Amazon Kindle might be the worst thing that could happen to e-books?

[slayda]

Originally Posted by Liviu_5

There are some people that like to reread books, or just buy them read a little now, a little later and so on. I easily have 100 print leisure (fiction and nonfiction, but non-professional) books that I bought and never read cover to cover but that I want to be able to read from anytime I want, and similarly I probably have another 500-1000 print books read at least once if not more that I may reread from anytime I want, and I expect the same with my ebooks.

I don't have that many unread pbooks but probably more "already read and re-readable" pbooks. However I do have probably 150 - 200 "as yet unread" ebooks & still buy more. Many times a book seems too slow so I put it aside for a while & read something else. Some books that looked good at first fall into the "un-readable" or "barely readable" class. After a few of those, I like to get out an old favorite to reread just because I know it's one I'll like.

In the past I had times when I ran out of reading material. I find it's better to keep something in reserve.

[tompe]

A also reread books. I also buy more books than I have time to read directly so it can be years before I read a book. I think I have exemples were 10-20 years have passed before I read a book. It seems strange to me not being able to do that with e-books.

[pundit]

My guess is that if the Kindle is a success, it can only be good for eReading.

At $400 apiece, the Kindle has sold out in less than 6 hours. This fact alone is bound to incentivize the market.

Ultimately, Amazon is in the business of selling content, not hardware, and it will go in the direction of selling more content.

Because Apple - or someone - is going to produce a tablet device that will surf the net, convert & play any eBook format, play music, and connect wirelessly to cable television streaming over the net. And Amazon will want a piece of that action.

Look at Audible - at one time they had a dedicated audiobook player for their content. Maybe they still do...

[nekokami]

Based on the effect of the Kindle program on ebook prices at Sony and BooksOnBoard, I'd say the Kindle is a good thing for ebooks generally.

[vivaldirules]

Originally Posted by nekokami

Based on the effect of the Kindle program on ebook prices at Sony and BooksOnBoard, I'd say the Kindle is a good thing for ebooks generally.

I hope this is correct. But I worry when I see a smart gorilla like Amazon entering a market and investing in its long-term future by intentionally taking a loss for several years by severely undercutting its competition (e.g., Sony) on prices. It's the same practice Amazon took with pbooks and they stuck it out long enough to survive and win. This same move with ebooks will definitely hurt Amazon, Sony, BooksOnBoard, etc. and I expect some will eventually disappear. If they can ride it out, the increase in ebook customers will be beneficial for the survivors and for us, too.

[nekokami]

Amazon's prices on p-books are still lower than list. I think you're right that some of the more marginal sellers of ebooks are going to have trouble with Amazon putting price pressure on, but overall I think this is going to force publishers to lower the list prices of ebooks, and I think that's a good thing for everyone (including the other ebook vendors). Ebooks are on their way to becoming a commodity product, so ultimately, survival should be based on what the ebook vendor brings to the process. Currently, that's very little in most cases. Amazon has customer reviews, book recommendations, and the "search inside" feature in addition to ease of use and low prices. I'd like to see some of the other ebook vendors think about adding features to their sites if they want to compete. For example, someone could implement a DotReader-like book club discussion system, or try to get individual authors on board to write blogs (though Amazon does this, too), or --gasp!-- drop DRM in an attempt to be more competitive. This is what the market needs, I think.

[tsgreer]

And I would like to add that Amazon's great review "free first chapter" function caused me to buy the first DRM books that I've bought in years. I have bought four already. They are books that I would never have bought but after research about them and reading the first chapter, I was hooked.

I honestly didn't buy the Kindle to read too many "bought" books. Most of my stuff is Baen and PG stuff. But I wanted the option and I like how Amazon posts so much info about the book. The reviews section at a lot of ebook sellers is weak.

Not that I am a slave to reviews, but you know, if you have 125 people saying that the characters are flat and un-interesting, odds are they are right. And the reverse is true as well.

But the free first chapter thing, now that is something that people should have thought of a long time a go. Just having an excerpt isn't enough. A chapter does a pretty good job of giving you a feel of the writer though...

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by nekokami

Amazon's prices on p-books are still lower than list.

Only on HC & some Trade PB releases. On Mass Market PB's they charge cover price (although they do have the 4 for 3 deal).

I think you're right that some of the more marginal sellers of ebooks are going to have trouble with Amazon putting price pressure on, but overall I think this is going to force publishers to lower the list prices of ebooks, and I think that's a good thing for everyone (including the other ebook vendors).

