'I should be the Nook's ideal customer. But I'm not...I am locked in.'

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by Donnageddon

It's a valid point. If you live in the ePub world, jumping from one ePub reader to the next is relativliy trivial. But once in the amazon garden it will be a painful task to jump to another reader. But only if you reread books or magazines. If you read once and discard, you could just sell the kindle and start with a new ePub reader.

This is actually why my first reader was a Nook. I vowed I wouldn't buy an eReader unless I could easily (i.e., without conversion of my library) move to a different device down the line.

I do really wish someone -- the government?? -- would step in and lay down some transference rules. I would like to be able to move my entire Nook library to the Kobo servers, or vice versa. If they sell all the same books, it should be relatively trivial to transfer my license, but as it currently stands, it's not.

[khalleron]

Originally Posted by Giggleton

This might call for congressional legislation to open up ereader hardware.

:deadhorse

[taustin]

Originally Posted by Donnageddon

I was going to mention that, but IIRC, there is a hack to unDRM the BnN books.

There is for the Kindle format, too, though it's apparently a little bit more complicated.

[pidgeon92]

I am proof-positive that a person can own more than one ereader, and use & love them all.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

I am proof-positive that a person can own more than one ereader, and use & love them all.

that's a great point, the prices are coming down so fast that having multiple ereaders can be had pretty easily.

It's funny I paid after taxes $278 on the original Nook eink. I could get a nook touch, kindle 3 and still almost $10 to spare.

[stonetools]

Actually its a decent article. The hard-nosed nub of the article is here:

Also, from a business perspective, I can't discount the value of lock-in as a way of monetizing hardware. Amazon and Barnes and Noble can ONLY hit these phenomenal price points because of lock-in, and the money they make on digital sales. Even so, consumers need to understand the tradeoffs they are making.

IOW, if you like the everyday low prices, convenience, and range of options offered by Amazon, then you have to accept device lock-in, since Amazon can't effectively monetize hardware without it. Of course, if you live in a world where the profit motive is unimportant for business , you don't have to make that trade-off. But here on Earth Prime, that's the business model that works. Earlier,

To be fair, I should note that vendor lock-in in the eBook space is an unusual case. I can read Kindle books on my Epic 4G, iPhone, iPad, and laptop in addition to the Kindle itself. Likewise, although I can't read Nook books on the Kindle, software apps let me read the same device as the Kindle. This lock-in effect really only applies to dedicated eBook readers and the stores themselves. But for casual consumers, that is plenty strong.

IOW, the vendor lock-in isn't really that much of a lock-in for the tech savvy consumer. With the right hardware, you can have your cake and eat it too.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by boswd

that's actually a good point, I would just take a look at my library and ask "Am I ever REALLY going to read that one again"? In a way it's not that much difference then cleaning out your physical books and dropping then in a donation bin.

No, it's not much different from cleaning out your physical books and throwing them into a paper shredder or the fireplace, because you're not handing them off with the thought that maybe someone else will enjoy it later.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

No, it's not much different from cleaning out your physical books and throwing them into a paper shredder or the fireplace, because you're not handing them off with the thought that maybe someone else will enjoy it later.

Good point.

I couldn't bear to delete my ebook library books. I don't mind selling/donating my paperbooks to make space, but I don't need space in my eLibrary! My 32 GB SD card is only ~6 GB full.

[MsCG1]

Originally Posted by boswd

that's a great point, the prices are coming down so fast that having multiple ereaders can be had pretty easily.

It's funny I paid after taxes $278 on the original Nook eink. I could get a nook touch, kindle 3 and still almost $10 to spare.

I don't even like to think about it, it hurts my soul.

Especially considering I paid an extra $60 for the extended warranty.

[khalleron]

Originally Posted by MsCG1

I don't even like to think about it, it hurts my soul.

Especially considering I paid an extra $60 for the extended warranty.

Extended warranties are a scam. Never buy one.

[MsCG1]

Originally Posted by khalleron

Extended warranties are a scam. Never buy one.

No, I don't think so. At least not in all cases. You're paying for insurance and peace of mind, and it's worth it to some people.

Now. If I'd known that a few months after I bought my $250 Nook that the price would drop to $139, or I would regularly be able to purchase a refurb of some sort for well under $100 at any given time, then no, I wouldn't have bought the extended warranty.

[carld]

Originally Posted by boswd

that's a great point, the prices are coming down so fast that having multiple ereaders can be had pretty easily.

It's funny I paid after taxes $278 on the original Nook eink. I could get a nook touch, kindle 3 and still almost $10 to spare.

Don't feel too bad. I paid $399 for my Kindle1. I don't regret it for a moment. I got lots and lots of use out of it, but prices have dropped a lot. I can get an iPad1 for that these days.

[khalleron]

Originally Posted by MsCG1

No, I don't think so. At least not in all cases. You're paying for insurance and peace of mind, and it's worth it to some people.

Now. If I'd known that a few months after I bought my $250 Nook that the price would drop to $139, or I would regularly be able to purchase a refurb of some sort for well under $100 at any given time, then no, I wouldn't have bought the extended warranty.

But that's they way of tech - by the time something breaks, it's cheaper to replace it.

Extended warranties are nearly pure profit for Best Buy and their ilk - that's why they push them so hard. The odds of them having to provide the service before the contract runs out is so small as to be negligible.

If money buys you peace of mind, then that's your choice - but it really is a very poor financial decision. If something is going to go wrong, it's far more likely to happen within the original warranty period.

[Cyberman tM]

Originally Posted by bhartman36

And those are only the examples I can think of. It goes back farther than that, probably.

Are you seriously comparing actual technical differences (Mac/Win, VHS/Beta) with an artificial locking system(DRM) ??

The former exists out of necessity, the latter out of spite.

Macs can't run Win software just like fish can't breathe air.

[MsCG1]

Originally Posted by khalleron

But that's they way of tech - by the time something breaks, it's cheaper to replace it.

Extended warranties are nearly pure profit for Best Buy and their ilk - that's why they push them so hard. The odds of them having to provide the service before the contract runs out is so small as to be negligible.

If money buys you peace of mind, then that's your choice - but it really is a very poor financial decision. If something is going to go wrong, it's far more likely to happen within the original warranty period.

I wasn't aware that the original warranty covered all accidents and incidents that were directly caused by user error.