MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Amazon Kindle might be the worst thing that could happen to e-books?

jharker · 11-19-2007, 08:54 PM

I don't see what all the DRM hooraw is about. Sure, the Kindle supports a DRMed format, but it also natively supports popular non-DRM formats. Look at the parallel:

PHP Code:


			
           Kindle     iPod

        +-------------------+

DRM     |   azw    |  m4p   |

        +----------+--------+

non-DRM |   mobi   |  mp3   |

        +----------+--------+

There's nothing stopping you from keeping your whole library in mobi format on your computer and updating to the Kindle by USB, in the same way that many people never buy from iTunes, keeping their music library in mp3 files.

If you don't trust Amazon, you don't have to go through them. Use the Kindle like you'd use an iPod. You still get these bonuses:

Free Wikipedia wherever you are
Easy file searching
Built-in dictionary lookup
Note taking
Bookmarking

No other e-reader offers anything close to all those features built-in.

But the ease of wirelessly buying and downloading books and newspapers directly from Amazon is what will sell this to the average user and make it take off in a larger sense. We enthusiasts may be big in heart, but we're small in numbers. The Kindle is designed for the average user, not us.

And just like iTunes, with increasing popularity Amazon will eventually sell books without DRM restriction, probably for a small price markup.

The rising tide of the Kindle+Amazon combo will eventually improve and open up the e-book business, in exactly the same way that the DRMed iPod+iTunes combo changed music publishing.

11-19-2007, 08:54 PM	#85
jharker Developer Posts: 345 Karma: 3473 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA Device: iRex iLiad v1, Blackberry Tour, Kindle DX, iPad.	DRM does not limit the Kindle; it's just like the iPod. I don't see what all the DRM hooraw is about. Sure, the Kindle supports a DRMed format, but it also natively supports popular non-DRM formats. Look at the parallel: PHP Code: `Kindle iPod +-------------------+ DRM \| azw \| m4p \| +----------+--------+ non-DRM \| mobi \| mp3 \| +----------+--------+` There's nothing stopping you from keeping your whole library in mobi format on your computer and updating to the Kindle by USB, in the same way that many people never buy from iTunes, keeping their music library in mp3 files. If you don't trust Amazon, you don't have to go through them. Use the Kindle like you'd use an iPod. You still get these bonuses: Free Wikipedia wherever you are Easy file searching Built-in dictionary lookup Note taking Bookmarking No other e-reader offers anything close to all those features built-in. But the ease of wirelessly buying and downloading books and newspapers directly from Amazon is what will sell this to the average user and make it take off in a larger sense. We enthusiasts may be big in heart, but we're small in numbers. The Kindle is designed for the average user, not us. And just like iTunes, with increasing popularity Amazon will eventually sell books without DRM restriction, probably for a small price markup. The rising tide of the Kindle+Amazon combo will eventually improve and open up the e-book business, in exactly the same way that the DRMed iPod+iTunes combo changed music publishing.