01-03-2013, 12:17 PM | #1 |
Evangelist
Posts: 408
Karma: 1786912
Join Date: Nov 2010
Device: Kindle Voyage
|
Why Not Offer Library Conversion?
As I was wandering through B&N last night (and remembering that I had a new Paperwhite arriving today), I began to think, If Amazon would offer to replace all a person's Nook books with Kindle books in exchange for that person's Nook and the purchase of a new Kindle, I think they would probably destroy the Nook.
So, I imagine the answer is pretty simple, but is there any reason Amazon or B&N couldn't do this to each other? It's a bit like TMobile offering to give you a remarkable deal if you come in with an unlocked AT&T phone. |
01-03-2013, 12:48 PM | #2 |
Wizard
Posts: 1,806
Karma: 13399999
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: US
Device: Nook Simple Touch, Kobo Glo HD, Kobo Clara HD, Kindle 4
|
From the publisher's perspective, how would they be able verify whether Amazon has replaced legitimate versions of their books? All the publishers would see is that Amazon gave N copies of their books to customers without paying the publisher for it. At least when B&N shut down Fictionwise & EReader, they could prove exactly what the customer had already bought.
I'll personally never buy a Kindle because I already have more books than can fit on a Kindle. The Nook (and I believe the Kobo also) has an external memory slot so I can have all of my books on my reader without having to rely on having a wireless or wifi connection. |
Advert | |
|
01-03-2013, 12:57 PM | #3 |
not "it"
Posts: 236
Karma: 1687996
Join Date: Aug 2012
Device: Kindle 7th gen
|
It's an interesting idea. And one would think there's some way to do it. When I started looking at replacements for my iPhone, not sure if I'll stick with Apple, I saw that Samsung offered to convert/move/not sure all my music, etc that I'd bought from the iTunes store and all that i'd loaded onto my iPhone onto a new Samsung phone.
That's to say, there's precendence of a sort in the mobile phone world for something similar. I suppose that as ereader manufacturers realise most ereaders sold are to replace previous ones, rather than as new devices to new users, they'll have to start thinking about issues like this. |
01-03-2013, 01:36 PM | #4 |
Wizard
Posts: 2,251
Karma: 3720310
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: USA
Device: Kindle, iPad (not used much for reading)
|
To do that would require a link between B&N and Amazon's databases. Not going to happen. What would be the benefit to the publishers, anyway?
|
01-03-2013, 01:49 PM | #5 |
Addict
Posts: 219
Karma: 2617122
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: North Carolina
Device: NOOK ST, Nexus 7
|
Or here's a thought: Amazon should just support epub.
In fact, how about a common standard for all. Then we can just go back to competing on hardware, content/content pricing, and (OMG) service. |
Advert | |
|
01-03-2013, 03:28 PM | #6 | |
eBook Enthusiast
Posts: 85,544
Karma: 93383043
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: UK
Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6
|
Quote:
|
|
01-03-2013, 03:29 PM | #7 |
eBook Enthusiast
Posts: 85,544
Karma: 93383043
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: UK
Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6
|
Amazon would have to be idiots to support ePub (and nobody could accuse them of lack of business sense). They sell you a Kindle essentially at cost price because they want you to buy books from their bookstore, not from B&N or Kobo.
|
01-03-2013, 03:39 PM | #8 |
The Dank Side of the Moon
Posts: 35,872
Karma: 118716293
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Denver, CO
Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire
|
This. Because they would have to 'purchase' all the books again.
|
01-03-2013, 03:42 PM | #9 |
Bookaholic
Posts: 14,391
Karma: 54969924
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Minnesota
Device: iPad Mini 4, AuraHD, iPhone XR +
|
The only way something like the OP suggests would work would be if the publishers set it up and then got the retailers to go along with it. Kind of like UltraViolet in the digital movie world (not that UV doesn't have plenty of problems). UV has a central database of the movies in your account and the various retailers get a feed from that telling them what you can access.
|
01-03-2013, 05:05 PM | #10 |
Treachery of images ...
Posts: 4,069
Karma: 91561091
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Australia
Device: Blackberry Playbook, Sony 650, Kobo Glo, H2O, Aura One, Forma, Libra 2
|
I suspect that Amazon just acknowledges that people who want to read their books on another device will use Calibre, and vice versa for those with B&N who want to read on a Kindle.
All the publishers, and book sellers, would be very aware of Calibre and other library management systems, that promote format change. As time goes by more and more people will become ebook/ereader savvy and make their choices as to which ereader they'll buy based on ease of use relevant to their needs, and not based on brand of the reader, or the types of ebook formats that can be read. Ereader brand lock in, by virtue of the ebook format, will become less and less of a consideration. |
01-03-2013, 05:10 PM | #11 |
Nameless Being
|
|
01-03-2013, 05:58 PM | #12 | |
Nodding at stupid things
Posts: 209
Karma: 4097046
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Toronto, Canada
Device: Sony T1, OnePlus 6, Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e, iPad Mini 2, PC
|
Quote:
It's similar with e-books and e-book readers. I have a friend who has a Kindle. I tried to give her a public domain copy of a classic novel that I'd converted to mobi for her. It all went well until she confessed not knowing how to even get this file I e-mailed her into her Kindle. THAT is the future of e-book reading. It's exactly what the retailers want. In both the iTunes and e-book cases, there are ways around it, but they're obscure, inconvenient, and cumbersome enough that many people don't even know it's an option. Others that find out dismiss it as too much trouble. |
|
01-03-2013, 06:11 PM | #13 | |
Nodding at stupid things
Posts: 209
Karma: 4097046
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Toronto, Canada
Device: Sony T1, OnePlus 6, Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e, iPad Mini 2, PC
|
Quote:
They'd be better off offering, to use your example, Nook owners a three-hundred dollar credit on their Amazon account in exchange for their Nook. It would actually cost them less. Trying something like this might run up against the law, however, as an unfair trade practice. Absorbing huge losses to squeeze out competitors and try to further dominate the market may not please regulators. |
|
01-03-2013, 06:35 PM | #14 |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 11,732
Karma: 128354696
Join Date: May 2009
Location: 26 kly from Sgr A*
Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000
|
Amazon may simply be thinking that if they wait long enough, B&N will implode.
"Sometimes, the best revenge is just to outlive them." (In other words: Amazon has the upper hand anyway. Why spend time and money--and risk government action--trying to crush a beaten foe?) |
01-04-2013, 01:43 PM | #15 | |
Addict
Posts: 219
Karma: 2617122
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: North Carolina
Device: NOOK ST, Nexus 7
|
Quote:
That sounds like smart business. Even if they did drop .azw as their standard and went to a form of .epub (like most of the other big players), they seem fully capable of competing on service, pricing, and selection. I'm not a big fan of their hardware, but the service and pricing factor can be very persuasive in that equation. |
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
How many e-books does your library offer? | Fbone | General Discussions | 107 | 01-29-2016 06:36 AM |
Smart format library conversion help | JDRJ | Conversion | 3 | 11-10-2012 07:36 PM |
eBook Library Conversion in Calibre | river | Calibre | 1 | 07-15-2009 11:16 AM |
Cleveland Public Library First to Offer EPUB eBook Downloads | Kris777 | News | 31 | 01-21-2009 06:43 PM |
Illinois library to offer free ebooks, audiobooks with a catch | Brian | News | 3 | 09-06-2005 08:50 PM |