I've seen ads on TV for an audio device dedicated to the Bible (I assume some here have, as well). As far as I can tell, it is basically the entire Bible stored on a chip and functions as an audio book. So, in essence, it's like an MP3 player that just has one book (one very large book, of course).
This got me thinking: have any other authors released devices like these? Device might be the wrong word...product might be better. To analogize with video games, for anyone who knows/owns an Atari Flashback or an NES Classic, this is basically the concept...a piece of hardware that is set, can't load anything else, all software is included and will never change.
I haven't researched this Bible product, so I don't know if it is truly immutable. But for my purposes here, I'm wondering -- would people here buy It on such a dedicated chip? How about the first ten books King ever released? Would King need to be the reader? What if there were multiple readers? What if you could, by voice command, say "skip ten pages forward?" Or search for any word in the piece? All that kind of stuff.
Could King release a book/collection of short stories on a product like this first, before print and digital? What if such a product were to be included in a Blu-ray collector's edition...buy the first chapter of It on disc and receive only the younger-kids' adventure? It is an interesting example, because one has to wonder how many younger people purchased the book after being excited by the film, only to stop reading at some point...would a device that has the long tale in audio format and sold in supermarkets in the As-Seen-On-TV section bring in a new generation of King consumers?
Anyway, just some thoughts on what I found to be a fascinating piece of merchandise backed by a direct-response campaign. I'll also have to see if perhaps other authors have already colonized this area...I mean, Patterson must be all over this, right? Another couple names that come to mind would be Rowling or Stine. I will also tag Moderator to see if King has been approached for something like this. I wouldn't mind collecting a product such as this, or to see new material released this way.
This got me thinking: have any other authors released devices like these? Device might be the wrong word...product might be better. To analogize with video games, for anyone who knows/owns an Atari Flashback or an NES Classic, this is basically the concept...a piece of hardware that is set, can't load anything else, all software is included and will never change.
I haven't researched this Bible product, so I don't know if it is truly immutable. But for my purposes here, I'm wondering -- would people here buy It on such a dedicated chip? How about the first ten books King ever released? Would King need to be the reader? What if there were multiple readers? What if you could, by voice command, say "skip ten pages forward?" Or search for any word in the piece? All that kind of stuff.
Could King release a book/collection of short stories on a product like this first, before print and digital? What if such a product were to be included in a Blu-ray collector's edition...buy the first chapter of It on disc and receive only the younger-kids' adventure? It is an interesting example, because one has to wonder how many younger people purchased the book after being excited by the film, only to stop reading at some point...would a device that has the long tale in audio format and sold in supermarkets in the As-Seen-On-TV section bring in a new generation of King consumers?
Anyway, just some thoughts on what I found to be a fascinating piece of merchandise backed by a direct-response campaign. I'll also have to see if perhaps other authors have already colonized this area...I mean, Patterson must be all over this, right? Another couple names that come to mind would be Rowling or Stine. I will also tag Moderator to see if King has been approached for something like this. I wouldn't mind collecting a product such as this, or to see new material released this way.
