Here are two particularly salient observations from Nicholas Kolakowski's current piece in
eWeek:
... the longer Google waits to roll out Google Editions (and the longer it neglects to provide details about how the service will work, in order to build the all-important buzz) the harder its eventual battle against Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple, all of which have been moving aggressively to draw readers to their respective platforms. In that context, Google’s chances of breaking off a substantial portion of the e-book market seem dimmer and dimmer by the week
And this:
... if Sony plans on using Android as the operating system for its future e-readers, it could be tacit acknowledgment that none of its previous steps have been enough; through Android, Sony could conceivably add software features equivalent to those of the ever-more-advanced Kindle and Nook
That would place Sony smack-dab in the middle of what’s become an extraordinarily competitive space, locking jaws with not only Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and the Apple iPad, but also the upcoming Android-based tablet PCs. If Sony were willing to spend millions of dollars to aggressively assert itself in that position, it could translate into a market-share advantage—but Sony seems reluctant to grow fangs in that regard, with anemic e-reader marketing and a follower’s mentality when it comes to pricing and features.
