Amazon is destroying e-reader innovation

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ingmar

They are in Austria and Germany, actually. MediaMarkt and Saturn have them, and probably a few more stores, not least among them quite a number of smaller bookstores (they get the right to install their own ebook stores in return).

Yes, there are local deals in place. Waterstones in the UK sold Bookeen devices for a while, too. My point was more that even in Europe these more specialist reader manufacturers are primarily dependent upon online sales; Europe cannot be considered a single market.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by HarryT

One factor would of course be the fact that people outside the EU wouldn't have been charged VAT.

Mostly it was because they converted 1 dollar to 1 Euro when setting the Euro price (or vice versa). And that at a time when the dollar was very weak.

[Lemurion]

Originally Posted by Rizla

I see your point, though an American buyer will have to pay more and will risk more should the device develop a fault.

But your point doesn't bear on my argument that innovation and choice in the American market is lagging behind the European / Asian market, and that this lag is due to Amazon's dominance in the market and its lack of interest in supplying niche products to that market.

Unfortunately, your point seems to be more of an assertion than an argument. There is only one real technical innovation that doesn't seem to be available in the US market as opposed to European and Asian markets, and that's color e-ink.

All the other features seem to be there.

Beyond that, what niche are you looking for? If it's large format readers; their failure in the US market was not because Amazon wasn't interested in serving that niche. Amazon offered a large format e-ink reader, and it was a sales failure. If it hadn't been, BN would have copied it years ago, rather than moving into tablets.

It's not simply a matter of Amazon squashing innovation. They actively adopt it; BN released the Nook Color, Amazon followed with the Kindle Fire.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

Unfortunately, your point seems to be more of an assertion than an argument. There is only one real technical innovation that doesn't seem to be available in the US market as opposed to European and Asian markets, and that's color e-ink.

I believe the Jetbook Color (which has the horrible Triton "colour" eInk screen) is sold in the US.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by HarryT

. It's a global market, though; I honestly don't see why buying stuff online should be a problem.

It isn't.
I've bought niche XBOX accessories direct from Taiwanese and Hong Kong companies via ebay and Paypal.
Safe, efficient, and not much of a wait.
I got my first eink reader via the Netherlands to Ohio in barely a week.

You just have to do a bit of research and be willing to run a bit of a risk. Which usually is no risk.

(On the other hand I would never buy any camera or audio gear from small outfits based in Brooklyn. That rarely ends well.)

[Lemurion]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I believe the Jetbook Color (which has the horrible Triton "colour" eInk screen) is sold in the US.

So it is, and at 9.7" it's much larger than the standard 6" size.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

So it is, and at 9.7" it's much larger than the standard 6" size.

I don't believe there is a 6" version of the Triton screen, is there? I haven't come across it, if there is.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I don't believe there is a 6" version of the Triton screen, is there? I haven't come across it, if there is.

AFAIK you're correct. Triton & Triton 2 have only been used in 8" (Color Lux) and 9.7" (JB Color, JB Color 2, WISEreader C920) configurations.

[crich70]

I'm still trying to figure out how the situation is Amazon's fault. I mean there were a lot more ebook stores than there are now as some have closed up shop but Amazon can't make other companies stop selling their ereaders in the U.S. and I have trouble believing that they alone are responsible for those stores that have closed up being closed. No one person can control what everyone else is doing in terms of innovation for a product I don't think. Everyone has the right of choice as to what they do and don't do. To put the blame for all ills related to a product on one companies shoulders sounds shortsighted to me.

[6charlong]

Originally Posted by crich70

I'm still trying to figure out how the situation is Amazon's fault. I mean there were a lot more ebook stores than there are now as some have closed up shop but Amazon can't make other companies stop selling their ereaders in the U.S. and I have trouble believing that they alone are responsible for those stores that have closed up being closed. No one person can control what everyone else is doing in terms of innovation for a product I don't think. Everyone has the right of choice as to what they do and don't do. To put the blame for all ills related to a product on one companies shoulders sounds shortsighted to me.

There seem to be other ideas in this long thread but I believe the issue derives from the way capitalism and socialism are alike in that they both destroy the free enterprise sector, which is where innovation really takes place.

It would be best if there were 10 or 12 small ebook vendors, each innovating different ways to attract customers, but the way the ebook economy developed in the US no one has the capital to overcome Amazon's dominance, hence there seems to be little or no innovation available to the US consumer. (It happens because typically, large or small, companies are reluctant to innovate ideas that compete with their own product design.

[fjtorres]

Maybe the problem is the whole "overcome Amazon" mentality.

Nobody needs to overcome any specific competitor to make money at a given business as long as they have a realistic business plan and execute. You don't have to dominate your market to be successful in your business.

There are literally thousands of pbook stores that have managed to survive and outlast the mall chainstore era and the warehouse bookstore era, and seem to be weathering the ebook era okay, so far. Conversely, lots of business fall by the wayside trying to be the IBM or Microsoft of Apple or whatever the leader of their segment may be.

The specialty ereader vendors seem to be doing okay following a regional rather than a global strategy and it may be that they would rather focus their resources on trying to grow with the market in those regions rather than spread themselves thin trying to be everywhere at once. If you only have the capacity to manufacture and sell, say 250k, widgets every year, and you can sell that capacity in or near your home market there really is no sense in pursuing sales elsewhere.

As inspector Harry Callahan would say "a company needs to know its limitations".

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

It isn't.
I've bought niche XBOX accessories direct from Taiwanese and Hong Kong companies via ebay and Paypal.
Safe, efficient, and not much of a wait.
I got my first eink reader via the Netherlands to Ohio in barely a week.

You just have to do a bit of research and be willing to run a bit of a risk. Which usually is no risk.

(On the other hand I would never buy any camera or audio gear from small outfits based in Brooklyn. That rarely ends well.)

The risk is not liking it when it arrives. At $200-$400 a pop you would have to be certain that returns are accepted and shipping w/ins is reasonable.

It would be optimal if these ereader devices were on display in the US even if you have to order them online.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

As inspector Harry Callahan would say "a company needs to know its limitations".

Didn't he also say "Make my day"?

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by crich70

Didn't he also say "Make my day"?

And Amazon just told somebody pretty much that. Different thread, though.

[Rizla]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Kobo seem pretty innovative, and they sell in the North American market. The Kobo Aura HD, for example, is a very good device indeed. I believe that Kobo are a bigger player in Canada than Amazon are.

Kobo have kept their product range very close to the 6" mark, so I wouldn't call that innovative. They did get the light right before Amazon did, and their UI is more flexible (customizing fonts).

Kobo got started in Canada, a market that Amazon continues to neglect. Maybe that was the key to their initial success. I doubt they could have begun in America, and they haven't achieved a large penetration there. Indeed, they seem to be doing better in the UK.