Direct download readers

[Kumabjorn]

Happy Kindle 2 Global Edition owner.

The thing that probably convinced me more than any potential technological advantage was Amazon Whispernet. The ability to download a new book whether I'm in bed or on the bus is just perfect. Even scary, I've noticed that I'm spending much more money on books than my informal budget allows me to. I'm even considering closing down my cable subscription since I prefer reading to viewing.

However, this got me thinking; Are there other E-books that allow direct downloads? If so, are there other book sellers that offer this kind of service?

[tvpupsik]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

The ability to download a new book whether I'm in bed or on the bus is just perfect. Even scary, I've noticed that I'm spending much more money on books than my informal budget allows me to.

This is the whole purpose of this feature - to make money for the company, not for the buyer who uses it

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

However, this got me thinking; Are there other E-books that allow direct downloads? If so, are there other book sellers that offer this kind of service?

Depends on where one lives.
Besides Kindle, the B&N Nook and Sony Daily edition also offer direct connectivity to their proprietary storefronts. Other WiFi-based ereaders will be offering it Real.Soon.Now.

In areas where the Kindle supports browsing you can go to several DRM-free ebookstores to get content that is automatically forwarded to the Kindle's email account. One example is Baen.com's Webscription.net. Others exist.

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by tvpupsik

This is the whole purpose of this feature - to make money for the company, not for the buyer who uses it

Guess my view was skewed. Spent $123.47 in three days. Someone, please stop me!!

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

Guess my view was skewed. Spent $123.47 in three days. Someone, please stop me!!

Hint: The Wireless can be switched off. You get double battery life, too.

[Dulin's Books]

You can buy and download books directly from/to the WIFI enabled Boox 60 and PocketBook 302 (among a few others ) so "Real.Soon.Now." is already here

[vxf]

With the PRS900, you can download google books - a lot of those are free !!!

[Fbone]

Of course, the others mentioned here cost $279 - $299 US.

[Kumabjorn]

Are any of those readers geaerd towards academic research reading? I assume they all have Bookmark and Search capabilites (including wild card searches), but what about citations?
As for the price, won't this begin to gravitate towards equilibrium?

[Dulin's Books]

yes , yes(havent tried wildcard actually) and yes

[Serif]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

Guess my view was skewed. Spent $123.47 in three days. Someone, please stop me!!

Debit card? If the card isn't tied to online banking, of course. It works for me, sometimes.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

As for the price, won't this begin to gravitate towards equilibrium?

Uh, no.
It might be off-topic here but ebook reader pricing, moving forward, is going to defined more by business model than by capability or component cost. This will lead to a fracturing of the marketplace into two camps (much as the cellphone marketplace is fractured into contract-based and unlocked contract-free phones).

The direct-download readers that are directly tied in to a large ebookstore (Amazon, Borders, possibly Kobo) can and (likely) will maintain *substantially* lower hardware prices because, as pointed out, their primary function is to serve as mobile storefronts; reading is secondary to selling. They can sell at (or close to) cost and rake in substantial profits via ebook sales. (As pointed out by the OP.) Especially now that the Price Fix Five are looking to abolish price competition in ebook sales and force large retailer margins in the industry. (30% of US$123 is $40 profit on a $189 reader; about 20% extra profit. In three days. And the OP is hardly unique.)

Unless the other vendors can establish an added (commision-based?) revenue stream for their "unlocked" readers, the odds are their products will have to sell based solely on features and quality and since the ebook reader is *definitely* price-sensitive (if not outright price-dependent) they're likely to end up with much lower volumes than the walled-garden readers, even the ones with porous gardens (like Sony and Nook).

It's early in the ebook game, but things are moving way faster than expected and the rules are changing so fast we're seeing products become obsolete before they hit the US market. (C.F. Samsung, Acer)

I don't think price equilibrium is possible at this time.
And the disparity is likely to grow bigger before any semblance of balance emerges; Amazon isn't done with Price drops. Not if the "Shasta" Kindle is real and there is a WiFi-only K3 on the way. If it is, we could be looking at a US$129 Kindle by the holidays.

Walled garden-direct download is a powerful business model.
Just ask Apple and Microsoft and (less so) Sony and Nintendo.

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Depends on where one lives.
Besides Kindle, the B&N Nook and Sony Daily edition also offer direct connectivity to their proprietary storefronts. Other WiFi-based ereaders will be offering it Real.Soon.Now.

In areas where the Kindle supports browsing you can go to several DRM-free ebookstores to get content that is automatically forwarded to the Kindle's email account. One example is Baen.com's Webscription.net. Others exist.

...on BeBook Neo/Onyx Boox, you can download ADE content directly. Working flawlessly.