I believe Barnes and Noble made a noteworthy transition to the online world. Not only do they still sell traditional books that can be shipped to the old-school customer, they have evolved with changes in technology. They now sell digital versions of ALL of the books they sell, also known as eBooks. Inspired by the eBook and evolving technology, they created the Nook, one of iPad's more affordable competitors. Instead of being afraid to change, they gave customers a reason to stay loyal.
When you think of an iPad, it's hard to remember its other competitors. Without research, the only other reading device that comes to the top of my head is a Kindle. But to my surprise, I found SEVEN other "eReaders" that I had never heard of before. While on the Borders website to see if they also sold digital books, I found that Sony actually has 2 eReaders on the market, on long with competitors I have never heard of like Velocity and Kobo. The Velocity Micro Tablet is $300, touch screen, has built in apps, a built in accelerometer, and much more. Can you find affordable iPad competitors???barnesandnoble.com
www.velocitymicro.com/item.php?iid=4511
I Agree with your post, although apple was the first to introduce the Ipad, many other companies saw the shift that was going to happen from regular books to digital ones. Barnes and noble was successful in its change and has also kept their old way of operating. As you said, there are now a handful of other digital readers on the market. Some people believe its just a matter of time before everyone is exclusively using these, I on the other hand believe that print media will still have its place in the world.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't aware of what Barnes and Noble had done for it's transition to the online marketplace. E-books are only going to keep gaining popularity, as I have seen many different walks of life using all types of devices to read behind a screen. Some examples, such as the iPad and Kindle, have been huge hits to consumers and I'm sure that the other, more affordable devices you mentioned will catch on in the market as time goes on.
ReplyDeleteThis definitely isn't an affordable iPad competitor, but the new Blackberry PlayBook is a coming out soon and I found a video on YouTube... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI415w_fnSY&feature=related The features are really cool. I will be looking forward to see what the future holds for these tablets.
I agree with you, I believe that Barnes and Noble made a very smart move by developing an online system that allows users to buy and/or download books immediately to their computers, laptops, IPads, Kindles, or any other digital medium.
ReplyDeleteI am actually getting a brand new Android (Google operating system) touch screen tablet that allows me to navigate the internet without MAC's limitations and a lot more flexibility plus has a webcam! The tablet costs around the $400.