Japan online retailer Rakuten to launch e-reader

Technology Jul. 03, 2012 - 04:12AM JST ( 19 )

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19 Comments

2

shirokuma2011Jul. 03, 2012 - 07:09AM JST

Material in Japanese will be limited to about 30,000 titles but Rakuten said it was aiming to grow that figure to about 1.5 million in several years.

And this is why tablet computers have done so well here, while pure e-readers have languished, despite a proliferation of offerings from all the major electronics firms. Publishers simply refuse to loosen their grip on content, and people are reduced to actually scanning their favorite books page-by-page and converting them to PDFs for reading on other devices. Ridiculous!! 30,000 titles is a tiny drop in a very large bucket of potential content, and I'm not sure why Rakuten thinks it'll be any more successful in negotiating with Japanese publishers than Amazon's been thus far.
-1

AlanJul. 03, 2012 - 07:22AM JST

Why should I carry around an extra stand-alone device when a smartphone with a large screen can perform exactly the same function? I can even get Kobo books on my phone, though the selection doesn't seem to be as good as Google's.
0

T_rexmaxytimeJul. 03, 2012 - 07:24AM JST

Come out with something original for gawwd sakes.. E-Reader??? Thats some old tech.
3

David Van CleefJul. 03, 2012 - 10:51AM JST

Why should I carry around an extra stand-alone device when a smartphone with a large screen can perform exactly the same function? I can even get Kobo books on my phone, though the selection doesn't seem to be as good as Google's.

e-ink is an entirely different experience. No glare, paper-white and your eyes don't stress like you do after an hour staring at an LCD.
2

AliasisJul. 03, 2012 - 11:21AM JST

Why should I carry around an extra stand-alone device when a smartphone with a large screen can perform exactly the same function? I can even get Kobo books on my phone, though the selection doesn't seem to be as good as Google's.

I like my e-reader because it uses e-ink, for one. Easier to read, feels like a real book. Secondly, I get too distracted by games and Internet on my smartphone. When I read, I like to detach myself from technology (actually, that's one of the reasons I was so hesitant to get an e-reader in the first place. I prefer real books, but it's hard and expensive to get English books where I am in Japan). I got the most basic Amazon Kindle (no color, no touch screen, not a tablet) and I love it.

Japan would definitely do well to grab into the e-reader market. I think Sony or some other tech giant has an e-reader, I saw it at Bic Camera. But it was like, 25,000 yen or something else way overpriced.
-2

IronBeardJul. 03, 2012 - 11:22AM JST

Rakuten staff were given one each about a week ago but told not to use them until they were announced. Best marketing campaign would be to have people actually using them!
0

billyshearsJul. 03, 2012 - 12:01PM JST

The move comes as Amazon.com is expected to launch its Kindle e-reader in Japan

The Kindle 3 has been available in Japan for over 2 years, so I guess this means that Japanese titles will now be available. As others have mentioned, e-ink makes for a great reader even outside in sunlight where tablet and smartphone screens become unreadable. The Kindle Fire might also be on its way here, but that might have problems competing with google's recently announced technically superior product, the Asus-built Nexus 7. Don't know about this "kobo", but it`s definitely competitively-priced.
-1

NinohJul. 03, 2012 - 01:01PM JST

Outside of Japan, Rakuten is a no go.
-1

AlanJul. 03, 2012 - 02:38PM JST

No glare, paper-white

Still not convinced.

The reader on my Samsung SII produces crisp, dense black type on a paper-white background. There's no glare unless you have your screen brightness turned up way too high. The screen is big enough to provide a good page size, yet small enough to be held in one hand and scrolled with the thumb. I've read for hours without experiencing eye fatigue. As for the separation of reading and technology, that seems like a matter of personal preference. When I have a book on the screen, my smartphone becomes a book as far as I'm concerned. However, I also like to have the Internet available for checking words and finding information about the content of books. So I really don't need another lump of silicon and glass in my pocket and yet another battery charger.
1

lucabrasiJul. 03, 2012 - 03:04PM JST

The move comes as Amazon.com is expected to launch its Kindle e-reader in Japan

Could be bad news for those of us currently buying or subscribing to stuff via the US Amazon.com site. If we're forced to purchase from the Japanese site, the choice of titles available in English is going to shrink dramatically.
-4

JeffLeeJul. 03, 2012 - 03:54PM JST

@lucabrasi: I wonder if that's the case with the titles. Could well be with the e-readers. Digital rights management lawyers are evil.
0

lucabrasiJul. 03, 2012 - 04:36PM JST

Digital rights management lawyers are evil.

