Books are one of the few joys in life that really have no parallel. People can be as ignorant as they want but a good book lures even the most bored and disinterested people toward it. An excellent and compelling storyline makes it possible for people to actually live in that story. Seeing the craze that people have for books and stories, technology enthusiasts wanted to come up with ways in which books could be read, without the need to carry a 1000 page book around, and to keep the light in the room on all night. This is what spurred eBook readers to become a part of mainstream devices among the latest electronic gadgets. An exclusive device, low power consuming, which allows you to read without disturbing people around was the dream for book lovers a few years ago. However, seeing how fickle and fast moving technology is, after all these years, is it possible that eBook readers have become redundant?
It is no secret, as several sources of the latest gadgets news too have reported, that the sales of eBook readers have seen a slump off late. People aren’t as fascinated by eBook readers as they used to be. There are several reasons for this, the foremost one being that many of the latest electronic gadgets can do everything that eBook readers can do, and then some more. Smartphones and tablets can easily carry as many eBooks as required and come with great lighting, allowing you to catch up on your reading anytime and anywhere.
In fact, since most smartphones today have a screen stretching 5 inches anyway, it doesn’t make sense to carry a 7 inch device just for reading. Thus, for users, it seems silly and it means that besides your smartphone, laptop, tablet and smartwatch, there is an additional eBook reader that you need to carry around all the time just to read. Carrying and charging an extra device is a cumbersome venture, especially when you other gadgets will be competing for the charging plug.
Furthermore, several eBook reader brands today, seeing the shift in people’s preferences toward smartphones, are releasing apps which allow users to read eBooks on their smartphones. It made headlines in the latest gadgets news when Amazon Kindle and the Nook, two premier eBook reader brands, came out with apps for both Android and iOS devices. Thus, this further makes it easy to enjoy similar experiences on your smartphones and tablets. Also, let’s not forget the cost factor – a good eBook Reader can cost as much as a budget smartphone, which means you will really need to put aside some cash for it if you want it.
Another way of looking at the matter is that many book lovers stress that no device in the world can really replace the feel of a good book, with its pages and smell. The favourite repeatedly read books, with dog eared pages and cracked spines, are a source of pride for many book enthusiasts. Hence, in the end, perhaps it is time for eBook reader brands to re-think their strategy, as people are now becoming weary of carrying multiple devices, which are becoming more of a burden than a convenience.
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