01-27-2009, 08:39 PM | #1 |
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CW: How Amazon could screw up e-books
Mr. Elgan of Computerworld makes a few points:
Full article Last edited by hidari; 01-27-2009 at 09:09 PM. |
01-27-2009, 08:54 PM | #2 |
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I think Mr. Elgan doesn't know what he is talking about. None of those actions will harm ebooks; they will only harm Amazon.
Point one will not harm ebooks, nor even competing devices. If customers are pissed off, they will go buy elsewhere. They won't abandon ebooks entirely. Point two is absurd. I believe Amazon offers publishers the same deal for ebooks as for pbooks; a 65/35 split. This is the industry standard. How can this be shafting the publisher? Point three demonstrates Mr. Elgan's ignorance. The Kindle is as closed as the iPod; both support a nonDRM format. You don't _have_ to buy the closed format. Point four can't harm ebooks, but it could cost Amazon market share. |
01-27-2009, 09:29 PM | #3 | |
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01-27-2009, 09:40 PM | #4 | ||||
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Unfortunately, most of his points are 100% wrong.
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My suggestion is thus: The #1 thing Amazon could do to "not screw up eBooks" would be to sell Kindle books for people to read on the hardware they already own (using, of course, the Mobipocket software that Amazon already owns). Once people get a taste, they'll come and start buying the Kindle hardware as well. The taste of ease of use of iTunes on the desktop was one key to the success of Apple's iPod. |
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01-27-2009, 09:43 PM | #5 | |
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Plus, it's in the Public Domain Last edited by curtw; 01-27-2009 at 09:46 PM. |
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01-27-2009, 09:55 PM | #6 | |
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01-27-2009, 09:58 PM | #7 |
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01-27-2009, 10:10 PM | #8 | |
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Quote:
Here's a link to the LRF version: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10498 |
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01-27-2009, 10:16 PM | #9 | |
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01-27-2009, 10:22 PM | #10 |
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Customers vote with their dollars, and I can't see Amazon's behavior harming ebooks in general, just Amazon perhaps. If this doesn't work, Amazon will simply shift strategies.
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01-27-2009, 10:38 PM | #11 |
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01-27-2009, 10:39 PM | #12 |
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01-27-2009, 11:27 PM | #13 |
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I didn't interpret the article to say that Amazon would kill the ebook industry but rather Amazon's potential dominate position in the ebook business.
I actually agree with his point three but but from the opposite angle. Apple entered the music retail business as a new player but Amazon was already a big player in the book retail business. It doesn't make sense to me that they limit their ebook retail business to the segment of their existing customers that are willing to buy a Kindle. I know they own Mobipocket but I haven't seen any move to make that arm price competitive. |
01-27-2009, 11:44 PM | #14 |
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I can agree with this comments about Mobi DRM exclusivity:
>>>Publishers will probably be neither thrilled nor horrified by the costs of doing business with Amazon for electronic versions of their books. The split is opposite Apple's App Store one (where eBooks are also being sold): 65% to Amazon, 35% for the publisher (which then gives crumbs from that crumb to writers). I'm rooting for the Justice Department to jump on Amazon's neck over monopolistic practices, restraint of trade (Mobi DRM exclusivity), and anything else they can throw at them. |
01-28-2009, 02:42 AM | #15 |
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Nate the great is spot on imo, a lot of the authors in computer magazines just post ridiculous articles as link bait, getting visitors to their websites. The articles points are easily refuted.
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