I've never owned a Kindle. What about you? - Page 6

FacebookVirus · 11-07-2013, 07:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Katsunami

They can't remove content from the reader. First, the one time they did it caused an uproar. Second, there is no way for them to know if you may have side-loaded content you created yourself or obtained somewhere else legally, and then converted (if necessary).

If they'd try to FORCE you to use Amazon-only content and FORCE you to rely on the cloud, they'd create a Kindle without a USB-port, with just enough storage ...

Thanks. That's good to know. A Kindle like you describe would be sure to be ignored by many.

bookaho!ic · 11-07-2013, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

I'd be extremely surprised if that were the case. I've never seen a Kobo device here.

Kobo are rather big here Harry, - sell at WH Smiths, Online, to name but a few places... much prever kobo

HarryT · 11-07-2013, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bookaho!ic

Kobo are rather big here Harry, - sell at WH Smiths, Online, to name but a few places... much prever kobo

I wonder how many they actually sell, though? Amazon take out full-page adverts on the back cover of the "Radio Times" and in newspapers. Have you ever seen a Kobo advert? I haven't.

ProfCrash · 11-07-2013, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Katsunami

They can't remove content from the reader. First, the one time they did it caused an uproar. Second, there is no way for them to know if you may have side-loaded content you created yourself or obtained somewhere else legally, and then converted (if necessary).

If they'd try to FORCE you to use Amazon-only content and FORCE you to rely on the cloud, they'd create a Kindle without a USB-port, with just enough storage to hold maybe 10 books or so, and without a "send to Kindle" option.

Also, Amazon doesn't even know if my reader is on, or not. It's always in Aeroplane mode. Even if that mode was taken out, I'd just block it using my Wifi router. More probable would be me jumping ship to another reader.

Agreeing here.

There are a few cases of Amazon removing content and that was only when books were sold that the seller did not have permission to sell. The boards, internet, and papers went bat shit crazy. Amazon was even more the devil. Tin foil hats were placed on e-readers. It was crazy.

So yeah, that is not likely to happen again. When Amazon closes someones account (and that leads to craziness and tin foil hats and people digging underground bunkers) they tell the person that they still have access to any book on their ereader. They don't pull the books. The account cannot be used for purchasing anything and the person does not have access to their My Kindle Page because they cannot log into the account but the books remain on the device.

I know it is silly, but one reason I back up my books is so that if anything happens to my account (like being hacked) I have all of my books and I can use the money that Amazon gives me on a gift card to buy more books*. Or that silly expensive tea maker that I want. Or something else because that gift card will be huge. I won't have to buy back my old books because I already have them all saved and I can side load them onto my device.

* In cases were an account is closed due to a hack, Amazon gives the person a gift card that covers the recovery cost of all their estuff that they can no longer reach. It can take a while if you have to convince Amazon that you were hacked but you end up with a nice amount. I am sure the process is less nerve wracking if you know that you have all your ebooks backed up. But that is just me.

faithbw · 11-07-2013, 10:15 AM

Put me in the camp of people who have never owned a Kindle. I owned an e-ink Nook and a Sony PRS-350 before getting my Nexus 7. I've never been impressed with any Kindle enough to buy it over other products. I thought the Sony I bought at the time was better than the Kindle available at the time and I think the Nexus is a better tablet for me than the Kindle Fire.

sun surfer · 11-07-2013, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Amazon have a much higher percentage of the UK market than the US market, because we have no reasonably strong second-place player, as B&N are in the US. I don't know what Amazon's share of the UK market is, but it's got to be 80%+. I know numerous people now with reading devices; every one of these people either has a Kindle, or uses the Kindle App on a phone or tablet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crusader

I thought Kobo had around 30% share in the UK. Can't for the life of me remember where I read it though.

I found a figure for March-May 2013, though it is based on respondents rather than hard data. It's interesting though as the main focus of the report is online copyright infringement tracking, and I would post the link here but I think it warrants me making a new thread for it instead. But here are some figures from it relevant to your posts: 79% use Amazon for ebook downloads in the UK while Kobo comes in down the list at 5%.

ProfCrash · 11-07-2013, 10:43 AM

That sounds about right to me. Not that I am in the UK but based on anecdotal evidence that I have seen at a bunch of places.

HarryT · 11-07-2013, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sun surfer

79% use Amazon for ebook downloads in the UK while Kobo comes in down the list at 5%.

Looks like my "figure in the air" guess of 80% for Amazon's UK market share is probably about right.

sun surfer · 11-07-2013, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Looks like my "figure in the air" guess of 80% for Amazon's UK market share is probably about right.

I was just about to edit but when I saw your post I thought I'd reply instead - though the share could conceivably be not far off, respondents were able to choose multiple answers, so the total for all answers came to well over 100%.

