Quote:
Originally Posted by ProfCrash
But the argument that you are locked into Amazon's store is old, out dated, and wrong.
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But you
are locked to the Amazon store if the titles you like come with DRM and you don't wish to deal with DRM stripping.
In practice, is there a disadvantage to buying a Kindle and only being able to buy from Amazon for DRM'ed books? Not really. As you mentioned, Amazon has the largest selection of books (I haven't actually found
any ebook that can be bought for non-Kindle readers that isn't available on Amazon) and agency pricing has certainly gone a long way to eliminating the advantages for other ebook sellers (e.g. FictionWise Micropay, coupon discounts, etc). Amazon also has very competitive prices for non-agency priced ebooks.
If you get a Kindle, you are locked into Amazon for DRM'ed ebooks (if you don't wanna go into DRM stripping). Does it actually matter? No, not really.
Besides, the same is true for other readers (again, assuming you don't wish to strip DRM). Kobo and Sony users can't buy from Amazon, B&N or iBooks and Nook users can't buy from Amazon or iBooks.
Really, the best solution is to get rid of DRM (keeping them only for libraries, etc). The music industry has already gotten rid of DRM for purchased music and only subscription services still have them. I wonder when the book industry will follow?