One in four US Adults now owns a tablet or e-reader, page 1

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Topic started on 23-1-2012 @ 09:44 AM by THE_PROFESSIONAL

One in four US Adults now owns a tablet or e-reader

www.dailymail.co.uk< br />

Tablet computers and e-readers seem to be crossing the line from niche gadgets owned by rich early adopters to the mainstream.

More than one in four adults in the U.S now owns one or the other, after a surge driven by cheaper tablets such as Amazon's Kindle Fire.

The survey found that 29 per cent of U.S adults now own either an iPad-style tablet computer or an e-reader.

The figure has jumped from just 18 per cent in December.

Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk...

(visit the link for the full news article)

reply posted on 23-1-2012 @ 09:44 AM by THE_PROFESSIONAL

Seems mysterious that megaupload was shut down so suddenly after christmas. Megaupload has lots and lots of free ebooks, that people searching can easily access. Seems to me that the publishing industry is taking the same steps that the recording industry took to stifle music sales.

Ebooks have no overhead cost: no ink, no paper, no printing, no shipping, no storage etc...

So why should the cost of a book be the same as the printed version? With these new electronic readers, I think the publishing industry is doing the same exact thing as the MPAA and RIAA, and hence the mysterious disappearance of megaupload.

www.dailymail.co.uk< br /> (visit the link for the full news article)

And a related story:

www.dailymail.co.uk...

eBook pirates cash in on Kindle sales boom as thousands turn to rogue sites for cheap downloads Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk... OsPw

One example is 77 Shadow Street, the new novel by Dean Koontz. Amazon customers will have to pay £11.96 to pre-order it – but an eBook and audiobook version are already available for free from the pirate site. The rise of the pirate eBook websites coincides with concern among consumers about the high price of legal book downloads. Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk... oCl2

I really think that Megaupload has to do a lot more with ebooks than with anything else.

edit on 23-1-2012 by THE_PROFESSIONAL because: (no reason given)

reply posted on 23-1-2012 @ 09:47 AM by NoNameBrand

While the illegal uploading and downloading of e-books was probably a part of the reason, I think it was more piracy in general. The publishers are probably very happy about it, but I doubt they have the power(yet) that the good folk over at the MPAA and the RIAA have.

And as someone who owns one of these devices (and love it) I wholeheartedly agree that the price of these e-books are way too much in comparison to their physical counterparts.

edit on 23-1-2012 by NoNameBrand because: (no reason given)

reply posted on 23-1-2012 @ 09:55 AM by boncho

Most writers only receive anywhere from $ 0.10 to 0.50 per copy of their works. In some cases, well known authors will get more. But if you asked them, they would be fine with receiving their standard payment, yet lowering the cost for user.

It's not the authors setting the price however.

reply posted on 23-1-2012 @ 10:01 AM by ModernAcademia

This is not good
that's too many people using electronic devices
I wonder how much 3G, 4G, WiFi pollution this is causing

In any case I take the train to work, I see everyone using these devices
Nobody communicates anymore

Imagine 5 generations ahead of us, what will those kids be like?
They will be incredibly distracted and have very little patience

reply posted on 23-1-2012 @ 10:07 AM by sicksonezer0

I have a samsung tab 7'' original on sprint, and I love it. I have downloaded many "free" eBooks and music, and never once used megaupload.... with so many resources out there to download whatever you want that are free, I think they are in for a long endless battle that will siphon billions from taxpayers.

They close down one, and another one pops up. There is nothing they can do about it, except charge reasonable prices for the crap they peddle.

And I dont steal all of my media, I have many games which I buy, and would buy even if they were available for download, and all of my bluray movies I buy, which I would buy them even if they were available, because I feel the quality has value.

But if its some crappy movie or song my girlfriend or my son is bugging out about, and its old, yes i download it.

The way I look at it, My parents and grandparents have probably spent thousands on VHS movies and Im sure Ive spend thousands on tapes that I have thrown away, why should I pay for it again.

What about resellers, like game stop, and small music stores.. they resell the media that they buy from someone else, isnt that piracy? Im sure resellers arent sending the MPAA or RIAA their cut.

edit on 23-1-2012 by sicksonezer0 because: (no reason given)

reply posted on 23-1-2012 @ 10:12 AM by Mcupobob

Its funny how technology should be making everything cheaper, but everything just keeps inflating. I always kept saying that those tablets will soon replace the computer. Give it a decade and soon everyone will be using tablets and laptops instead.

