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The manufacturers of e-readers are finding themselves "facing an unexpectedly cloudy future", the Financial Times has warned, after a glut of new devices were announced within days of each other.
So far this week at the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show, Samsung, enTourage, Plastic Logic and Hearst have all unveiled their debut devices, while Sony and Elonex have announced additional products for their respective ranges. Google, meanwhile, has revealed its Nexus One smartphone—widely billed as a challenge to Apple's iPhone. And http://gizmodo.com/5434566/the-exhaustive-guide-to-apple-tablet-rumors" target="_blank">rumours have once again circulated that Apple's tablet—touted as the iSlate—is imminent.
But according to the FT: "Two things, however, have conspired to cloud this coming-out party. One is the sudden deluge of e-readers, which threatens to commoditise the hardware and make it difficult for the new hopefuls to stand out from the crowd. With only some 5m sold globally last year, the newcomers are fighting over a narrow niche . . . In consumer electronics, such competition normally brings rapid price reductions, greatly expanding the market.
"However, it will be some time before prices fall to the $100 level which, according to Forrester Research, will trigger mass uptake."
Another issue could be the advent of multi-function devices, such as the as-yet-unconfirmed iTablet. This could "leave single-purpose gadgets such as e-readers on the scrapheap of technology history".