HarryT · 11-07-2013, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sun surfer

I was just about to edit but when I saw your post I thought I'd reply instead - though the share could conceivably be not far off, respondents were able to choose multiple answers, so the total for all answers came to well over 100%.

Thank you - a valid point. My (guess)timate is purely based on personal experience; half the people in the company I work at seem to have reading devices, and it's literally the case that every single one is either a Kindle, or a Kindle App on a tablet. (And no, it's not as a result of personal recommendations from me

)

FacebookVirus · 11-07-2013, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Thank you - a valid point. My (guess)timate is purely based on personal experience; half the people in the company I work at seem to have reading devices, and it's literally the case that every single one is either a Kindle, or a Kindle App on a tablet. (And no, it's not as a result of personal recommendations from me

)

You never know. I bought a Sony 350 two years ago based on your comments about it. It was a sound decision.

Latinandgreek · 11-07-2013, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlbertaCowboy

I've never had a Kindle, but only because in Canada in 2008, they weren't available. I bought my first e-reader, a Sony PRS-505 and was hooked.
I stayed with Sony when they came out with the x650 series because I liked the hardware and firmware.

The same happened to me. I bought my first non-Sony reader this year, a Kobo Aura HD. I have been toying with getting a Kindle as a second ebook reader for a while, but I think I might buy a Paperwhite for my husband instead.

donnieparker · 11-08-2013, 10:55 AM

I won't buy a Kindle because they've turned e-readers into a race for the bottom. Since Amazon got involved, I think e-readers across the board have gotten more fragile, more cheaply made, and have suffered a lot of QC issues.

I bought a Sony PRS-350 a few years back, and the build quality is phenomenal. Three years later, and it's held up to some serious abuse. While I enjoy my new Kobo Aura, I know in three years it will be completely destroyed.

But now? In order to get to that magic 120 USD price point (or in the Aura's case, 150), serious corners have been cut. E-readers don't last. They break REALLY easily. In order to become the dominant eBook supplier, Amazon ruined the e-reader device market. I mean, look at Sony! They had to quit the U.S. market because people wouldn't pay more for a better quality reader!

So long story short, I can't buy from Amazon, when Amazon clearly has no interest in making or selling quality hardware. I enjoy reading on an e-reader, and I'm sad that there are no premium options anymore.

ProfCrash · 11-08-2013, 11:33 AM

My K1 was used for 2 1/2 years before I boughtt a new device. It worked just fine and is still working today. My K3 is doing great and will be going home with my MIL this Thanksgiving. Her K2 is still trucking away but she wants access to my books without losing access to her books. So she is getting my K3 and using both the K2 and the K3. My DXG is with a friend in Afghanistan and doing great. I bought it before I bought the
K3.

My point? Kindles are pretty darn durable.

Without the Kindle, I doubt there would have been the Nook or the Kobo. Both came out two-three years after the Kindle. I would guess that BN and KOBO saw that e-readers were viable because of Amazons success.

Yes, Sony was there first but their devices were not selling all that well. They were expensive, poorly marketed, and had a crappy bookstore. Amazon launched the Kindle which was expensive, well marketed, and had a good bookstore, well priced books, excellent customer service, and took off pretty fast.

Sony didn't keep up. I think it was hurt more by the lack of WiFi then the materials it used. And its origianl attempt at a front lighting system was awful. So people who wanted an epub reader in the US bought a Nook, WiFi, epub, a better bookstore, and it was priced at the same as a Kindle.

I honestly think that Sony's biggest problem was that their bookstore was awful for so long. Most people are clueless about drag and drop and buying at other stores. This made the Sony less attractive to the average buyer. Another problem that Sony had was marketing. Outside of the ereader lovers, how many people actually knew about the Sony? Where was it being sold?

For a while Sony's were available at BN but that changed when BN decided to build the Nook. So you had to go to a Sony store. But there was no advertising so while the Kindle was front and center on Amazon's webpage, someone who was interested in an e-reader would have had to do a search on ereaders to even know about the Sony. When BN started selling the Nook, it was displayed front and center in its book stores. It was easy to find. Where was the Sony advertising?

So I don't buy that Amazon is responsible for the downfall of Sony's e-reader. Sony is responsible for that. The bookstore was awful and they didn't market the thing. No wonder it didn't do well in the US. Not selling the T3 in the US right now is flat out stupid.

From what I am reading, the Sony is not doing well in the UK. I would be interested to know what share of the market it has on Continental Europe and in Asia and Australia. I am going to guess that it is in third place, behind the Kindle and Kobo.

Sony has only themselves to blame.

