Disposable eReaders Coming Soon?

Considering that most eReaders haven't dropped below the $100 mark--although I did manage to snag a $99 Nook as a gift for my favorite beta reader--I don't think we'll be seeing disposable eReaders anytime soon.
Still, this technology does sound promising and the article also discusses a major drawback to current generation readers (besides lack of color): slow refresh rates. The page turning on current models is just acceptable. It needs to improve by leaps and bounds before we see the types of moving images that Harry Potter made so famous. Then we can start worrying about bringing the cost down to the point where eReaders become disposable.

Sub $100 eReaders and Their Impact on Kidlit

Why the heck isn't this kid
actually reading his eBook?

This summer, I predicted $99 eReaders by Christmas. But when Nook went color instead of competing on price, I was worried that might not happen.

However, it does look like there will be $99, well $89 eReaders for the Holidays, if you're quick. Amazon has announced that it will be selling the Kindle 2 (older generation) for $89 on black Friday.

I was hoping that the Wifi only version of the Kindle 3 (currently $139) would get down to $99 before Christmas, but it doesn't look like that will happen. Though a small price drop isn't out of the question.

The reason I'm so eager to see $99 eReaders is that's the price point they need to get to before we start seeing these things trickle down to kids. Even best selling YA-Indie author Amanda Hocking says most of her readers are adults not teens. Once we start seeing phones with 4-5-inch screens and parents with extra eReaders to hand down, kidlit will be ready to join the world of eBooks. But it looks like we have a little while longer to wait.

$99 eBook readers by Christmas -- I think so.

In case anyone missed it--if you did, you were probably under a tree (reading your Kindle, of course). But Amazon just announced two new kindles, starting at $139.

The $139 model doesn't come with G3 wireless (so on the $139 version you can't download books anywhere), just WiFi and of course no color screen yet. But it does show just how quickly the prices are falling. Books-a-Million even had the Sony eBook reader on sale last week for $99 (and promptly sold out). 

I think, this Christmas day, Amazon better be ready for some major traffic.  As I predicted before, I think $99 is the price point where parents will start buying eReaders for their kids. And I think, we'll see this price as the entry point for most eReaders by Christmas

I know I plan to have several free short stories up by then. Hopefully, it will be perfect timing to start building some readership.