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PF62 · 04-29-2011, 02:28 AM

"Sony's competitive future with Kindle"

In the UK I believe that Sony has lost the war with Kindle and may as well pack up and go home now.

I commute each day on the train, and in the last 6 to 8 months I have seen an explosion in the numbers of people using ebook readers. And they are all using Kindles.

One big advantage that Sony had over Kindle in the UK, was that you could see and touch a Sony in store, but up to November last year you could only buy a Kindle 'sight unseen' from Amazon. As soon as Amazon put the Kindle in the retailers stores their sales exploded, with some stores selling out before Christmas.

Pricing, what on earth are Sony thinking about. The PRS-600/650 is about £180, the PRS-350 is £150 and the Kindle is £111 (or £151). Now if you are standing in a store and there are two e-readers with similar screen sizes, and you (and the assistant) know very little about ereaders, which are you going to buy, the one at £111 or the one at £180?

And once the momentum has been lost, then you get people assuming that there is only one manufacturer of that type of device. Say to someone that you have bought an ereader, and people will say "oh you bough a Kindle, what is it like?". So people are now going to the store asking for a Kindle, oblivious that there are any other manufacturers. And even if they do see the Sony ereaders when they get to the store, they are not going to pay 75% extra on an 'unknown'.

So why did I buy a PRS-300 recently, rather than a Kindle like my partner. It was cheap (HMV were selling brand new ones off for £60) and I actually did want the smaller form factor. But otherwise I would have also been a Kindle buyer.

04-29-2011, 02:28 AM	#59
PF62 Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: Sony PRS-300	"Sony's competitive future with Kindle" In the UK I believe that Sony has lost the war with Kindle and may as well pack up and go home now. I commute each day on the train, and in the last 6 to 8 months I have seen an explosion in the numbers of people using ebook readers. And they are all using Kindles. One big advantage that Sony had over Kindle in the UK, was that you could see and touch a Sony in store, but up to November last year you could only buy a Kindle 'sight unseen' from Amazon. As soon as Amazon put the Kindle in the retailers stores their sales exploded, with some stores selling out before Christmas. Pricing, what on earth are Sony thinking about. The PRS-600/650 is about £180, the PRS-350 is £150 and the Kindle is £111 (or £151). Now if you are standing in a store and there are two e-readers with similar screen sizes, and you (and the assistant) know very little about ereaders, which are you going to buy, the one at £111 or the one at £180? And once the momentum has been lost, then you get people assuming that there is only one manufacturer of that type of device. Say to someone that you have bought an ereader, and people will say "oh you bough a Kindle, what is it like?". So people are now going to the store asking for a Kindle, oblivious that there are any other manufacturers. And even if they do see the Sony ereaders when they get to the store, they are not going to pay 75% extra on an 'unknown'. So why did I buy a PRS-300 recently, rather than a Kindle like my partner. It was cheap (HMV were selling brand new ones off for £60) and I actually did want the smaller form factor. But otherwise I would have also been a Kindle buyer.