New "top of the line Kindle" details coming next week

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

No, they didn't fight *very* hard...
They only resisted for six months of public insults, calls for boycotts, being compared to murderous military dictators...

That industry insider, btw, makes his living as a consultant to tradpub. How many accounts would he keep if he publicly told people (authors!) that the reason their income went down was the publishers' fault?

The comment I saw came to him *third hand* via an agent.

Calling the statement propaganda is being kind.

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”
― Upton Sinclair, I, Candidate for Governor: And How I Got Licked

Then explain HMH, or S&S. The first we heard of those negotiations was when they were over.

[Josieb1]

As much as I 'like' my Voyage, since my Kobo GLO developed a fault I've been reading much more on my Kobo H20 and I'd forgotten how much I like it. The size, the yellowish screen, a nice dark font at the size I want. It's been a real revelation so I'm certainly sitting on the fence for a new device. I've just bought a MacBook Pro so money wise I'm skint anyway.

[AnemicOak]

Wasn't there some hints from the Kindle Feedback folks a while back that Amazon was working on more visual controls (fonts, margins, etc.) for the firmware? Perhaps that's something we'll see for these new devices.

[Acousticvillage]

The battery is one of the best things about the kindle. Does anyone really need longer battery life or solar power charging?

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Acousticvillage

The battery is one of the best things about the kindle. Does anyone really need longer battery life or solar power charging?

Yes. 15 hours of read time is not that much of a battery life to heavy readers.
If I misdid the quick math: 30 hours of read time is not that much of a battery life to heavy readers.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by Acousticvillage

The battery is one of the best things about the kindle. Does anyone really need longer battery life or solar power charging?

I share your skepticism about the need or desire for this (optional?) Kindle accessory (as described by second and third and fourth party sources), but these descriptions are incomplete. We'll learn more next week from the source and eventually as people have a chance to evaluate whatever it is first hand.

[JSWolf]

Agency pricing is good for Amazon. If eBooks prices are no lower outside of Amazon, then Kindle owners will stick to buying from Amazon. Also, people looking to buy a Reader will also look at the Kindle because prices for ePub won't get any cheaper.

[Yolina]

But with agency books being the price they are, I have less money available to buy a shiny new top-of-the-range Kindle

[zerospinboson]

Originally Posted by Yolina

But with agency books being the price they are, I have less money available to buy a shiny new top-of-the-range Kindle

From the bean-counter's perspective that doesn't matter, so long as you have no (legal) alternatives.

[murg]

Originally Posted by darryl

Amazon didn't force agency on the Conspirators. But I doubt Amazon wants to go back to it now. The days of Amazon subsidising the Big 5's inflated pricing policies are over. Even if there is a return to a wholesale model, it is not now in Amazon's interest to discount their books from its own pocket.

Amazon is interested in one thing: maximising sales. Amazon knows that the cheaper an ebook (or pbook) is, the more it will sell proportionately. Amazon is also about selling you other stuff, so they can use the books as a less-leader (yes, I meant to use less, not loss), they are happy to make less revenue/profit from one item to try to sell you other stuff.

We do now that Amazon looks at the big picture, and would rather make more money selling at a reduced margin, than in trying to maximise the prices.

All that being said, given the limitations of agency, Amazon is probably liking it. If every bookseller has the same prices, then people will still flock to Amazon because they do, so Amazon gets the sale and the increased margin.

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by Acousticvillage

The battery is one of the best things about the kindle. Does anyone really need longer battery life or solar power charging?

People in the ground mobile sector of the military generally need it.
And, if it charges a suitable capacitor, a solar unit will still function in sunlight long after the battery ceases to hold a charge.

[Steve H]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Agency pricing is good for Amazon. If eBooks prices are no lower outside of Amazon, then Kindle owners will stick to buying from Amazon. Also, people looking to buy a Reader will also look at the Kindle because prices for ePub won't get any cheaper.

