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Some of the things that are "bad" are also "good." High prices by traditional publishers opened up an entire world of choice and opportunity for indie writers and readers. Since I am an author, that probably colors my judgment, although I am also an avid Kindle reader.
Amazon has done almost everything right, from my view (admittedly biased, because I have a publishing deal with them and they've sold a lot of my books). They virtually created the ebook market, they fought to push prices down to a fair level, and they spawned a lot of competition. Now they are opening up their Prime library. We don't know the long term but they are the ones pushing evolution while many of the other players are digging in their heels and trying to shove the horse back in the barn.
BN has been plagued by its continued devotion to the dying brick and mortar stores. Every special is designed to get people into the stores instead of buying more ebooks. Fail. Although I give them good marks on creating a direct upload for authors, they have not been very proactive in cashing in on those new opportunities, instead trundling out the latest James Patterson. I think this has hurt them because they didn't get the grassroots push that Kindle did. Never underestimate the power of half a million authors shooting out their Amazon links day after day.
Which is why Kobo should jump ahead, because it ditched the brick and mortar. Now run by an e-commerce company, it has no considerations about "hurting paper" or "protecting bookstores." It can spread out and take risks. I expect Kobo to be #2 in a year, two years at the most.
Sony. Not sure even Pottermore will save it for another year.
iBookstore. It doesn't exist. Even if you know what you are looking for, good luck finding it. Browsing is impossible. I don't see Apple catching up until everyone Steve Jobs ever hired is gone. If they even care.
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