Agreed, Jeff. There's been a ton of stuff I've seen on the UK Amazon site which I've been unable to order because East Asian residents have to go through the US site.
-2

wipeoutJul. 03, 2012 - 06:37PM JST

Still not convinced.

There's no need to convince you. This doesn't detract from certain advantages that an an e-reader like the Kindle has over a smartphone. For one thing, not everyone has a smartphone, or wants one.

Some of the things that set a Kindle apart from a smartphone have already been listed (and the screen difference is important). Here are some more:

Running cost per month (other than the minuscule cost of recharging): None. Battery time: claimed to be 2 months, but let's just call it weeks. Size: appropriate for a book. Neither too small like an iPhone, nor too big like an iPad. Cost: it's cheaper to buy than a smartphone, and requires no monthly package or subscription fee. Simpler operation: Smartphones have a good interface for performing multiple functions. Kindles are designed almost exclusively for e-books, and most of the operation is through about four buttons. Simple is good.

In this way, it works well for a lot of people, especially people who actually read books. It is not a smartphone and it is not supposed to be a smartphone. But it is very, very good for reading e-books.
-2

Bob SneiderJul. 03, 2012 - 06:41PM JST

@Alan

In my case, just having a backlight makes my eyes tired. E-ink is like paper, and provides a completely different experience. I believe e-readers have a future, and will be popular despite the rise of smartphones.
-2

AlanJul. 03, 2012 - 07:05PM JST

especially people who actually read books

Now that's a little unkind.

I actually read several books a week in paper, e-book and audio-book formats, but I really like the convenience of having books available anywhere and at any time on a device that I always carry as a matter of course.
-3

wipeoutJul. 03, 2012 - 08:43PM JST

Now that's a little unkind.

Yes, it does look snide on second reading and that was unintended. What I meant was that people who want to read a lot may well prefer a dedicated reading device. Many of the novels I read, particularly 19th century works, are well over 600 pages. The Kindle and similar devices are designed for this, it is essentially a device with that single function of reading books in mind. It's in a completely different segment of the market than smartphones. I don't think any smartphone was built with the idea of reading books as a primary concern. They are multifunctional devices, impressive in the range of things they can do, and able to do certain things like no other device. However, this doesn't make them ideal ebook readers.

Myself, I prefer a nice big desktop computer to a smartphone or some twatty tablet, especially once I realized the extent to which those devices are intended to lock you in. But that's because it just happens to fit my usage patterns. I don't need computing or internet access on the go. Other people do. The manufacturers can design for and supply each of us. That is why the Kindle is successful and not a flop, and why the iPhone is not a threat to it.
-2

AlanJul. 03, 2012 - 09:31PM JST

However, this doesn't make them ideal ebook readers.

Each to his own I suppose. I have about 30 pure e-books on my smartphone, including several by Dickens, Austen, Scott, etc. I also have several dozen text file books from Gutenberg and similar sources, which I read using the built-in word processor. On top of that I have about a dozen audio books so I can catch a chapter or two via Bluetooth while walking or driving. Yet the phone's storage is not even one-third full, and I can always offload stuff onto my desktop if I ever need more space. Another thing I like about the Smartphone is that I believe it's quite difficult for people to read over my shoulder. The weak point would be the battery life.
0

kchozeJul. 04, 2012 - 01:09AM JST

I have a Kobo and a smartphone. I have read most of the first four books of A Song Of Ice And Fore on my Kobo, I don't even want to consider reading for any length of time on my smartphone. For one thing, the smartphone's screen is too small, also no LCD screen, no matter what quality, is great for reading. The backlight tires the eyes and reading in full sunlight is hard as the screen must compete in brightness with the sun. Furthermore, e-ink devices have incredible battery life, since they only use power to change the screen, since the screen, without power, keeps the same image on. I have not charged my Kobo for weeks, read hundreds of pages on it and it still has more than 50% battery on it. Reading on a smartphone drains the battery quickly, because LCD screens refresh themselves 60 times per second and turn black without power.