Tag: kindle

I don't "get" the Kindle anymore. It's been almost 6 month since I got it, almost a dozen books later and I think I'm at the end of the road with this neat little device.
At first, I liked the idea of having free 3G internet available. Then low price point of books made it great for buying books without having to wait for the local bookstore to order them, or worse, paying the retail markup.

A couple months ago, Engadget broke this story which I just saw in the NYTimes: Target will begin selling the Kindle 2 in stores nationwide beginning on Sunday, June 6.

Funny, I was just at my local Target earlier this evening and found a book I've been wanting to read. I had read through the first chapter on my Kindle as a "sample", but never went beyond that. I checked the latest Kindle edition price... $12.99. Target's price for the book? $12.80!
Why would I want to buy the Kindle edition that I can't sell or share?!

To add insult to injury, I checked the same paperback on Amazon: $9.99. Amazon is selling the paperback for less than the electronic version! Now, they're going to sell the Kindle at Target in a matter of days and the electronic version of the book costs even more than the same book in the store!

I think the Kindle's business model is falling apart (and has been). I believe the Kindle is headed for the same fate as the other innovative e-ink device: The OLPC (XO) laptop. Both situations are sad, because each had so much potential. Neither will grow beyond a neat concept without completely reinventing itself (which the OLPC seems to be doing with its tablet).

Amazon has been too slow to act on customer ideas, lacked any sort of customization, and failed to cash in on an exploding community of Kindle owners. ...and I don't blame Apple either. The iPad won't replace the Kindle. (eInk is to easy on the eyes for reading - any who wants glossy ebooks?) Amazon let publishers push prices too high and, at least for me, is what kills the Kindle experience.

update: I emailed my concerns to Amazon and got an email reply very quickly. Here's an excerpt from the email:

The price you pay in the Kindle store is based on a number of factors, including the initial publisher price. Recently, several publishers modified their relationship with Amazon to a business model whereby the publisher, not Amazon, sells the Kindle book. In these cases the price is set by the publisher and you will see "This price was set by the publisher" on the product page.

We're working hard to build a successful digital book store and make every effort to provide you with the best prices possible.

So hopefully they can get their business sorted out with the publishers and get back on track. We'll see.

I figure it's high time I publicly weighed in on this whole ebook wars thing. I was just reading and article over on Wired about the whole pricing dilemma currently plaguing Amazon.
I'll start off by saying that I am a Kindle owner/user, so take that as you will.

I was initially unimpressed with the launch of the iPad. the iPod blew us all away when it was announced, the iPhone blew us all away when it was announced. The iPad will take some getting used to. The screen still isn't e-ink like the most successful ebook readers, but it does have touch screen - something Amazon just realized customers want. It doesn't have the battery life of a Kindle, but it does have brand recognition.

The redeeming value about the Kindle, and I've said this all along, is that it adopts the UNIX mentality: "Do one thing and do it well". The Kindle is perfect for reading books. The great part is you can download the books via Whispernet wherever you happen to be. The iPad kinda offers this, but you have to pay more for the 3G device plus you have to pay for the data plan. (The Kindle data plan is free!) [sure, the basic iPad has wireless, but wifi may not always be available. it's not something I have to think about with the kindle]

Ok, so the iPad will let you surf the web, i'll give you that. Yes, the Kindle is essentially the links browser and Whispernet is slow compared to wifi, but remember, the Kindle is an ebook reader, first and foremost. It does that and it does it well, web is an after thought, the same way that iBooks was an afterthought to the enlarged iPod Touch.

There, I said it. The iPad is a grown up iPod Touch. It can surf the web, it can play apps, it has an ebook reader app - so does my iPhone. It does not have e-ink, long battery life, or instant free access anywhere. Is the iPad a Kindle killer? I think killer is too harsh a word for this situation. Capitalists: Competition is a good thing. The Kindle helped design the iPad, and the iPad will help redesign the Kindle. I'm excited to see what the next revision of the Kindle comes out looking like. I'm almost certain it will feature touch.

The iPad is definitely neat, but I think the Kindle will hold its niche - if Amazon can hold its publishers in place. I believe something definitely underhanded is going on between Mr. Jobs and book publishers, but I'll delve into that soon enough.

update: Well looks like gizmodo beat me to the punch with this article - however I'll expand on it with my thoughts later.