Future of the Nook

[DiannaInVA]

The info in this article doesn't bode well for the future of the Nook.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles...n-out-the-nook

[pastanley]

Why stay with the nook ereader device when you can get ...say ...a Nexus 7 and get the kindle, sony and nook apps. It only makes sense. Who would want to invest in a B&N device dedicated only to the BN eco system.

Not really sure what the people who own kindles have to say. The same applies to them except Amazon offers the amazon prime service with "some" free videos and ebooks

[jersysman]

Originally Posted by pastanley

Why stay with the nook ereader device when you can get ...say ...a Nexus 7 and get the kindle, sony and nook apps. It only makes sense. Who would want to invest in a B&N device dedicated only to the BN eco system.

Not really sure what the people who own kindles have to say. The same applies to them except Amazon offers the amazon prime service with "some" free videos and ebooks

Could it be that some of us like reading on an e-ink device as the sales of the Kindle show? The problem with BN is that they bit off more of an apple than they had the capital to back it up.

As to being tied down to an ecosystem, that doesn't seem to be the case with Apple or Amazon. It's what is in the ecosystem that is the turning point. BN just didn't have a system that could compare to those two.

[RAH]

Yes, I also like to read on an e-reader. The tablets do NOT appeal to me for pure reading. I agree that the tablet Nooks are fighting a losing battle in the tablet wars, but the e-ink e-reader is still about the best, IMHO. I hope it continues in some guise, but if the whole Nook thing goes belly up, then I'll have to switch to an e-ink Kindle, Kobo, or something like that.

[pastanley]

Originally Posted by jersysman

Could it be that some of us like reading on an e-ink device as the sales of the Kindle show? The problem with BN is that they bit off more of an apple than they had the capital to back it up.

As to being tied down to an ecosystem, that doesn't seem to be the case with Apple or Amazon. It's what is in the ecosystem that is the turning point. BN just didn't have a system that could compare to those two.

Well then the same would apply to eink devices as well. Your statement about the ecosystems is what I was referring to. Amazon has more to offer.

[Terisa de morgan]

Not really. When people compare Amazon and B&N ecosystems, they usually forget I can read any DRMed ePub, not only B&N DRM.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by pastanley

Why stay with the nook ereader device when you can get ...say ...a Nexus 7 and get the kindle, sony and nook apps. It only makes sense. Who would want to invest in a B&N device dedicated only to the BN eco system.

Not really sure what the people who own kindles have to say. The same applies to them except Amazon offers the amazon prime service with "some" free videos and ebooks

The Amazon ecosystem
1) contains more content
2) connects to substantial non-book content
3) doesn't restrict large portions of the storage space on the device for Amazon content only
4) gets more freebies and bargains
5) comes with much better refund options.

B&N has actually said that if they deliver the wrong book--as in, you click download and what shows up is not the title you paid for--they still won't refund your money. They've also offered bizarre workarounds for their flawed file naming system whereby new books in a series overwrote old ones.

Amazon's ecosystem, walled-garden though it is, works to be all a consumer really needs. BN's ecosystem just tries to keep people trapped without bothering to sort out what they'd want to be comfortable with that.

[thecdn]

I really liked my rooted Nook Color and had all intentions of buying the Nook Tablet when it came out but didn't when I read how much B&N had locked it down.

So I did as pastanley suggested and bought a Nexus 7, fantastic device. Out of 'loyalty' to B&N and wanting to help them survive in my own little way I bought books from them on the B&N app. Except for those times when they didn't have the book I wanted and then I bought it from Amazon. It's great to have multiple options.

Lately though I've noticed several books I've been interested in have been priced higher from B&N, whereas in the past they would have been the same. I don't know when this happened, I don't buy books in spurts and it had been awhile, but it didn't make me very happy or eager to support B&N. How do they hope to compete with Amazon if they don't at least match the price of the books they both have?

[brudigia]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

The Amazon ecosystem
1) contains more content
2) connects to substantial non-book content
3) doesn't restrict large portions of the storage space on the device for Amazon content only
4) gets more freebies and bargains
5) comes with much better refund options.

B&N has actually said that if they deliver the wrong book--as in, you click download and what shows up is not the title you paid for--they still won't refund your money. They've also offered bizarre workarounds for their flawed file naming system whereby new books in a series overwrote old ones.

Amazon's ecosystem, walled-garden though it is, works to be all a consumer really needs. BN's ecosystem just tries to keep people trapped without bothering to sort out what they'd want to be comfortable with that.

