R.I.P iRex?

iRex has been involved in the e-reader market for quite a while. iRex iLiad may have not been as popular as Kindle or other top e-readers. But it did give e-book reader fans an extra option. Unfortunately, it seems the company has filed for Chapter 11. It may have been able to compete in the e-reader market a year ago. The market landscape has changed dramatically since then. That may have contributed to the company’s woes.

Let’s face it. The e-book reader market is headed for consolidation. While consumers do not mind having options, it takes an aggressive business strategy to make an impact there. iRex was never going to be a big player, and the fact that it failed to bring its latest e-reader to the market for the Christmas holiday season did not help its cause either.

iRex is not dead by any means. It is quite possible for it to emerge out of bankruptcy ready to compete in the e-book reader market again. Even if that happens, iRex needs to drop its prices significantly to have any chance. The way this market is heading, I expect more companies to either follow iRex into bankruptcy or get out of this business altogether.