Amazon Kindle e-book downloads outsell paperbacks

[ProfCrash]

Originally Posted by queentess

Because people want to buy ebooks from Amazon, but they don't want a Kindle, and they don't want to admit they like Amazon's convenience and price and customer service, so they're angry.

And it is more fun to complain then downloading Calibre and the necessary plugins in order to convert books from Amazon's format to EPub.

[GeoffC]

There's nothing to stop anyone buying the books - ? Fiddly I know - but it must be possible.

[queentess]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

There's nothing to stop anyone buying the books - ? Fiddly I know - but it must be possible.

I shall retroactively define "buy" as "buy and use on a non-Kindle device", as was implied by my phrase "they don't want a Kindle".

[speedlever]

Originally Posted by Worldwalker

The mechanism: DRM.

The reason: Device lock-in.

snip a very good response.

The solution (and hopefully temporary work-around): strip DRM and format shift for personal use.

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by queentess

I shall retroactively define "buy" as "buy and use on a non-Kindle device", as was implied by my phrase "they don't a Kindle".

I am sorry, I did not post to be argumentative.

[queentess]

Originally Posted by speedlever

The solution (hopefully temporary work-around): strip DRM and format shift for personal use.

Not to mention that this future-proofs the file (as much as it's possible to future-proof files...)

[queentess]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

I am sorry, I did not post to be argumentative.

My actual apology -- I edited my post to sound like less of a terrible person.

[speedlever]

Originally Posted by mdmorrissey

DRM may be a pain in the butt, but how else can you protect property rights?
snip

I don't know the answer to your question. And I fully support your right to be paid for your work. If I like your work and want to read your book, I will buy it but I fully expect to read it on the device of my choice. The two issues should not be mutually exclusive.

I don't wish to turn this thread into another thread about DRM/pirating, etc., but I truly don't understand how DRM benefits either the author or the consumer. I only see a possible benefit to the publisher/etailer, and that seems pretty short-sighted to me.

But my perspective comes strictly as a consumer.

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by EowynCarter

Are you even aware there are countries and people outside the US ?

Seriously, this "only US matter" is insulting.

No, it's not insulting. It is merely accurate - I used US so as to deliberately not conflate it with the rest of the world. Although the US e-book market is both much larger and growing much faster than the European e-book market.

But epub isn't really the "standard" because it's common in western Europe.

What is annoying - and the context in which I was responding - is the repeated claim that epub is the "standard" format, and the related claim that Amazon somehow deliberately broke the standard going with drm'd mobi. Of course the Kindle was out for about a year before the first epub reader came out, and it was only a little over a year ago that Sony finally dropped lrf.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by rhadin

Because Amazon owns the mobi format and won't license it to anyone.

Not quite. Amazon haven't documented the Mobipocket format, but they are perfectly willing for anyone to use it, and even provide free software (including for commercial use) that will generate Mobipocket format files from HTML.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1000460351

I think it might be quite hard to get a licence for a Mobipocket DRM server though.

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

No, it's not insulting. It is merely accurate - I used US so as to deliberately not conflate it with the rest of the world. Although the US e-book market is both much larger and growing much faster than the European e-book market.

But epub isn't really the "standard" because it's common in western Europe.

What is annoying - and the context in which I was responding - is the repeated claim that epub is the "standard" format, and the related claim that Amazon somehow deliberately broke the standard going with drm'd mobi. Of course the Kindle was out for about a year before the first epub reader came out, and it was only a little over a year ago that Sony finally dropped lrf.

I'm trying to work out which was first, Sony or the Kindle .... I've got Oct 2007 for the Sony ereader and Kindle was the following month. ADE was released June 2007. (subject to correction of course)

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by speedlever

But my perspective comes strictly as a consumer.

That's the pattern in many DRM/format complaints, as well as in book price rants. It boils down to:

I want X company to sell me books in the format I want (or at the price I want).

The key thing with any business transaction is mutual benefit. As a consumer, I might have a few bucks to spend, but the world doesn't revolve around me and my money. Any business will serve me only if it thinks the exchange is worthwhile.

Amazon has apparently decided that selling only its DRM is worthwhile. No consumer is forced to buy from Amazon; neither is Amazon obligated to sell any format, just because someone might happen to want it. Along those lines, just because you want to buy a book at X price doesn't mean a publisher is obligated to sell at that price.

We have choice as consumers, but businesses (and individuals) also can choose to serve customers as they please.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

I'm trying to work out which was first, Sony or the Kindle .... I've got Oct 2007 for the Sony ereader and Kindle was the following month. ADE was released June 2007. (subject to correction of course)

Sony PRS-500 was released in September 2006, over a year before the Kindle. Of course, it used Sony's own ebook format then. The PRS-505 with ePub support was October 2007, as was the Bookeen CyBook Gen 3 (using Mobipocket), with the Kindle in November 2007, but US only. I got my Gen 3 in February 2008.

[ProfCrash]

The Sony was out before the Kindle. There were other e-readers out before the Sony. I have no idea when the EPub/Mobi mess kicked off but I think it was about the time of the release of Kindle 1.

I do know that Sony did not use EPub initally, I have no idea what it used but it switched to EPub at some point in time.

I do know that BN and Kobo came into the game after the Kindle and chose EPub. BN using their own DRM and Kobo using ADE.

[TallMomof2]

IIRC, when the Kindle was introduced ePub was still in the pipeline. At least it was not offered as a DRMed format on any reader at that time. Amazon purchased Mobipocket the summer before the Kindle was introduced so it makes business sense to stick with that format.

I've owned many of the ereaders on the market and I still prefer my Kindle to any other. Simplicity, ease of use, and the best customer service make it the obvious choice for me. It would be great if Amazon would offer ePub for all the other dedicated readers but I fear that antitrust regulations would be used against Amazon.