E-reader statisfaction study shows 93 percent of users are happy, just not you
By Richard Lai 
posted February 4th 2010 10:56AM
posted February 4th 2010 10:56AM
The wind sure changes very quickly, eh? Just a week ago the University of Georgia revealed that many of its study participants -- Athens residents who were given a Kindle to play with -- weren't happy with their e-reader experience, but yesterday a new study reported something fairly contrasting. Rather than doling out touchscreen-less e-readers to a group of people, the NPD Group surveyed more than 1,000 e-reader owners in late November last year, and found out that 93 percent of them were "very satisfied" or "somewhat satisfied" with their devices, while only 2 percent "expressed any level of dissatisfaction." The report also reveals that wireless access is the favorite feature for 60 percent of the users, while only 23 percent chose the touchscreen. Compared to last week's report, this probably shows that consumers who actually buy e-readers don't really care about the touch feature, whereas those on the outer circle are mainly waiting for more -- and no doubt cheaper -- touchscreen e-readers. Seriously though, only 34 percent wanted color screens? Those guys sure are easy to please.
My EZReaderPro is for reading novels, which does not need a touch screen or color. If I wanted more, I'd use a tablet or netbook. I think people have problems understanding one or limited use devices. Ereaders should be about consumption of books(preferably ones that won't require notes and such) on a display that allows for long-term reading without hurting one's eyes.
I think the reason this study went the way it did is because most people who understood this nuance have ereaders already. Those who want a super-device will wait for iPad and it's competitors.
I imagine that the disparity between the two surveys has a lot to do with selection bias. In the UofG survey, students were given a Kindle, whether they actually felt like they want it or not. In the NPD survey, presumably these are people who have bought and paid for an ebook reader, which means they made the conscious decision to buy one and hand over $200-$400 of their own money in exchange for one.
With that in mind, it should be a surprise that the participants in the NPD survey were more satisfied with their ebook readers.
I cant believe anyone is satisfied with the refresh rate of the e-ink. With that said the screen technologies uber low power consumption makes the annoyingly slow refreshing somewhat tolerable. After using a Kindle for over a month, I had to give it back to my cousin; I was not at all happy with the device and am eagerly awaiting the arrival of Mirasol; AMOLED, or something that strikes a better compromise between power consumption and performance (giving up some of the former for more of the later).
@cosmicinglewood The refresh rate is faster than turning a page in a physical book. I wouldn't use it for textbooks but it's fine for reading novels. Mirasol looks promising, but AMOLED would be horrible. It's even worse than LCD in sunlight, so forget reading outside. And even indoors it would be hard on the eyes. Backlit screens are completely unfit for e-readers (even if no one told Steve Jobs).
I am waiting for color and touch before I get a Kindle DX. However, the regular Kindle is fine with B&W and no touch. They are for different purposes, and the novel-reading device doesn't need color. The other one does (highlighting academic papers with diagrams and such)