BN says Nook line is its best selling ever -- neglects to release the numbers - Page 4

SCION · 12-31-2010, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richey79

... Think of the time when a vacuum cleaner was simply referred to as a 'Hoover'.
...

Same thing when people used to say "make a Xerox of this", instead of "make a (photo)copy of this".

GA Russell · 12-31-2010, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCION

Same thing when people used to say "make a Xerox of this", instead of "make a (photo)copy of this".

I was laughed at a few years ago for calling the copier a Xerox machine!

RockdaMan · 12-31-2010, 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catlady

The brand that everyone has heard of is Kindle. The easy choice is to go along with the crowd and buy the most popular device--Kindle.

Are you suggesting that that is what everyone with one, or even the majority, has done? It's a ludicrous assertion.

RockdaMan · 12-31-2010, 11:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richey79

Of course none of this has anything to do with the quality of the devices. Mind you, the market share of the various companies also has little to do with that.

You do know that the Kindle 3 got uniformly high reviews from both the tech and mainstream press, right?

gtriever · 01-01-2011, 05:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Originally Posted by Catlady
The brand that everyone has heard of is Kindle. The easy choice is to go along with the crowd and buy the most popular device--Kindle.

RockdaMan;1305608

Are you suggesting that that is what everyone with one, or even the majority, has done? It's a ludicrous assertion.

I don't know about "going with the crowd", but a majority of people will not take the time to actually research before they purchase. Instead, they go with the brand name, and the Kindle certainly has brand recognition sewed up in the ereader market (for now).

RockdaMan · 01-01-2011, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gtriever

a majority of people will not take the time to actually research before they purchase

upon what are we basing this assertion?

gtriever · 01-01-2011, 09:09 AM

You could start with any forum and look at the number of posters who complain and whine about the product "not doing this and that, etc." when most, if not all of the info is available either on the vendor's website or in the User Guide (also available online in most cases).

SCION · 01-01-2011, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gtriever

You could start with any forum and look at the number of posters who complain and whine about the product "not doing this and that, etc." when most, if not all of the info is available either on the vendor's website or in the User Guide (also available online in most cases).

With the plethora of quality YouTube reviews available, there's no excuse for being uninformed about what you're buying.

Kali Yuga · 01-01-2011, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catlady

The brand that everyone has heard of is Kindle. The easy choice is to go along with the crowd and buy the most popular device--Kindle.

Brand recognition has its benefits. However, I see no reason to believe that this leads anyone to a suspension of disbelief when it comes to press releases.

Both Amazon and B&N are saying the exact same thing. These are both major corporations and leaders in book retail. There is absolutely no justification for holding one accountable while letting the other slide, and any such claims smack of favoritism.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catlady

The assumption is that people who've decided to go against the easy choice do so because they have done more research and consciously decided to go in another direction. So, yes, generally speaking I do think non-Kindle buyers have the edge in savviness.

That's a rather condescending assumption.

There are numerous offerings on the market, most of which are backed by major advertising, marketing and PR pushes; and the Nook trades as much on loyalty and brand identity as the Kindle.

If you want to congratulate yourself for not owning a Kindle, that's fine, but I see no reason to presume that purchasing a Kindle could possibly stand as evidence that a consumer is "not savvy."

Catlady · 01-01-2011, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RockdaMan

Are you suggesting that that is what everyone with one, or even the majority, has done? It's a ludicrous assertion.

No, I'm not suggesting that at all, because it is ludicrous.

I'm saying simply that I think there are people who do no research at all, and these people are likely to buy a Kindle because it's the only device they've heard of.

I'm saying that therefore I am making the assumption that people who bought a non-Kindle did do some research, which made them decide against a Kindle. They found a reason to go against the easy choice.

jasonkchapman · 01-01-2011, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catlady

I'm saying simply that I think there are people who do no research at all, and these people are likely to buy a Kindle because it's the only device they've heard of.

Unless they're long-standing B&N store customers for whom buying books via the Internet is always a second choice. Granted, my view is skewed by location, but this particular group is not insignificant around NYC.

