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Originally Posted by pilotbob
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I really think there is a little too much parsing going on; lighten up.
The message here is: "Amazon Kindle has
legitimized the concept" and that is absolutely true. And, I believe, the writer's point. A e-reader is only as good as the available content and Amazon's entry, as a proven business model for delivering content, legitimized the concept. Sony is not now, and never will be, known for being a major content supplier. The Sony E-reader Store is a necessary corporate blip to sell devices; they have no interest in content.
If Amazon is wildly successful selling Kindles, it will promote its brand and business as a content provider (with a nice halo into other mail-order items like selling lawn chairs).
If Sony is wildly successful selling Daily Editions, what next? It's a CE manufacturer ... the only thing it knows about, or cares about, is selling devices. Buying content producers (like Columbia Pictures) is a side-line and a corporate distraction. It doesn't sell its own video games for the PS3; it's hardly going to start negotiating contracts with Stephen King; and it doesn't really want to warehouse (even electronically) a pile of books. At some point, if the Sony e-Reader device becomes part of the long-term CE strategy, the Sony e-book store will be spun off.
But five years from now, if single-purpose e-readers are still popular, Amazon will still be here driving more Kindle sales with more e-books with more Kindle sales with more e-books (etc). That IS their core business -- selling blades for the shaver.