EDIT: Hopefully soon authors will skip the publishers and just go straight to the market. Cutting out the middleman, thats a lot of jobs lost though, hmm.

edit on 1/23/2012 by Mcupobob because: (no reason given)

reply posted on 23-1-2012 @ 10:32 AM by Corruption Exposed

reply to post by THE_PROFESSIONAL

I have never gotten into the e-book scene but you raise a valid point. Piracy could have been prevented if the regulators of these industries would have put proper safeguards in place. Now we have absolute chaos. You won't catch me downloading any copyright material anymore, that's for sure.

reply posted on 23-1-2012 @ 10:38 AM by THE_PROFESSIONAL

reply to post by Corruption Exposed

I have a HUGE digital library probably 50,000 books or so, I am pretty much done with collecting these books, not because of the crackdown, but because I have pretty much gotten all that I wanted before these draconian laws go into effect. I did it because I had a feeling that they were gonna crack down, so I took the time to get my collection in order

reply posted on 23-1-2012 @ 11:09 AM by artistpoet

Tablets etc are ok
But I will always use my back up of parchment and quill

reply posted on 23-1-2012 @ 01:45 PM by Rockpuck

reply to post by THE_PROFESSIONAL

I hate them. I will continue buying physical books.. there is something ... wrong .. with reading a book on a mini computer screen? I had a nice conversation with a woman on a plane about 3 months ago, she had her e reader thing out and we talked about why you would even need one. She replied convenience. Totally understandable says I, who wants to lug around a book all day? She says she can take her whole library with her on vacation. Can't do that with books. So I pulled out my 4 big books I took with me, which indeed lasted me the whole 2 weeks, didn't even read one of them. How many books do you need on vacation I wonder? I'll stick to the real thing.

reply posted on 23-1-2012 @ 01:47 PM by Rockpuck

reply to post by THE_PROFESSIONAL

Don't steal books. Music and movies the "artist" (yeah I use quotes for that) make millions. Writers more often than not are middle class blokes struggling to get by.. sure, steal a Stephen King or a Rowling book, they are rich many times over.. but the average writer?

reply posted on 23-1-2012 @ 01:56 PM by Hellhound604

Originally posted by Corruption Exposed
reply to post by THE_PROFESSIONAL

I have never gotten into the e-book scene but you raise a valid point. Piracy could have been prevented if the regulators of these industries would have put proper safeguards in place. Now we have absolute chaos. You won't catch me downloading any copyright material anymore, that's for sure.

what irks me about the legal ebooks, are the crappy protection schemes they put on it. I've had more than one book that became totally unreadable after either an OS update, or the publisher's OWN software update, and then it costed lots of e-mails before I could read those books again. The same applies to magazine subscriptions, but at least now I can have stacks of books and magazines not taking up any place. Problem is, if those publishers goes under, what are the chances that I can still access my magazines/books after a restore.

reply posted on 23-1-2012 @ 01:59 PM by samkent

reply to post by sicksonezer0

They close down one, and another one pops up. There is nothing they can do about it, except charge reasonable prices for the crap they peddle.

Not quite true.
It would only take a few weeks to get the site blocked once the new system is estabilished. No one would bother going to the expense of setting up a server for only a few weeks of operation. Then to have to police confiscate the hardware in the end.

Lowering the price would not stop piracy either.

reply posted on 23-1-2012 @ 02:00 PM by hadriana

I sell used books that I find usually for a fraction of what they'd cost new or even digital.

But I'd say for the last 5-6 months I've started having a very hard time finding the newer releases.
I think it is going to kill the 2nd hand market.

reply posted on 23-1-2012 @ 05:15 PM by CaptChaos

I think it's great. That's because I am writing a book. THe revolution in books has already taken place.

Amazon is the biggest book seller in the world now, driving Barnes and Noble under, and the rest after a while. Because now, ANYONE can self-publish on Amazon!

If you look on Amazon at best selling, anything that is priced 3.99 or less is self published. The author gets a fifty fifty split with Amazon. Amazon provides all the marketing and brand name recognition. ANd you will see that the self published ones are starting to kill the big publishers.

The publishers are still charging 12 or 15 dollars for ebooks, even though there is ZERO production cost. And the authors only get ten cents or so. The rest is directly into the publishers' pockets.

One girl sold over 1.5 million in the first year! Never been published before. Then she took a three million dollar deal from a publisher.

Another guy who was being quite successful was offered a two million dollar contract from a big publisher, but turned it down. He can make more on his own.

YOU CAN DO IT TOO! Check it out! This is going to turn the publishing world on its head. THe publishers are walking dead, they just don't know it yet.

reply posted on 23-1-2012 @ 05:19 PM by Rockpuck

reply to post by CaptChaos

That's actually pretty cool, I did not know about the Amazon self-publishing of e-books! Thanks

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