Quote:
Originally Posted by thetommyboy2k
With all due respect, I do understand how business works. I fully realize B&N couldn't simply produce another Nook and get out of the business. I also realize it's already been shown that it's an anchor on their profits. What I'm saying is that if B&N has made up their minds they eventually (not overnight, but eventually) want out of the business, choosing to either focus on content and/or growing their bread and butter business (physical bookstores), they could do little things here and there to make the Nook less open, therefore less appealing, such as what they've already done (ex: no downloading of purchased books). They wouldn't do a lot at one time as to not piss everyone off all at once so they could try to sell a lot of Nook's as well as content for them, but gradually over time they could.
Having said all of that, I do believe this will end up being the final Nook. B&N may sell this one for a year or maybe two, but I doubt seriously there will be another one unless the Nook business becomes profitable. The writing is sadly on the wall for the Nook and I say that as someone who likes the Nook and the Glowlight Plus (at least hardware-wise).
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Spending money to drive away customers, to get out of the ereader business while remaining in the ebook business, and lets be honest it doesn't seem like BN wants to get out of selling content, doesn't make sense. It had been two years since the last eink Nook from BN was released.
Disabling a feature on their website costs relatively little to nothing compared to producing a new device.
I'm not saying the lack of ADE support at launch was a good idea. Merely that it likely was not part of some grand overall scheme to get out of making devices. They could have done that, and not pissed off anyone so long as they continued to sell content for their own devices and other devices. And that would have also cost them less than producing a new device.
It's possible they could have done an software upgrade to the 2013 Glowlight disabling ADE support if they wanted. Put it under the guise of some other feature being added.
Basically producing a new device with the end goal being to no longer produce devices because of lack of features provided in that device is the most expensive route they could have taken.
But we're veering a bit off topic.