Kindle Review – Kindle Fire Review, Kindle 4 Review

2010 is likely to be The Year of the eReader. Dozens of new eReaders will challenge the Kindle and try to steal its number 1 spot.

While a lot of these eReaders have interesting strategies and features here are the 5 that are arguably the most anticipated eReaders of 2010.

Apple Tablet aka Apple Slate

At this point we don’t know if an Apple Reading Tablet exists, when it’ll launch or if it’ll do books.

However, the Apple Tablet is still the #1 most anticipated eReader of 2010. 

1. Apple is supposed to be talking to book publishers and offering them a 30% cut.
2. The Times and Conde Nast are already designing for it. 
3. Numerous people are putting off their eReader purchases in anticipation.

Why the Apple Tablet is so anticipated

1. It’s Apple.
2. The bar is super high after the iPod and the iPhone.
3. People have been waiting for years. 
4. The Press and Apple focused sites have been magnifying even the vaguest rumors into headline news. The latest set of rumors started today and claim there are two Apple Tablets - a 7″ and a 10″. 
5. It suits the group of people who want a reading device that does more than just read.

The Tablet has always been before its time. Numerous companies have tried and failed. Perhaps Apple is the company destined to finally get it to work.

Will the Apple Tablet deliver?

The big unknown is whether the Apple Tablet even cares about reading i.e. Will it even be an eReader?

If the Apple Tablet does indeed address books and reading books it’ll definitely deliver. 

We can expect Apple to -

1. Offer book publishers 30% and get them to be less reticent about eBooks. That means more books in digital form. 
2. Get more people to make the jump from books to reading on an eReader.  
3. Challenge the Kindle for the #1 spot and force Amazon to improve the Kindle device and service a ton.

It’ll be very good for readers and eReaders to have a giant like Apple jump in and almost certainly raise the bar.

Qualcomm Mirasol Reader and the promise of color

There is just one reason the Qualcomm Mirasol Reader is #2 on the list – It’s the color ePaper technology that seems most likely to make it.

1. PVI/eInk promise color eInk by end 2010. However, they might not have things in place for an actual color eReader in 2010. 
2. Fujitsu seems happy selling its color eReader in Japan. It also has the $1,000 plus price problem.
3. Samsung seem happy to sell their eReader in Korea.
4. Bridgestone have far less technical expertise and might not have full-fledged colors eReaders out in 2010.

Qualcomm seems to have the best shot at getting out actual color eReaders.

Why the Qualcomm Mirasol Reader is so anticipated

It starts and ends with color -

1. The technology has the perfect back-story – It’s based on butterfly wings.
2. There is a huge company behind it i.e. Qualcomm and so far they seem very committed.
3. The prototypes and demos look amazing.

Will Qualcomm deliver?

This is a tough question to answer.

We’ve seen delays of all sorts with eReaders and it would not be a surprise if Qualcomm delayed their eReader to 2011. They might have the highest chance of getting out a color eReader but it’s still not guaranteed.

Kindle 3

Everyone is waiting for Amazon’s response to the Nook and to other new eReaders.

So far Amazon have been content to upgrade their service and add more features and stick with the Kindle 2 as their flagship Kindle.

In 2010 they really need to deliver a stunning eReader or they are highly likely to lose out to Apple or another eReader company.

Why the Kindle 3 is so anticipated

There are a lot of factors coming together -

1. All the eReader competition is getting everyone excited. 
2. There is new technology that is slated to be ready i.e. flexible, plastic screens.
3. There might be completely new technology involved. With so many different ePaper technologies and so many designs and features being introduced there are lots of opportunities to innovate.
4. The third generation of a product is supposed to be the one that gets everything right.  

Will the Kindle 3 deliver?

This is an exceedingly difficult question to answer so let’s look at it from two angles -

1. If you expect ‘an iPhone-like device that also reads’ then Amazon is not going to deliver. Kindle 3 will not be about multi-tasking or a 5 megapixel camera or anything other than reading. 
2. If you’re looking for a next generation eReader, Amazon is going to deliver.

Amazon has never had enough competition to inspire its best Kindle. With the rumored Apple Tablet and the Nook – suddenly Amazon has all the motivation it could need.

My gut feeling is that they’ll deliver and also stay true to their focus on reading.

Plastic Logic Que

Plastic Logic have been promising the world since 2008 and their business reader, the Que, is set to be unveiled at CES 2010.

We already know from the demos that the screen is beautiful and unbreakable. We know that they have tremendous financial and technical strength (for a start-up).

Why the Plastic Logic Que is so anticipated

1. Like Apple, Plastic Logic have kept people waiting and gotten them hooked.  
2. It’s business focused which make things interesting.  
3. The screen and the fact that it’s unbreakable really stand out.
4. It is, in a sense, pushing new boundaries and everyone wants to see whether it succeeds.

Will Plastic Logic deliver?

The Que is a hard eReader to figure out. Its qualities are top-notch – However, the insistence on calling it a business focused eReader makes you wonder what the price will be.

1. If your budget is less than $300 the Que is not going to deliver anything for you. 
2. For people in business or looking for a high-end or large screen eReader, the Que does look like it’ll deliver.

Alex Reader from Spring Design

This seems like a strange selection. However, the one solitary Alex Reader video on YouTube is enough to show that Alex delivers what Nook only hints at i.e. two screens working together perfectly.

Why is the Alex Reader so anticipated?

1. The two screens go together very well – Alex makes it work.  
2. The web grabs feature that lets you instantly ‘grab’ a webpage from the LCD screen and read it on the eInk screen. 
3. The lawsuit just makes things more interesting – What happened? Will Alex be better? Did Nook steal the design without realizing the actual power?

Will the Alex Reader deliver?

After seeing the video, really think it will.

The Alex Reader is the dark horse of 2010 and might grab more of a market share than people realize.

Honorable Mentions – eReaders that almost made the Top 5

Pixel Qi powered eReader

The Notion Ink smartpad can’t be considered an eReader as it’s just too heavy and just does too many things.

Which leaves us with whatever eReader is the first one to use PixelQi screens.

If there were a known eReader with PixelQi screens it would bump one of the Alex or the Que out of the top 5 most anticipated ereaders list.

Kobo Reader

Kobo is a coalition of 4 companies with immense reach and unmatched retail presence. They literally cover continents and have a very high chance of becoming a disruptive force in the fight to win the International eReader market.

At this point we know next to nothing about their eReader. It’s still highly anticipated because the companies backing it will probably end up having the best range of international content and the best international retail presence.

Closing Thought - Why Nook 2 and new Sony Reader models don’t make the list

B&N surprised everyone, including themselves, with the Nook.

There are three reasons that, despite the impact of the Nook, the Nook 2 isn’t on the radar -

1. B&N aren’t really showing any software experience or expertise. The Nook hackers talk about how the files and directories are not encrypted and how the OS is just a slightly modified build of Android 1.5.  
2. B&N have shown a remarkable capacity to overpromise. 
3. The inelegance of B&N’s dual screen implementation makes you wonder whether they thought of it at the last minute.  

Future Sony Readers don’t make the list because Sony seem more focused on creating a cool gadget than a device focused on reading.

In 2 years Sony haven’t figured out that -

1. Wireless delivery of books is a critical feature. It should be on all your eReaders, not just one model.
2. Anything that reduces how easy it is to read the screen is an absolute no-go.
3. That the aim is to make things simple, not cool.

It’s unlikely that Sony are suddenly going to wake up in 2010 and deliver a great eReader – they’re too busy building a great gadget.

Filed under: eBook Reader Devices Tagged: | most anticipated ereaders