Bittybye · 11-08-2013, 11:55 AM

I have owned a Kindle but the lack of a SD slot (or a very large onboard storage) meant I had to look elsewhere. I've already packed 4GB of books, short stories, and fanfictions on my Sony PRS-T2 and there are more coming out all the time. One of the major reasons I love ereaders is the ability to carry all my books on one handy lightweight gadget and the Kindle just doesn't have the storage capacity. When (if) they do, I'll go back to Kindle

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
How long you have owned a M92	valimo	Onyx Boox	13	05-11-2012 04:31 PM
Sigil is owned by Google?	mr ploppy	Sigil	14	05-09-2010 10:39 PM

11-07-2013, 10:15 AM	#80
faithbw Guru Posts: 618 Karma: 1526148 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: A place where the sun always shines Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Mini 2	Put me in the camp of people who have never owned a Kindle. I owned an e-ink Nook and a Sony PRS-350 before getting my Nexus 7. I've never been impressed with any Kindle enough to buy it over other products. I thought the Sony I bought at the time was better than the Kindle available at the time and I think the Nexus is a better tablet for me than the Kindle Fire.

11-07-2013, 10:43 AM	#82
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	That sounds about right to me. Not that I am in the UK but based on anecdotal evidence that I have seen at a bunch of places.

11-08-2013, 10:55 AM	#88
donnieparker Member Posts: 23 Karma: 422 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Sony PRS-350, Kobo Aura	I won't buy a Kindle because they've turned e-readers into a race for the bottom. Since Amazon got involved, I think e-readers across the board have gotten more fragile, more cheaply made, and have suffered a lot of QC issues. I bought a Sony PRS-350 a few years back, and the build quality is phenomenal. Three years later, and it's held up to some serious abuse. While I enjoy my new Kobo Aura, I know in three years it will be completely destroyed. But now? In order to get to that magic 120 USD price point (or in the Aura's case, 150), serious corners have been cut. E-readers don't last. They break REALLY easily. In order to become the dominant eBook supplier, Amazon ruined the e-reader device market. I mean, look at Sony! They had to quit the U.S. market because people wouldn't pay more for a better quality reader! So long story short, I can't buy from Amazon, when Amazon clearly has no interest in making or selling quality hardware. I enjoy reading on an e-reader, and I'm sad that there are no premium options anymore.

11-08-2013, 11:33 AM	#89
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	My K1 was used for 2 1/2 years before I boughtt a new device. It worked just fine and is still working today. My K3 is doing great and will be going home with my MIL this Thanksgiving. Her K2 is still trucking away but she wants access to my books without losing access to her books. So she is getting my K3 and using both the K2 and the K3. My DXG is with a friend in Afghanistan and doing great. I bought it before I bought the K3. My point? Kindles are pretty darn durable. Without the Kindle, I doubt there would have been the Nook or the Kobo. Both came out two-three years after the Kindle. I would guess that BN and KOBO saw that e-readers were viable because of Amazons success. Yes, Sony was there first but their devices were not selling all that well. They were expensive, poorly marketed, and had a crappy bookstore. Amazon launched the Kindle which was expensive, well marketed, and had a good bookstore, well priced books, excellent customer service, and took off pretty fast. Sony didn't keep up. I think it was hurt more by the lack of WiFi then the materials it used. And its origianl attempt at a front lighting system was awful. So people who wanted an epub reader in the US bought a Nook, WiFi, epub, a better bookstore, and it was priced at the same as a Kindle. I honestly think that Sony's biggest problem was that their bookstore was awful for so long. Most people are clueless about drag and drop and buying at other stores. This made the Sony less attractive to the average buyer. Another problem that Sony had was marketing. Outside of the ereader lovers, how many people actually knew about the Sony? Where was it being sold? For a while Sony's were available at BN but that changed when BN decided to build the Nook. So you had to go to a Sony store. But there was no advertising so while the Kindle was front and center on Amazon's webpage, someone who was interested in an e-reader would have had to do a search on ereaders to even know about the Sony. When BN started selling the Nook, it was displayed front and center in its book stores. It was easy to find. Where was the Sony advertising? So I don't buy that Amazon is responsible for the downfall of Sony's e-reader. Sony is responsible for that. The bookstore was awful and they didn't market the thing. No wonder it didn't do well in the US. Not selling the T3 in the US right now is flat out stupid. From what I am reading, the Sony is not doing well in the UK. I would be interested to know what share of the market it has on Continental Europe and in Asia and Australia. I am going to guess that it is in third place, behind the Kindle and Kobo. Sony has only themselves to blame.

11-08-2013, 11:55 AM	#90
Bittybye Addict Posts: 262 Karma: 505124 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: PRS-T2	I have owned a Kindle but the lack of a SD slot (or a very large onboard storage) meant I had to look elsewhere. I've already packed 4GB of books, short stories, and fanfictions on my Sony PRS-T2 and there are more coming out all the time. One of the major reasons I love ereaders is the ability to carry all my books on one handy lightweight gadget and the Kindle just doesn't have the storage capacity. When (if) they do, I'll go back to Kindle