers Our Future?
Proponents of the Sony Reader and Amazon Kindle certainly exist in this industry, and predictions of future versions with anticipated technological enhancements add fuel to the fire. Some publishing companies also have already made good use of the devices in-house, giving them to salespeople to replace paper galleys that are not only cumbersome to transport, but use lots of paper.
However, contrarians have raised the question: How can a single-function device, priced almost the same as multifunction devices, such as laptops and smart phones [UC?], succeed? Why would people pay $300 or $400 for a device that serves the sole purpose of book reading, when they can spend around $500 today for a PC that does far more than that?
E-paper certainly comes into question here, though, making book reading easier on the eyes, with its light-reflective, paperlike characteristics, compared to traditional computer screens.
What Do You Think?
Is this the format of the future? Do you think single-function e-reading devices, such as the Sony Reader and Amazon Kindle, will succeed over the long-term?
Go to the Reader Poll now on BookBusinessMag.com and vote. When you vote, you’ll also be able to see the real-time results, and we’ll publish the final results in the next issue of Book Business.
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SPECIAL REPORT: The Transforming Booksellers’ Landscape
The biggest news in book retailing so far this year may be Borders’ opening its first “concept store,” a new generation of superstores unveiled in February in the company’s hometown of Ann Arbor, Mich. At 28,900 square feet, the new store—the first of 14 planned to open this year—does not skimp on size, and a lot of that space is taken up by innovative features: shop-within-a-shop “destination zones” for travel, cooking, wellness, graphic novels and children’s categories; bold, new architectural designs; and a “digital center” offering services ranging from book downloading to self-publishing.
“Our mission is to be a headquarters for knowledge and entertainment. As you can see, this mission is much broader than saying that we are simply a bookseller, and it opens up what we do with our stores to a wider range of possibilities,” says Anne Roman, director of corporate affairs at Borders Group Inc. “We seek to offer customers an experience that they cannot get elsewhere ….”
The new configuration points to an important development in the book retail market. With “nontraditional” book retailers such as Costco and Wal-Mart finding success by focusing on best-sellers, and popular and seasonal categories with more mainstream appeal, traditional booksellers are designing layouts to take advantage of buyer impulses. Roman says Borders seeks to “stake out” popular categories with expanded selection, clear signage, and décor features that demarcate special in-store destinations.
“For example,” she says, “in ‘travel,’ not only do we have a thoughtful and wide selection of books, but we also have a computer kiosk … where customers can research trips, get specific trip recommendations, view expert video commentaries on travel, and even book a full trip right there in our store.”
In many ways, the Borders makeover seems to mirror a multimedia Web experience, and it’s no coincidence that the new stores are opening in concert with a redesigned Web site, currently in beta (BordersStores.com), which features original content interspersed with an expanded shopping experience.