Quote:
Originally Posted by mersfire
Am I the only one that sees this as being exactly the SAME pricing for their products? If I wanted an 8GB tablet, I'lll pay $199 for the Fire and if I need 16GB, I'll pay $50 more for the Tablet.
But all I read about is how the Kindle is now $79 (no touch) vs $99 for the Nook and how $199 is $50 less than $249 even though B&N gives us 8GB more internal storage PLUS and expansion slot.
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Spoken like a hardware vendor.
You're assuming that in consumers' minds the only thing that matters is the hardware specs. As if the products were generic and perfectly replaceable.
Problem is, ebook readers are a composite product.
When people buy an ebook reader, they're buying into an ecosystem, not just a hunk of glass and plastic. It is a long-term commitment.
Hardware is only part of the story.
Content is another part.
Services is yet another.
And the *company* that stands behind the product is also part of the equation.
People don't buy Kindles just because they want an ebook reader; they are buying access to *AMAZON'S* ebook ecosystem. Getting a hunk of glass and plastic is just the entry ticket.
Don't assume better marketting is going to make more people buy Nooks instead of Kindles. Especially after today.
Until we know what B&N is going to do with Nook, Inc--sell it like Kobo, spin it off and IPO-it, or keep it for lack of a good enough deal--the entire Nook ecosystem is going to be under a cloud; Nook owners who bought their readers because they trusted the B&N brand, who expected B&N to stand behind the "proprietary* ebook ecosystem, can no longer assume that relationship will endure. And it is pretty much undeniable that at least *some* Nook sales are due primarily to the B&N brand and the ties to the storefronts: B&N has made that the centerpiece of their strategy for two years. Look around: those folks are not happy today.
Two other points:
1- Nook STRs are not as ad-free as B&N wants people to think. At least a third of the STR home screen is devoted to ads--for B&N products. Main difference from Kindles is that Amazon pays you for looking at *their* ads.
2- Nook sales for the holiday season were actually very good. 70% improvement for a company with at least 25% market share (as opposed to one in the single digits) is very good performance. Yet, B&N management somehhow expected *more*. "Shortfall" they called it: B&N management expected, prepared, and *needed* better than 70% year to year improvement for Nook. That sounds like inventory management issues.
And that is a classic pitfall in the tech industry.
I hope I'm wrong but bad days are coming to the Nook ecosystem and the quality of B&N's marketting is soon going to be the least of their problems.