Nook on annual brand deathwatch list

[charmian]

Cfrizz: I was talking about the market for the physical item, the e-ink reader, in the US, not the market for ebooks. The e-ink reader is indeed becoming less relevant, but I don't think it's entirely irrelevant to the point where people will stop buying/making them. I agree that the ebook market will continue on regardless of the fate of Nook.

[FizzyWater]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

The death of the brand doesn't necessarily mean the end of the bookstore.

Have any of the other (US available) brands the read ePubs installed the version of ADE that will read the B&N version of ePubs?

I loved my Sony, and I fully agree with all who say it's safest to strip the DRM while you can, but there are lots of folks who don't know how, don't know they need to, or are to afraid - because of the legal issues - to try. I was always frustrated that Sony wouldn't include the upgraded ADE.

[crossi]

If the publishers wised up and stopped with the DRM Barnes & Noble could also sell mobi format books as well as epub. If they are no longer making their own ereader why not? Then they could have access to the kindle owners without the expence of manufacturing their own reader.

[forsooth]

I read list of companies doomed.

I am sorry Olympus on the list.

B&N not much concern personally.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Rbneader

B&N isn't even in the top 10 players there. They and Amazon are basically the only people selling ereaders in the US currently, and they seem to be the only people actually interested in it.

And, not-so-surprisingly, that is how B&N wanted it.
They were the ones that started the four hour price war and turned the ereader into a near-cost pricing business and effectively forclosed the market to the hardware-only vendors.

There are still plenty of ereaders available to those that might want them; they're just not sold at cost.

The Nook business has always been about ebooks not about the readers.
ebooks are mainstream but ereaders may not be. The meme du jour seems to be that ereaders are fading into nichedom before tablets+reading apps. I'm not totally convinced but if it plays out that way, well, that is the way the customers voted their wallets.
(shrug)
Maybe pocketbook, Onyx, or Bookeen get to make a US impact if Nook does in fact get out o ereaders.
Or maybe new tech changes the subject.
We'll see.
We'll adjust.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by forsooth

I read list of companies doomed.

I am sorry Olympus on the list.

Olympus deserves death.
Seriously rotten inside and run like a criminal organization.
Of all the companies on this warning list they are the most likely to fall.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/banya...lympus-scandal

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympus_scandal

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympus_scandal

[rhadin]

B&N just sent me a coupon to buy the Nook HD+ for $149. I'm thinking about it. I currently use the Nook Tablet and am quite happy with it. But then, I'm really only interested in using it as an ebook and emagazine reader. Occasionally I'll use the Netflix app, but it is so rare, that the ability to watch video on the tablet is meaningless. I don't use any other apps.

[cfrizz]

Originally Posted by charmian

Cfrizz: I was talking about the market for the physical item, the e-ink reader, in the US, not the market for ebooks. The e-ink reader is indeed becoming less relevant, but I don't think it's entirely irrelevant to the point where people will stop buying/making them. I agree that the ebook market will continue on regardless of the fate of Nook.

Well Sony is still in the game, and is always my first choice for an e-ink reader. However, my PRS-T1 is seeing very little use since I got my Samsung GMP5 and Nexus. It will probably be my last e-ink device.

There is also Kobo and I think a few others. I think if Nook disappears, the other e-ink will probably step up to the plate to try and fill the void but will have to drop their prices to do so to compete not only with each other but also with the continuing to grow tablet market.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

Have any of the other (US available) brands the read ePubs installed the version of ADE that will read the B&N version of ePubs?

I can't vouch for it but I've heard that the PC ADE will convert/authorize B&N-drm'ed ebooks upon download to a generic Adept reading device.

Try getting a free Nook book (I hear they give some away on fridays) and then try to ADE-it to your Sony.

It might work.

[fjtorres]

This:
http://www.thepassivevoice.com/05/20...comment-108693

Kat Sheridan
May 25, 2013 at 11:11 pm

I got an email from Barnes & Noble this morning advertising ‘buy one e-book, get one free”. Here were the instructions:

How to Get Your FREE NOOK Book:
1.From this list below, choose which NOOK Book you want to purchase and which NOOK Book you want to receive for free (the free NOOK Book will be the lower-priced). Then visit any Barnes & Noble retail store.

Print a PDF of the qualifying NOOK Books here.

2.At checkout, the cashier will ask for your email address. Your store receipt will feature access codes for the two (2) NOOK Books, and you will receive access codes via email as well.

3.Visit BN.COM/redeem and use your access codes to receive your purchased and free NOOK Books.

If I were to get a similar offer from Amazon, the instructions would read:

1. Click here
2. Choose your books
3. Enjoy reading them!

[ProfCrash]

How not to give away free books by Barnes and Noble

[charmian]

Re: That offer.

Damn, they've given up, haven't they?

[Purple Lady]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

The Nook business has always been about ebooks not about the readers.

If that's the case, then why sell ebooks with drm that can only be used by their own ereaders? I know enough to strip drm, but most people don't.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Purple Lady

If that's the case, then why sell ebooks with drm that can only be used by their own ereaders? I know enough to strip drm, but most people don't.

Indeed. Why.
Tells you about how B&N has run Nook, no?
My best guess (and it's just a guess) is they are cribbing.
And they're cribbing from Apple more than Amazon. Problem is B&N is no Apple.

For Amazon a proprietary DRM makes sense--no adobe tax=competitive advantage--but Nook *is* paying Adobe to support their drm anyway!
If they *only* supported the ereader DRM, it would make some sense. If the *store* supported both--like Kobo does--it would make sense. Supporting both on hardware but only one at the store? I dunno...

As is, they aggressively drove all profits out of the hardware so their only revenue is the books.

[Xanthe]

Sales at the company’s Nook segment, which includes both the e-reader and online books, declined by 26% between the third quarter of 2012 and the third quarter of 2013.

The third quarter of 2013 hasn't even begun yet...