02-09-2010, 12:33 PM | #1 |
Enthusiast
Posts: 29
Karma: 66
Join Date: Jan 2010
Device: none
|
Why Amazon Can't Afford to Lose the eBook Wars to Apple
Upon browsing the news, I found a great article in the Washington Post about the supposed "eBook Wars." Based on the way everything is going right now, that is a fairly appropriate title.
Why Amazon Cannot Afford To Lose The eBook Wars To Apple Erick Schonfeld TechCrunch.com Thursday, February 4, 2010; 7:56 AM "One defends when his strength is inadequate, he attacks when it is abundant."?Sun Tzu, The Art of War The Apple iPad isn't even available yet, but already it is forcing Amazon to respond in a variety of ways to protect its competing Kindle eBook business. Amazon just snapped up a touchscreen technology startup, presumably to update the already ancient-looking Kindle. Emboldened book publishers are pushing back on Amazon's $9.99 pricing now that they can sell the same eBooks on the iPad for $14.99, and Amazon is capitulating. And the Kindle team at Amazon, which once had an arrogant approach towards publishers when it was the only game in town, is now bending over backwards to solicit their loyalty, says one editor at a publishing company who has noticed the change in tone. Click here for the full article. Last edited by schroedercl2; 02-10-2010 at 03:19 PM. |
02-09-2010, 05:32 PM | #2 |
Wizard
Posts: 2,624
Karma: 1008294
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Iowa, USA
Device: Nook Simple Touch
|
if anything Apple knocked Amazon off their high horse
|
Advert | |
|
02-09-2010, 05:44 PM | #3 |
Wizard
Posts: 1,686
Karma: 874275
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
Device: Kindle DX
|
I think it was bound to happen since now there is another popular option to buy ebook. Sure there are plenty places to get ebooks but not making it as easy as Amazon or iTunes. I am surprised that B&N is not in the middle of all this
|
02-09-2010, 06:00 PM | #4 |
MR Drone
Posts: 1,613
Karma: 15612282
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: DRONEZONE
Device: PB360+, Huawei MP5, Libra H20
|
So, in a few years maybe we will hear Apple supporters declare that Apple Inc. invented ebooks and ebook readers?!!
|
02-09-2010, 07:11 PM | #5 |
Resident Curmudgeon
Posts: 73,957
Karma: 128903250
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts
Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3
|
|
Advert | |
|
02-09-2010, 10:28 PM | #6 |
Wizard
Posts: 1,305
Karma: 1958
Join Date: Jan 2009
Device: iPod Touch
|
Just to be clear though, Apple didn't raise prices, they gave publishers the ability to choose prices. Some publishers think it should be $15 per book, blaming Apple for it is like blaming your Sony TV for the poor quality of TV sitcoms it displays.
It's a strange situation in some ways. The article suggests that the mere future availability of a different payment model from Apple has seen publishers revolt over the conditions at Amazon. Some publishers might be scrambling for more profit from e-book sales and more control over prices, but ultimately consumers determine who wins. If Apple ibookstore launches full of $15.00 books those consumers will run to Amazon and the publishers with $15 books will flop. Consumers are used to those cheaper books and the market will keep the price there imo. |
02-10-2010, 03:32 AM | #7 | |
The one and only
Posts: 3,302
Karma: 535819
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Berlin, Germany
Device: yup!
|
Quote:
The price of the eBooks is just a means to the clear-cut end: Sell devices. If Amazon isn't the cheapest retailer around people have no need to buy a Kindle. They may as well buy a nook or an iPad. So Steve Jobs doesn't have to worry about the higher price for his device when the average eBook price is the same as at Amazon. Last edited by K-Thom; 02-10-2010 at 03:38 AM. |
|
02-10-2010, 08:06 AM | #8 |
Guru
Posts: 767
Karma: 2347
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: NYC
Device: Sony Reader, nook, Droid, nookColor, nookTablet
|
There's one point that I think a lot of industry wags are missing. Amazon absolutely can afford to lose the e-book wars. Based on the last financials I saw, media accounts for somewhere in the mid-40% of Amazon's revenues. "Media" includes DVDs and music. Considering how small the e-book market is, as a share of books in general, Amazon could easily afford for the whole Kindle part of the business to go *poof*. It's not likely to, of course, but the e-book war is by no means any kind of desperate last stand for the future of the company.
|
02-10-2010, 10:47 AM | #9 | |
Wizard
Posts: 1,686
Karma: 874275
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
Device: Kindle DX
|
Quote:
|
|
02-10-2010, 10:56 AM | #10 | |
Now what?
Posts: 58,843
Karma: 135181808
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Durham, NC
Device: Every Kindle Ever Made & To Be Made!
|
Quote:
Add to this Amazon's professed intention to increase the Kindle's usability for visually disabled readers, which I haven't seen any other ereader address, and you have another strong buying base. These 2 buying groups have to be factored in when discussing Amazon's survival in the ebook market. |
|
02-10-2010, 12:22 PM | #11 |
Wizard
Posts: 2,737
Karma: 635747
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Northeast Ohio, USA
Device: PRS-900
|
If most publishers move to the same model and eBook prices across all sellers go up, or at least are all the same, my fear then is that eReaders as a whole might suffer as people end up buying iPads either simply because it is Apple, or because they do more than a dedicated reader.
What if Amazon put Epub capability on the Kindle? Or even switched its format completely and sold mainly ePub. Would that make it more of an "Apple vs everyone else" battle? |
Tags |
amazon, apple, ebooks |
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Amazon allows DRM-free ebook, Apple refuses | vaughnmr | News | 33 | 08-12-2010 05:43 AM |
"If you can afford an ebook reader, you can afford ebook prices" | mcl | News | 173 | 02-28-2010 03:12 AM |
Will Amazon eBooks Survive the Inevitable Format Wars? | Totenkopf | Amazon Kindle | 10 | 01-14-2010 05:52 AM |
Free Star Wars ebook Precipice at Sony Store | tech_au | Deals and Resources (No Self-Promotion or Affiliate Links) | 8 | 05-30-2009 06:44 PM |
Amazon prepares for 'textbook e-reader wars' | yagiz | News | 2 | 05-19-2009 06:42 PM |