Ask Paul: November 6 ⭐

Happy Friday! Let's kick off the weekend a bit early with some great reader questions that span a wide range of concerns. Plus, I need time to download that 68 GB Call of Duty update.
"Tesla to wind down Cybertruck production"

That's a shame, this is the easiest way to spot an a$%hole from a distance
📖 Books, e-books, and audiobooks
helix2301 asks:

Being an avid reader myself, do you think you would ever start reviewing e-readers or audiobook services? Jason at Six Colors has been reviewing them all for years, and I think a few things.

No, not exactly. I do see myself potentially using a smaller Android tablet with a color e-ink screen for reading, because that would come with an app store and provide access not just to Kindle and Audible, but also to other apps/services that I use for reading. But I don't see a point of e-readers that don't provide access to Kindle; I already have several hundred books there and it's the only e-book ecosystem that matters from a usage share perspective. I wouldn't use a Kindle device to listen to audiobooks personally, but any Android device would be compatible with whatever audiobook apps, too, of course. And as with Kindle, I have several hundred audiobooks in Audible.

There are better-priced e-readers than the Kindle, and there are other places to get audiobooks besides Audible.

I guess. But it also doesn't matter in the sense that you're not just buying a device, you are also buying access to whatever ecosystems. Kindle and Audible are both dominant in their markets, and ignoring them by using other services exclusively is a non-starter for most.

That said, I don't use a Kindle e-reader, not because I don't like the devices, but because they are limited to just the Kindle e-book ecosystem. Currently, I use an iPad because it supports the Kindle and Audible apps but also every other e-book and audiobook app. The only issue is the screen; as noted, I would love to have an e-ink-based tablet that made sense. The Amazon Alexa Tablet 12 Pro with the Nanomatte display looks like an interesting alternative, and my experience with the TCL NXTPAPER 14 shows that a "normal" LCD/OLED display can look enough like color e-ink to make a difference. (The Pixel phones have a nice Comfort View feature that also emulates color e-ink.)

Many e-readers out there are junk and really a pain to get books onto. Kindle is a great platform and easy to use like iPhone it makes it very user friendly. Why don’t e-readers get that much press anymore? I remember for a while Amazon would have events to show off the new Kindles not as much anymore and Kobo now using walmart ebook store really helped that platform be much better. The issue always is getting books to the device.

Like so many dedicated device types (MP3 players as an obvious example), dedicated e-book readers like Kindles were mostly swept aside by smartphones because they're with us all the time and are so versatile. But tablets like the iPad...