Amazon has removed Download & Transfer option

[ratinox]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Why would Amazon come out with new eInk kindles in 2024 and then end them? That makes no sense. I cannot see Amazon dropping eInk Kindles.

That's the sunk cost fallacy. Assuming the new lineup sold poorly then the right thing to do is cut back rather than spend more money proping it up.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Well, I don't care. I'm not going to redownload my thousands of Kindle books.

You don't have to redownload them all. Just the ones that have been updated.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ratinox

That's the sunk cost fallacy. Assuming the new lineup sold poorly then the right thing to do is cut back rather than spend more money proping it up.

If Amazon dumped the Kindle line, then I can see eBook sales going down. Amazon would no longer have the clout needed for these contract disputes with the big publishers. Also, I can see KU tanking.

Amazon is dumping the K1, K2, DX, & DXG because they don't have WiFi. I'm hoping that means Amazon also drops Mobi.

Heck, I'm still able to download eBooks using my Kindle Touch.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

You don't have to redownload them all. Just the ones that have been updated.

Yeah, but that means I'd have to go through hundreds of pages of books to find the updates. Nope.

[ratinox]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If Amazon dumped the Kindle line, then I can see eBook sales going down. Amazon would no longer have the clout needed for these contract disputes with the big publishers. Also, I can see KU tanking.

This is predicated on e-ink Kindles being the bulk of Amazon's ebook sales. What I know says that this hasn't been the case for years, with phones and tablets steadily eroding that dominance. Saw the same thing with iPod being eroded by iPhone and other mobile phones. It's very possible that Amazon have reached and passed "Peak Kindle". if this is the case then the smart thing is to wind down Kindle and focus on where the profits are.

Because at the end of the day, it isn't enough for a product line to be profitable. It needs to be profitable enough to warrant continued investment.

[haertig]

Originally Posted by ratinox

...with phones and tablets steadily eroding that dominance. Saw the same thing with iPod being eroded by iPhone and other mobile phones.

Smartphones are taking over most everything. Want to buy a standalone MP3 player? The selection is quite meager these days. The days of the Palm Pilot digital assistants are gone too. I imagine eReaders will eventually disappear as well. Even calendars and day planners are going the way of the dodo bird - being replaced by smartphone apps.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by ratinox

This is predicated on e-ink Kindles being the bulk of Amazon's ebook sales. What I know says that this hasn't been the case for years, with phones and tablets steadily eroding that dominance. Saw the same thing with iPod being eroded by iPhone and other mobile phones. It's very possible that Amazon have reached and passed "Peak Kindle". if this is the case then the smart thing is to wind down Kindle and focus on where the profits are.

Because at the end of the day, it isn't enough for a product line to be profitable. It needs to be profitable enough to warrant continued investment.

I think we have passed Peak Kindle.

New models are not coming out as frequently, Scribe 2 is basically a price increase and not an upgrade, 'new' Basic has nothing much new, the new Paperwhite is .2" larger and I think a little costlier, and Colorsoft is $50 more than it should be.

I had all but switched to my iPad mini and iPhone when Scribe came out. Turns out I like it and notes capability is something I use regularly so for now I read on it more than other devices, plus time with the note stuff.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If Amazon dumped the Kindle line, then I can see eBook sales going down. Amazon would no longer have the clout needed for these contract disputes with the big publishers. Also, I can see KU tanking.

You seem to be making a very big assumption that the significant percentage of Amazon ebook sales/loans are being read on Kindle eInk devices. That seems to disagree with several items I've seen when >75-80% of ebooks are read on smartphones, iOS and Android tablets & other devices. One I saw from 2024 seems to indicate that eInk devices were used to read <10% of ebooks.

You may also want to consider that the current statistics indicate the publishers sell 4 pbooks for every ebook.

And for a touch of humour, one site that seemed to used BadeReader as their main data source had the following line:

Amazon, Kobo, and Sony are the top three e-reader companies, controlling 88% of the market.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by drofgnal

Yea, I'd consider Kobo, but for the fact that when I did a cursory search of the same title books on kobo and amazon, kobo seemed to be higher priced. Plus I look at amazon deals of the day and get some good ones that way, ultra cheap. I'm reading the omnibus edition of the first three books of Dragonriders of Peru I got for 1.99.

For all the DRM removal I've done of books I've purchased, I never really go back and load books from calibre that much. So maybe it's time to just delete calibre and those books and forget about it.

That may be where we're at unfortunately....it's been a good run.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by kennyc

That may be where we're at unfortunately...

No, it's not. I load books from calibre all the time (in fact, all the ebooks on my ereaders have been sideloaded from calibre) and plan to continue doing that. If Amazon makes their DRM unbreakable, I'll buy elsewhere. I've always been buying a considerable portion of my ebooks elsewhere, so it would be nothing really new for me.

I'm sure there are many people who have only ever bought from Amazon and don't want to change their habits, or who don't consider DRM removal all that important. To each their own.

[MarjaE]

Originally Posted by haertig

Smartphones are taking over most everything.

I know people talk about reading on smartpains, but that seems like reading on a lightbulb. There's no way that does work, or doesn't hurt.

[JoeC]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I'm seeing the message too now. I have several suitable E-Ink kindles, but this does make me consider moving to buying from Kobo.

Ditto.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by MarjaE

I know people talk about reading on smartpains, but that seems like reading on a lightbulb. There's no way that does work, or doesn't hurt.

There seems to be a rather large group of people who seem to think reading on their smartphone works and it doesn't seem to be hurting them. Considering the amount of web pages from various industry groups, research companies, etc. that I've scrolled through which say that smartphones are the most popular reading device.

[tomsem]

My second choice for purchasing is Google. Usually everything is price matched, and sometimes books are offered in both PDF and ePub. I know PDF is sorta disparaged here but for some books fixed layout is much better. Unlike Amazon (and ironically considering how they make most of their money) they don't bombard you with ads.

But important to make sure you can 'export' the book before purchasing.

[Jedi425]

Originally Posted by rantanplan

IIUC, the script cannot find the login button or something

It does this sometimes, I mentioned it later on the GitHub; I suspect it's on Amazon's end. Wait a few and try again, I've yet to have it not work the second time. Then again, maybe they already changed how it works again.