Ereaders at CES 2010

10Jan10

We spent some time in the ‘ebook Tech Zone’ at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week.  For fans of ereaders, CES 2010 will mark a seminal year when ereaders moved from a small number of providers (Amazon, Sony, Franklin, etc.) to become a mainstream consumer electronic product such as digital cameras and audio players. There were more than two dozen ereaders on display from OEM/ODM and end-user product manufacturers.

As more companies offer devices that are able to display ebooks – efforts are underway to differentiate the devices with additional features.  On the lower-end, some devices such as the iRiver Story add low-cost features such as an SD memory card slot for easy memory expansion.  At the other end of the Spectrum, the QUE proReader claims to be much more than an ereader, with the ability to access email, web pages, business calendar, and other functions generally handled by PCs or smart phones.

Will consumers prefer a simplified ereader or a more feature rich device with the trade offs on: price, battery life, and operational complexity?

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