Scott Turow is at it again

[howyoudoin]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Besides stopping the DRM, sell them ONLY in ePub so no matter what reader you have, the eBooks will work.

Does not compute.

[jgaiser]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Besides stopping the DRM, sell them ONLY in ePub so no matter what reader you have, the eBooks will work.

Or.. Stop using DRM and sell them ONLY in MOBI, so no matter what reader you have the eBooks will work. Makes as much sense.

(and yes we know Jon, your favorite ereader doesn't do MOBI, but what the heck. Mine doesn't do epub. Works out the same. Both dead-end ideas)

[Penforhire]

Kevin's rebuttal was pretty good but I'm picking a small bone with him when he says, "Firstcomer to new tech is a big advantage, and Amazon was the company to first create an outstanding combination of retail platform and decent device."

Sony was far earlier to market with e-readers than Amazon. Their hardware started better than Amazon's in many ways. Their e-store was not wonderful but it wasn't horrible either. Their PC software was a weak spot but it doesn't explain why Sony's e-book store got their lunch eaten by Amazon and why anyone seeing me using a Sony e-reader asked if it was a Kindle.

[cjr72]

Originally Posted by Penforhire

Kevin's rebuttal was pretty good but I'm picking a small bone with him when he says, "Firstcomer to new tech is a big advantage, and Amazon was the company to first create an outstanding combination of retail platform and decent device."

Sony was far earlier to market with e-readers than Amazon. Their hardware started better than Amazon's in many ways. Their e-store was not wonderful but it wasn't horrible either. Their PC software was a weak spot but it doesn't explain why Sony's e-book store got their lunch eaten by Amazon and why anyone seeing me using a Sony e-reader asked if it was a Kindle.

I think a major advantage for Amazon was the 'free' wireless data connection with the very first Kindle if memory serves. I believe the Sony ereaders at the time had to be tethered to get books loaded from their e-store.

[BeccaPrice]

Originally Posted by Penforhire

it doesn't explain why Sony's e-book store got their lunch eaten by Amazon and why anyone seeing me using a Sony e-reader asked if it was a Kindle.

"Kindle" is almost a generic term for ereader in many circles - rather like "kleenix" and "q-tips" in that respect.

[abookreader]

Sony was indeed the first major player to the eReader market but their eBook store was (and is) a headache. In addition, Sony wasn't a bookseller. People didn't and mostly still don't think to themselves "I need a book, better check with Sony." Sony really didn't make great efforts either to establish themselves in the book selling market.

Amazon was the first to combine a "decent" (because that first Kindle wasn't all that and a bag of chips) eReader with a retail platform that had an already established customer base of millions of book buyers. That was the biggest thing Amazon brought to the eBook world, customers.

[xg4bx]

Originally Posted by BeccaPrice

"Kindle" is almost a generic term for ereader in many circles - rather like "kleenix" and "q-tips" in that respect.

pretty much. its a lot easier to simply say kindle than sound off a string of model numbers.


imo that's also a plus for amazon: a snappy, marketable name for their ereader. same with b&n and the nook.

[Penforhire]

I agree that Kindle is becoming such a term but the reason for their comments back then is they had NO idea Sony made e-readers. Amazon marketed it aggressively including getting into the Oprah show, which had to give Amazon a real boost.

[taustin]

[QUOTE=abookreader;2011640]Sony was indeed the first major player to the eReader market but their eBook store was (and is) a headache. In addition, Sony wasn't a bookseller. People didn't and mostly still don't think to themselves "I need a book, better check with Sony." Sony really didn't make great efforts either to establish themselves in the book selling market.QUOTE]

Sony sells books to support the market for their readers, because they are a hardware company. Amazon sells readers to support the market for their books, because they are a bookseller.

I think we can now tell which is the better business plan.

[taustin]

Originally Posted by Penforhire

I agree that Kindle is becoming such a term but the reason for their comments back then is they had NO idea Sony made e-readers. Amazon marketed it aggressively including getting into the Oprah show, which had to give Amazon a real boost.

They also had a huge existing market for direct sales. When people buy Sony gear, they don't, generally, buy from Sony, they buy from retailers. Not true of ebooks, I guess, but perception is everything.

People buy Sony stuff, but people buy from Amazon.

[carpetmojo]

Dorothy Dixers ??

Have I had a sheltered life or what ?
What's all that then......

[jgaiser]

Originally Posted by carpetmojo

Dorothy Dixers ??

Have I had a sheltered life or what ?
What's all that then......

Wikipedia is your friend

Her name is the origin of the term "Dorothy Dixer", a widely-used phrase in Australia meaning a question from a member of Parliament to a minister, that enables the minister to make an announcement in the form of a reply

From:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Dix

[sabredog]

We have "interesting" names down under for sycophants like that. None of 'em flattering but all of them appropriate.

[jgaiser]

Originally Posted by sabredog

We have "interesting" names down under for sycophants like that. None of 'em flattering but all of them appropriate.

You guys need to edit the Wikipedia article. They've got it it marked as "citation needed".

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by Penforhire

I agree that Kindle is becoming such a term but the reason for their comments back then is they had NO idea Sony made e-readers. Amazon marketed it aggressively including getting into the Oprah show, which had to give Amazon a real boost.

Ha, and this actually made me anti-Kindle. I was a huge Amazon fangirl back in the day, being a reviewer on their site, and I was just about ready to adopt an eReader when two things happened:

1. They went on Oprah and utterly failed to announce that a new unit was coming out in a very short time frame.

2. They came out with a new unit in a very short time frame after selling a kerpillion via the Oprah show.

It may have been a coincidence, but Amazon personnel seemed very testy in the forums and email policies at the time as people were inquiring about an upgrade program. I decided there and then that I wanted nothing to do with them. I ended up buying a nook a few months later and mentally locked myself into the B&N ecosystem. Been there ever since.