Quote:
Originally Posted by Argel
I'm intrigued that so many people seem enthusiastic at the idea of buying ebooks from a bookstore. Is there evidence of any demand for this from existing users?
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Its been mostly empherical in my case.
I've run into a lot of people who like the look and utility of a reader, but are a little hesitant about having to load stuff off a computer.
I personally fell that thates one of main reasons for the popularity of the kindle. You can easily buy stuff without connecting it to a computer. And the only reason Amazon was able to do it is that the US has a large homogeneous market, where they could cut a deal with a single provider for wireless. Not so internationally.
Wifi is not going to help this market. The advantage of the Store is that its a familiar place. They go there, and can have someone do the complicated stuff the first few times. Maybe in the future they could do it them selves.
I speak from my own experience with my mom. I load up everything for her when I see her, her reader, ipod, computer updates, etc. If she had to do it herself, she would probably avoid it, or not use it. She does however read a lot, and for her the convenience the reader has bough her is great.
In her and similar cases, if the store could load book on it for her, she would probably buy a lot of book in e-book format, which she currently gets in paper.
It also gives the stores a stake in this new distribution channel, for while its going to grow fast, its no where near going to replace the bookstore for a long time. It will also put pressure on Publishers, as stores will want to be able to offer multiple formats of e-books alongside the paperbacks, perhaps offering packages of both .