The Trouble with Copia's Cheap E-Reader
Amid the tussle and dropping sticker prices between Amazon's (AMZN) Kindle and Barnes & Noble's (BKS) Nook, a new player is emerging with an even less expensive model. Copia, a subsidiary of DMC Worldwide, plans to roll out a new color e-reader for 99 bucks when it debuts a complete line of devices later this year.That's kind of exciting, until you factor in the shortcomings.
Limited Availability
Manufacturers are able to offer cheap e-readers if they strip them of expensive bells and whistles. In the case of the $99 Copia one of the first things to go was the 3G wireless. It's the same reason Amazon was able to put out the latest generation of Kindle at $139. Nook's 3G-less model is currently priced $150.
This doesn't seem like too big a deal at first, but it's where the paper-and-cloth-loving Luddites can lord it over e-ink devotees: "real" books are accessible anytime, anywhere. For the same to be totally true with e-readers you have to cough up an extra $50 to ensure constant free access to new titles any place you go.
Size Does Matter
Plenty of people are downloading and reading books on their Droids and iPhones, so Copia's 5 inch color (LCD) Wave 5 should fit right in. Except it won't. As a dedicated e-reader it just means that the reader has to carry around another small device that doesn't do anything but store books. Great that it's lighter than a 300-page hardback, but not so great if you are among the multi-tasking millions who use their phones for everything.
The fact that it's a dedicated device without 3G means I can't talk on the phone and share that pithy quote I just read with a friend while I'm standing in line for ice cream -- unless I've cued it up in advance and use one hand to hold the phone to my ear and the other for my Wave 5. Now I won't have an extra hand for my ice cream cone.
Yet Another Platform
I'd written before about how e-reading platforms such as Blio and others had the most potential to be publishing's game changers rather than e-readers. Along comes Copia and its proprietary platform that adds a social media aspect no other platform -- not even Kindle or Nook -- has tapped. Copia's e-reading platform allows readers to share via Facebook and Twitter, and publishers to tap a community of book lovers in a unique way.
Unfortunately, Copia's technology that should have debuted this Spring (after much fanfare surrounded its announcement at the Consumer Electronics Show) is still in a holding pattern. Copia says it will launch in the next 30 days â€" in good time to take advantage of holiday shopping.
However, in these times of shrinking attention spans, fickle consumers, and stiff competition from the likes of Barnes & Noble and Amazon (the latter making huge gains in e-reading market share with the Kindle platform across a variety of devices) Copia's debut is likely to be no more than a blip on many readers' radar.
Image via Copia
Related: