10-22-2009, 04:17 PM | #61 | |
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10-22-2009, 04:23 PM | #62 |
Wizard
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10-22-2009, 04:27 PM | #63 |
New York Editor
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I think I'm pleased to see this, but I'm not surprised.
Way back when, when Sony was first releasing the Sony Reader, there were question about the market and who would survive. My feeling now is the same as the one I expressed then. Sony is a consumer electronics manufacturer. For them, it's about the device. In order to create and sell the device, they had to create the surrounding infrastructure, including books you could read on it and a store where you could buy them. For Amazon, it's about the books. They were already the 800 lb gorilla in the book retailing industry. They are a catalog merchandiser, a la Sears Roebuck, only their catalog and order facilities are online, instead of on paper and in brick and mortar outlets. They have the infrastructure in place to display stock and take orders. And with ebooks, there is no warehousing or distribution. The product is virtual, stored on a server, and downloaded by the customer. For Amazon, it's a win/win, as storage and shipping costs are a tiny fraction of what they would be for physical books. It was not a surprise to me when Amazon released an iPhone app to read Kindle titles, and versions for the PC and Mac should be no surprise either. the more things the customer can use to read Kindle ebooks, the more Amazon is likely to sell, and ultimately, retail sale is what Amazon does. I don't see this really competing with Kindle device sales. The Kindle market revolves around convenience. It's an easy to use platform that provides a good reading experience and allows you to select and acquire books from the device, with no PC or other device required. I think my only surprise is that it has taken them this long to do it. ______ Dennis |
10-22-2009, 04:30 PM | #64 | |
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Dawn, I'm sort of with you on this, and sort of not. In my opinion (and this is ONLY my opinion), Amazon is late to the party. They should have done this from the beginning, instead of alienating possible customers (if the Kindle hadn't been a closed platform I probably would have gotten one). Now it seems to me as if they've been forced into opening up the Kindle store by the market. Yes, I'll freely admit I have mixed feelings here. Amazon has become for me a place where if I absolutely cannot get it anywhere else (even by paying a higher price) then and only then will I get it from Amazon. And even then it's a question of "how badly do I want it?". At the same time, I'm incredibly happy over this news, pending more details about the software -( Are they going to charge for it? etc.). I will also freely admit after reading this forum for most of a year, I have formed some very strong opinions against Amazon, and I most definitely am holding a grudge toward them about what I see as "withholding access" to wanted titles unless you had the "chosen" device(s). Kindle for PC *might* end up changing my mind, and it might not. We'll have to wait and see. (Disclaimer: Again, these are only *my* opinions. I don't demand anyone else agree with me, or that I'm 100% "right"). |
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10-22-2009, 04:31 PM | #65 | |
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Hey but if you want to pay more for your books that's your own choice. |
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10-22-2009, 04:35 PM | #66 |
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Isn't a little competition great? Yesterday the Kindle price dropped $20 and today we have (or soon will have) a Windows Kindle app. Presumably this will count against your maximum of six registered readers. I wonder what they'll use as the basis for calculating their PID?
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10-22-2009, 04:37 PM | #67 | |
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=X= - Given the international prices for books on the Kindle are considerably above what others stores offer, can't be read in the same (ePub) reader apps... well, again, why should I be interested? They won't be able to compete on price or convenience! I should say I'm not entirely convinced of the view I'm espousing, but I think it needs to be said. Last edited by DawnFalcon; 10-22-2009 at 04:41 PM. |
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10-22-2009, 04:42 PM | #68 |
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They are? Even with the $2 added I'd think most books would still be cheaper.
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10-22-2009, 04:52 PM | #69 | |
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BOb |
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10-22-2009, 05:05 PM | #70 |
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Er...
*searches for 15 minutes to find a Kindle version of one of the books on his shelf avaliable on the Kindle* Oh well, I'll have to do with one by the same author... Foundation's Triumph - $9.20, £5.53 But it's £4.43 at Books on Board Without the $2 premium, it would be better at £4.33... pilotbob - These are the days when who's going to be a serious ebook contender are set. As with BluRay and HD-DVD, these things get decided before the mass market picks them up! |
10-22-2009, 05:19 PM | #71 | |
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• Amazon is slow to make apps for PC's and smartphones, lending, PDF support, and getting public domain books in the store. • Sony is way behind on wireless access, TTS, lending, self-publishing and large screened ebook reader. • B&N is way behind in general, and specifically with international, self-publishing and TTS. There's lots more, but the main point is that each of them is behind in some fairly useful respect or another. And each is worth paying attention to because they all bring different aspects to the game. And like it or not, Amazon has brought several innovations (wireless, TTS, self-publishing, large screens, international) and tons of attention to the realm of ebooks. As to "control freakdom," I expect B&N will need to run some interference in order to keep track of distributing, lending and syncing books between so many different platforms. I can see why you might not be crazy about that aspect, but you do get some tangible rewards in return. Last edited by Kali Yuga; 10-22-2009 at 05:30 PM. |
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10-22-2009, 05:24 PM | #72 |
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I kinda understand the "lateness" comment. They have had the Kindle and kindle books for a number of years right? How hard is it to build a windows/pc application to display them? Were they trying to sell books or hardware? Were they concerned about getting the ebooks to the consumer or concerned about pleasing the publishers?
I think there are some legitimate issues in the question. |
10-22-2009, 05:37 PM | #73 |
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Excellent move by Amazon, and about time!
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10-22-2009, 06:23 PM | #74 |
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I've gotta say. I have watched the video pointed to above. That looks pretty compelling on a touch screen Netbook with Windows 7 and the Kindle app... with this you will...
BOb |
10-22-2009, 06:28 PM | #75 | |
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The only halfway decent excuse I can see for this is that possibly they needed some development time to incorporate Whispernet and the touchscreen technology. That seems like a long time to wait for those enhancements, though. On a somewhat related note, I think seeing the video of the Kindle software on a tablet makes a good case for the next Kindle having a touchscreen. Resizing the text, for one thing, looks a lot more elegant in the PC software than it is on the devices. |
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