The point is, trying to generalize about the buying public and attribute any kind of characteristic to them is futile without having either solid data or an obvious connection. By solid data, I mean a good survey, which itself is fraught with uncertainty. By obvious connection, I mean that I wouldn't challenge the assertion that most subscribers to Golf Digest are golfers.

Catlady · 01-01-2011, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasonkchapman

Unless they're long-standing B&N store customers for whom buying books via the Internet is always a second choice. Granted, my view is skewed by location, but this particular group is not insignificant around NYC.

The point is, trying to generalize about the buying public and attribute any kind of characteristic to them is futile without having either solid data or an obvious connection. By solid data, I mean a good survey, which itself is fraught with uncertainty. By obvious connection, I mean that I wouldn't challenge the assertion that most subscribers to Golf Digest are golfers.

I'm making an assumption based on my conversations with a number of people who are not on this forum, as well as my own buying process--anecdotal evidence. But I think it's a logical generalization to make, which doesn't mean I'm assuming anything about each individual Kindle owner and non-Kindle owner.

dallas · 01-01-2011, 08:07 PM

Up next some guy in a suit with a Borders title

Quote:

Originally Posted by Imaginary Borders PR Guy

We sold a bunch of Kobos and ebooks; We're just glad to be here today

Richey79 · 01-02-2011, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RockdaMan

You do know that the Kindle 3 got uniformly high reviews from both the tech and mainstream press, right?

Sure, I love my K3, but that's just the choice I made. I don't think there are any massive differences in the experience of reading on the different devices, it's just the user interface that's a bit different. I'm sure I'd be quite happy to read on an eink Nook or a Kobo.

The most important elements in Amazon's success in grabbing such a large share of market are price, range of territories in which they sell and their huge online book-store (and, linked to this, amount of public exposure). Form-factor, screen contrast, lending ebooks, connectivity - all relatively unimportant to the product's mass-market success, I think.

I suppose the press in general suddenly started crowing that the K3 was the product that found ereading devices ready to enter the mainstream. I find this kind of strange, since, apart from the Pearl screen, the device - in practical use - isn't significantly better than the Sony 505. I'd be interested to know if I'm wrong, and actually many MR readers think the K3 was a massive leap forward for ereader tech and user-interface.

ProfCrash · 01-02-2011, 12:23 PM

It is more then herd mentality.

The Kindle was recommended by the New York Times this year. I did not check Consumer Reports but it has been the recommended e-reader for the Consumer reports many times.

So some one who reads the NY Times or Consumer Reports might have been more likely to pick up a Kindle because it was recommended by tech folks. Someone doing an online search of the tech boards would have been more likely to pick up a Kindle because it has been the highest ranked of the e-readers for many years.

I am sure that the name recognition and the featured space on Amazon has also contributed to the sales of the Kindle.

It is a great device that serves the needs of many people. Folks are happy with it, reviewers recommend it, and it is well marketed.

But that has nothing to do with the fact that BN is now using Amazons dreaded method of reporting sales without sales numbers.

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01-01-2011, 09:09 AM	#52
gtriever Addict Posts: 286 Karma: 2125576 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kobo Forma	You could start with any forum and look at the number of posters who complain and whine about the product "not doing this and that, etc." when most, if not all of the info is available either on the vendor's website or in the User Guide (also available online in most cases).

01-02-2011, 12:23 PM	#60
ProfCrash Tea Enthusiast Posts: 8,554 Karma: 75384937 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Somewhere in the USA Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3, PW2	It is more then herd mentality. The Kindle was recommended by the New York Times this year. I did not check Consumer Reports but it has been the recommended e-reader for the Consumer reports many times. So some one who reads the NY Times or Consumer Reports might have been more likely to pick up a Kindle because it was recommended by tech folks. Someone doing an online search of the tech boards would have been more likely to pick up a Kindle because it has been the highest ranked of the e-readers for many years. I am sure that the name recognition and the featured space on Amazon has also contributed to the sales of the Kindle. It is a great device that serves the needs of many people. Folks are happy with it, reviewers recommend it, and it is well marketed. But that has nothing to do with the fact that BN is now using Amazons dreaded method of reporting sales without sales numbers.