Actually agency pricing is good for all the other e-book retailers. Right before Agency kicked in for the second time I did a lot of price comparisons between Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Kobo. Why- because I have an old Nook and was considering getting a Kobo. Amazon was almost always the same or significantly cheaper. If you check non Big 5 books now you will notice they usually have the lowest price. examples:
How to Grill Steven Raichlen
Amazon 10.99
B&N 10.99
Kobo 14.39

The Soupbox Cookbook Dru Melton
Amazon 12.99
B&N 13.49
Kobo 18.39

Truly Madly Pizza Suzanne Lenzer
Amazon 12.99
B&N 13.99
Kobo 17.59

These are the first 3 books I checked in my food collection that are not BIG 5...I did not hunt or search. Amazon gained their market share on pricing below others. Buyers stuck with Amazon for pricing and reviews.

Not to say they are perfect...walled garden...

Agency pricing works wonders for Kobo and Barnes and Noble. Amazon will make soup out of rotten vegetables...that's all.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Steve H

Actually agency pricing is good for all the other e-book retailers. Right before Agency kicked in for the second time I did a lot of price comparisons between Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Kobo. Why- because I have an old Nook and was considering getting a Kobo. Amazon was almost always the same or significantly cheaper. If you check non Big 5 books now you will notice they usually have the lowest price. examples:
How to Grill Steven Raichlen
Amazon 10.99
B&N 10.99
Kobo 14.39

The Soupbox Cookbook Dru Melton
Amazon 12.99
B&N 13.49
Kobo 18.39

Truly Madly Pizza Suzanne Lenzer
Amazon 12.99
B&N 13.99
Kobo 17.59

These are the first 3 books I checked in my food collection that are not BIG 5...I did not hunt or search. Amazon gained their market share on pricing below others. Buyers stuck with Amazon for pricing and reviews.

Not to say they are perfect...walled garden...

Agency pricing works wonders for Kobo and Barnes and Noble. Amazon will make soup out of rotten vegetables...that's all.

Now why would you want to grill Steven Raichlen?
What did he do wrong?

Now you are right about those prices.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

Then explain HMH, or S&S. The first we heard of those negotiations was when they were over.

Well, now.
Think back to 2010...
When MacMillan came to them with Agency terms, they fought.
When Penguin and co made it clear they were in on it, they gave in.

Nobody outside the principals knows what happened in those negotiations but if after six months of Hachette's footdragging and media campaign S&S came in with the exact same terms, what would you do? Assume the original agreement between the conspirators was still in effect, no?

Or, try this thought experiment: the conspirator actually learned their lesson and ask Amazon for wholesale terms and Amazon demands a return to agency. And nobody leaks this bit of hypocrisy to the NYT?

In what universe do the BPHs protect evil Amazon?

I can imagine a lot of ways those negotiations might have played out but Amazon *forcing* Agency on the unwilling BPHs isn't very high on the list.

You?

[emellaich]

Originally Posted by Acousticvillage

The battery is one of the best things about the kindle. Does anyone really need longer battery life or solar power charging?

The reports say the goal is to make it slimmer; not add battery life. Here is how it would work.

You make the Kindle slimmer by putting in a smaller battery. As a result the Kindle will not last as long (three weeks instead of six?). Then you add a case that is a battery. Design the case as a case you build a cover only (no backside shell). The cover is a large, thin battery wrapped in leather/pleather on one side and felt on the other side; it attaches along the side and flips to the back when it is open.

In regard to your original comment about battery-life that is long enough -- well kind of.

Amazon says: battery lasts six weeks, based on a half hour of reading per day with wireless off. This translates to 21 hours of reading.

However, this is just an approximation that does not hold if you turn pages quickly. The battery and processor are tied to page refreshes (the light is related to elapsed time). If you turn pages quicker than average you will have a shorter battery life.

I am probably a fast reader, but more importantly my eyes are a bit older too. This means that I use larger print than some people. As a result, I turn pages frequently. I suspect I get substantially less than 21 hours.

In addition, it assumes that wireless is off. I usually don't bother turning it on and off.

Finally, I really hope they add back Text-to-speech (probably not, though). This would also suck down battery life.

I don't have any problem with the current battery life, and its much better than a tablet, but I definitely don't get six weeks (or a week) out of it. If I didn't have a regular charging schedule it would run dry on a regular basis. Its not that big of deal for me to plug it in every night and then it never runs out. However, I suspect that there are people who would enjoy even longer battery life.