Gizmodo & GigaOm on Kindle as a Platform

kjk · 06-30-2010, 11:04 AM

Quote:

"(Jeff Bezos) doesn't to sell you a Kindle. He wants to sell you Kindle."

Quote:

So there's two choices, really, if you're looking at ebooks. An agnostic piece of e-reader hardware that'll probably read a lot of the files and formats that are out there. It'll work, reasonably well, though it might not be all that reasonably easy to use. You'll probably do all of your reading on that one particular slab, if only because it's a pain to move the files around and keep them in sync. Or you can pick a platform, making a long-term investment in a service that you plan to stick with. It'll work, on at least a handful of devices, and it'll be really easy to get your books on all of them and pick up right where you left off, no matter what screen you're reading on.

I'm picking the platform that'll outlast the others, hoping I'll be able to read everything I've paid money for in a few years, on any screen. Right now, that seems like Amazon, even with their proprietary format and DRM. At least, I tend to side with the guy who says, "We think of it as a mission."

GigaOm: Why Amazon will Eventually Win the EBook Platform Wars

Quote:

This is a big advantage for Amazon, for as more people start living multidevice lifestyles, such cross-platform availability of content will increasingly become a big deal. Unlike Amazon’s Kindle store, iBooks is going to be limited to the iPad/iPhone platform — which is not good enough for me. I like the flexibility of the Kindle app, even if it offers books to me in somewhat of a less attractive format. In other words, Amazon should be thinking about Kindle as a platform that leverages other people’s hardware.

I think it is interesting that in both articles (aimed at the more general public than Mobileread readers) there is no real mention of removing DRM, Topaz vs. AZW, ePub vs. PDF, e-Ink vs. LCD etc.

poohbear_nc · 06-30-2010, 02:09 PM

My impression is that the real focus was on longevity of the platform - and its flexibility in terms of compatible hardware. Having Kindle Reading Apps available for PC, Mac, iPad, phones, Android, etc. - insures the consumers' ability to keep reading Kindle books - even if Amazon no longer made Kindles, or even went out of business. As long as the consumer has access to the software, the books are still viable.

Such is not the case with iBooks.

BenLee · 06-30-2010, 04:12 PM

It's funny how a lot of these articles really mirror what we discuss here on MR everyday.

Amazon's aggressive move toward expanding on multiple devices will indeed turn their "Kindle" from a device to a platform. People will therefore give it a certain "trust" that will not be granted to just any old bookstore app tied to a few devices. It's not hard to see why someone would want to simplify their life and go with the "platform" that they know will be around on any device they may decide to upgrade to in the future. Sure, the DRM thing is still a pain, but maybe the image of Kindle as a "standard" of sorts will push that issue far enough out of people's minds that it's hardly an issue anymore.

pietvo · 07-03-2010, 12:49 PM

So why does Jeff Bezos forbid his software on ereaders that support Adobe (or any other) DRM, if he wants his Kindle ebooks to be read om as many devices as possible?

kjk · 07-03-2010, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pietvo

So why does Jeff Bezos forbid his software on ereaders that support Adobe (or any other) DRM, if he wants his Kindle ebooks to be read om as many devices as possible?

Do you think B&N wants a Kindle app on the Nook? Sony, a Kindle app on their readers? Kobo? I'm just not sure its just Bezos forbidding it in those cases. He certainly has no problems with it running on Android or iOS. (curious if someone gets the Kindle for Android app running on a rooted Nook though!)

pietvo · 07-04-2010, 06:16 PM

It is said that Amazon does not allow their DRM firmware on an ereader that also has other DRM on it. For example the older BeBooks originally supported DRM'ed Mobipocket. The newer firmware supports Adobe DRM, but not DRM'ed Mobipocket because it is not allowed by Amazon. I think BeBook would preder to have both in the same firmware to keep their customers happy. Of course the Kindle format is slightly different from Mobipocket. On iOS and Android they allow both but those are different apps rather than an integrated thing. So forbidding would essentially mean no Kindle app, and that would miss quite a big market.

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06-30-2010, 02:09 PM	#2
poohbear_nc Now what? Posts: 58,843 Karma: 135181808 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Durham, NC Device: Every Kindle Ever Made & To Be Made!	My impression is that the real focus was on longevity of the platform - and its flexibility in terms of compatible hardware. Having Kindle Reading Apps available for PC, Mac, iPad, phones, Android, etc. - insures the consumers' ability to keep reading Kindle books - even if Amazon no longer made Kindles, or even went out of business. As long as the consumer has access to the software, the books are still viable. Such is not the case with iBooks.

06-30-2010, 04:12 PM	#3
BenLee eReader Junkie Posts: 304 Karma: 1220 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: New York City, NY Device: Kindle + Sony	It's funny how a lot of these articles really mirror what we discuss here on MR everyday. Amazon's aggressive move toward expanding on multiple devices will indeed turn their "Kindle" from a device to a platform. People will therefore give it a certain "trust" that will not be granted to just any old bookstore app tied to a few devices. It's not hard to see why someone would want to simplify their life and go with the "platform" that they know will be around on any device they may decide to upgrade to in the future. Sure, the DRM thing is still a pain, but maybe the image of Kindle as a "standard" of sorts will push that issue far enough out of people's minds that it's hardly an issue anymore.

07-03-2010, 12:49 PM	#4
pietvo Reader Posts: 519 Karma: 24612 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Utrecht, NL Device: Kobo Aura 2, iPhone, iPad	So why does Jeff Bezos forbid his software on ereaders that support Adobe (or any other) DRM, if he wants his Kindle ebooks to be read om as many devices as possible?

07-04-2010, 06:16 PM	#6
pietvo Reader Posts: 519 Karma: 24612 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Utrecht, NL Device: Kobo Aura 2, iPhone, iPad	It is said that Amazon does not allow their DRM firmware on an ereader that also has other DRM on it. For example the older BeBooks originally supported DRM'ed Mobipocket. The newer firmware supports Adobe DRM, but not DRM'ed Mobipocket because it is not allowed by Amazon. I think BeBook would preder to have both in the same firmware to keep their customers happy. Of course the Kindle format is slightly different from Mobipocket. On iOS and Android they allow both but those are different apps rather than an integrated thing. So forbidding would essentially mean no Kindle app, and that would miss quite a big market.

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