I'll admit I haven't looked at tons of Kindle edition listings, but besides the $9.99 bestsellers, which have already caused other sellers to cut prices, most things I looked at were within $.50 to $1 of what everyone else sells for and sometimes Amazon was the one that was higher. The Simon & Schuster titles I checked are still cheaper directly from the publisher.

Ebooks are on their way to becoming a commodity product, so ultimately, survival should be based on what the ebook vendor brings to the process. Currently, that's very little in most cases. Amazon has customer reviews, book recommendations, and the "search inside" feature in addition to ease of use and low prices. I'd like to see some of the other ebook vendors think about adding features to their sites if they want to compete. For example, someone could implement a DotReader-like book club discussion system, or try to get individual authors on board to write blogs (though Amazon does this, too)

Yes. Fictionwise is where I buy most of my stuff & they have a site which is marginal at best. It reminds me of an early 90's e-commerce site, others I've visited could be much improved also. One thing that bugs me about current shops is they don't always sell in every format available so one book I want I can get at say Books On Board, but the second book I want they only have in one format & I have to go to another shop to get it. If the publisher is making it available in multiple formats why not offer them all in your store?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Yes. Fictionwise is where I buy most of my stuff & they have a site which is marginal at best.

What's wrong with the Fictionwise site? It's simple and clean, IMHO.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by HarryT

What's wrong with the Fictionwise site? It's simple and clean, IMHO.

Well nothing is wrong with it per se, I just wish there was more sometimes. Having actual reviews as opposed to just ratings would be nice. Being able to go to a section & see all titles available for pre-orders would be nice. Recommendations (like on Amazon) would be nice. Having sample chapters, which most authors or publishers do make available wouldn't be a bad idea. Of course you can read reviews & sample chapters elsewhere on the net, but it'd be nice sometimes to have it all in one place. There site is certainly functional & they are without a doubt my preferred source for anything not published by Baen (or stuff Webscriptions sells) or Simon & Schuster.

[HarryT]

Fair points, all of them.

For actual ordering, though, I like the simplicity of the site. Many modern web sites are so cluttered with fancy graphics and other "bells and whistles" that they can be very cumbersome to navigate.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Fair points, all of them.

For actual ordering, though, I like the simplicity of the site. Many modern web sites are so cluttered with fancy graphics and other "bells and whistles" that they can be very cumbersome to navigate.

Oh, I agree totally. Many sites are way overdone.

[nekokami]

Amazon is cluttered, I agree. But I do really like the book recommendations feature. If I'm to lose the privacy of my reading list, I'd like to at least get something back for it!

The wishlist is nice, too. Especially around the holidays, when people want to get a book or music as a gift and want to avoid duplicating what the recipient already has.

I could live without the silly "gold box" and other flashy nonsense, though.

[hidari]

have to agree with Harry T. I read just once and Rarely reread books. Too many good ones out there I have yet to read. Yet, With ebooks, I think one should make sure that it is at least convertible to .txt (which most formats are with the right software). In this way, One can enjoy the book years later on a different device. Ok. .txt does not save everything as people want with font/punctuation- use a bit of imagination- but at least, It keeps the core of the text that you would want to read.

Plus, Most people on this sight should know how to convert between formats.

Originally Posted by HarryT

I absolutely respect that other people feel differently, yes. I too have a small core of books that I read over and over (the great authors, like Charles Dickens, and David Eddings ). I probably want to re-read, though, something like 1 in 50 of the books that I read, something like that. The vast majority I read, and would have no interest in reading again.

[RSaunders]

Originally Posted by bingle

Perhaps the real problem is that there *isn't* an ebook equivalent of MP3. So far, PDF, TXT, and mobi have been proposed, but none of those are nearly as universal as MP3, and they each have their own problems. (snip)

I think the real problem is that the proprietary folks are not supporting conversion into open formats. Everybody uses the "iPod + iTunes" analog, but that's not what we have. If you buy a sony on iTunes, burn it on a CD, and rip the CD to MP3 - you have the song you bought in an interchangeable format. Kindle files can't (yet) be converted into text or mobi files. Adobe Digital Editions can be converted into text or anything else. Sony Reader DRM files can't be converted into text, etc.

For someone to pursue the "iPod + iTunes" approach we need to me able to convert to a format we can play in all our other MP3 players from other companies.

So far, Kindle isn't "iPod + iTunes" of books.