I believe you are forgetting another important point, which might condemn B&N. You can buy Kobo, Apple and Kindle all over the world and access their content again all over the world. Even Sony does the same.
B&N has constrained itself to the US. And apparently the US market is not enough any more.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by Terisa de morgan

Not really. When people compare Amazon and B&N ecosystems, they usually forget I can read any DRMed ePub, not only B&N DRM.

But is that a good thing for B&N/Nook? Yes, the Nooks can read "standard" Adept DRM'd ePub's as well as those with B&N's version of the DRM. This means they're competing with Kobo and Books on Board and others for content sales to some extent and a lot of the time Kobo & BoB will be cheaper (somethings by a lot) with promo's and coupons. They make nothing or next to nothing on devices and are relying on that content sales.

Originally Posted by brudigia

B&N has constrained itself to the US. And apparently the US market is not enough any more.

And the UK, they also sell Nook devices and content in the UK although I don't know how successful that's been.

[bfollowell]

This makes me wonder about features like Read-In-Store. If they announced this summer that they were no longer going to make and sell Nooks, would they continue to offer that to existing customers and, if so, for how long.

My wife and I use that feature quite a bit. We don't sit and read whole books or anything but it's a great way to check out books that we may be considering but aren't quite sure about.

If they get out of the ereader market, would they continue on as an ebook seller or get out of ebooks altogether?

Of course, if they continue to sell ebooks, they could probably continue to offer Read-In-Store to users of other ereaders and tablets through their Nook app.

I guess it's all speculation at this point.

- Byron

[fbrII]

Well I have now read roughly sixty full books at Barnes and Noble and it has become an almost daily ritual for my wife and I to go to B&N when they open in the morning have coffee and whatever at the cafe and read on our nooks. Now my local B&N is just 1 1/2 miles from my house and I retired recently so the convenience factor is very high for us.

Which is all meant to say that the read-in-store feature is very important to us and that was my immediate concern when I heard the latest news regarding the nook.

So - my fingers are crossed.

[tomsem]

If B&N could just maintain market share in the USA, they would be okay. EBook sales are still growing, especially for children's books. It is profitable! But they have not succeeded in doing that of late.

Where international reach could help is with shipping more devices and achieving economies of scale when manufacturing them. Without brand recognition, that is challenging.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

But is that a good thing for B&N/Nook? Yes, the Nooks can read "standard" Adept DRM'd ePub's as well as those with B&N's version of the DRM. This means they're competing with Kobo and Books on Board and others for content sales to some extent and a lot of the time Kobo & BoB will be cheaper (somethings by a lot) with promo's and coupons. They make nothing or next to nothing on devices and are relying on that content sales.

It certainly doesn't help their bottom line when somebody buys a Nook reader and gives their content money to Kobo or Sony. That is the logic behind their tablet lockdown.

The problem is they are losing their shirts relying on hardware alone to drive their content sales. Their quarterly report that came out today has them with $316 million in revenue and $506 million in costs resulting in $190 million worth of losses. Of which $21Million was returned hardware from their partner channels.

For all that people harp on Amazon low prices they tend to forget that when it comes to hardware it is Nook that is most aggressive in pricing their hardware. The closest (feature) equivalent to those $79 Nook STRs are the over $100 Kobo Touch and Sony T2, not the $69 ad-supported touchless Kindle 4.

It's almost a kneejerk reaction with them: slow sales? Drop the price.
Like now: the HD++ seems to be slow moving despite its generally well-regarded hardware and lower price. Do they consider loosing their deathgrip on app installs? Nope. They throw in a $50 credit, lowering the effective cost to $219. If cheap doesn't work, try cheaper. And cheaper.

How reasonable is that?

Edit: Sorry, Nook STR is down to $64.
http://www.amazon.com/Barnes-Noble-S.../dp/140053271X
Jeeze...

[kevinp]

Originally Posted by pastanley

Why stay with the nook ereader device when you can get ...say ...a Nexus 7 and get the kindle, sony and nook apps. It only makes sense. Who would want to invest in a B&N device dedicated only to the BN eco system.

Not really sure what the people who own kindles have to say. The same applies to them except Amazon offers the amazon prime service with "some" free videos and ebooks

If you can read a magazine on your Nexus without having to zoom every page, then you have better eyes than me. I bought my Nook HD+ because I read a lot of magazines and the hi-res nine inch screen is better suited for that than your little seven inch screen. And, my nine inch screen was cheaper than your seven inch screen (I bought it on Black Friday).