analyst downgrades Amazon due to Kindle

[kindlekitten]

partially due to the ipad's color screen. this is kind of disturbing. not because I have stock in Amazon, I try to have stock in the intelligence of people that influence our financial trends. once again this appears to be a blatant case of someone not having a clue as to the difference between the ipad and what it does and the Kindle and what it does.

kinda' scary when you think about how many other completely uninformed similar decisions are out there!

[Zetmolm]

The way I read the article you link to is that the main reasons for downgrading Amazon are that the Apple store is already taking market share from Amazon, and that the Kindle price cut will affect profitability. And there's also the competition from the forthcoming Google Editions. The fact that the iPad is full-color is mentioned, but not as an argument for downgrading.

I agree that analysts sometimes make uninformed decisions, but perhaps not in this case.

[kindlekitten]

Originally Posted by Zetmolm

The way I read the article you link to is that the main reasons for downgrading Amazon are that the Apple store is already taking market share from Amazon, and that the Kindle price cut will affect profitability. And there's also the competition from the forthcoming Google Editions. The fact that the iPad is full-color is mentioned, but not as an argument for downgrading.

I agree that analysts sometimes make uninformed decisions, but perhaps not in this case.

my take is that she was comparing the two as e-readers and using the argument that the ipad has as the deal killer or sealer or whatever. I guess I still don't think they should be compared as ereaders

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

my take is that she was comparing the two as e-readers and using the argument that the ipad has as the deal killer or sealer or whatever. I guess I still don't think they should be compared as ereaders

Well two major eReader manufactures have just made significant price cuts.
Is that coincidental, or do they see the iPad as competition?

[dsvick]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

I guess I still don't think they should be compared as ereaders

No they shouldn't, and most people here will agree that it is not an apples to apples comparison. The problem is that we are probably the minority and that most people will just believe the hype from Apple and from others who don't know the difference.

And if this sort of argument keeps getting made, whether it is a direct comparison of the two as eReaders or not, they'll eventually become self-fulfilling.

[Zetmolm]

Once again, there is nothing in the article that even suggests the analyst compared the two devices, or even looked at them. So let's not read something into the analysis that's not there and let's not start this 'apples and oranges' discussion all over again - it's not to the point here. This analyst may not be interested in the reading devices at all; she was only looking at the business prospects of Amazon. All that the analyst is saying is that Amazon's outlook is not as good as it was a while ago because of mounting competition.

[Sischa]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

I try to have stock in the intelligence of people that influence our financial trends.

Wow, after the financlial crises and especially the debacle with the lehman brothers bank thats a lot of confidence you have in this kind of mechanics

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

Well two major eReader manufactures have just made significant price cuts.
Is that coincidental, or do they see the iPad as competition?

I'm sure they see it as competition at some level, but whether the price cuts are a result? Who knows. I figured a Kindle price cut was coming to help clear stock since there's a new model rumored for August and I figured they did it a bit early due to B&N's cut.

[bgalbrecht]

This is off-topic, but a reply to kindlekitten's signature. On the internet, there is no freedom of speech. That's a government thing. This is a private website and the owners make the rules about what is acceptable speech. If you don't like it, you're free to start your own website in competition to this one. I have no idea what image you had to remove. I have no affiliation to this website other than being a registered user. I have no idea why you were asked to remove the image, but the operators of this web forum have the right to censor as they see fit. Most of the censorship I see here is the deletion of links to pirate sites.

[Zetmolm]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

Well two major eReader manufactures have just made significant price cuts.
Is that coincidental, or do they see the iPad as competition?

Lets' remember that Amazon and B&N are not primarily eReader manufacturers, but book shops. The reason they sell reading devices at such an attractive price is mainly to bind their customers to them (that's why they have their own DRM) in a market that they see changing gradually from paper to digital formats. The price cuts are all about market shares. In that sense they don't see the iPad as competition, but they will see the Apple store as competition.

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by Zetmolm

Lets' remember that Amazon and B&N are not primarily eReader manufacturers, but book shops. The reason they sell reading devices at such an attractive price is mainly to bind their customers to them (that's why they have their own DRM) in a market that they see changing gradually from paper to digital formats. The price cuts are all about market shares. In that sense they don't see the iPad as competition, but they will see the Apple store as competition.

And I'd sort of expect that to benefit Amazon more than B&N, as they have a lot more name recognition for eBooks. (I've actually just bought a book for Kindle on the iPad, so that is one sale )

[cheerio6414]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

partially due to the ipad's color screen. this is kind of disturbing. not because I have stock in Amazon, I try to have stock in the intelligence of people that influence our financial trends. once again this appears to be a blatant case of someone not having a clue as to the difference between the ipad and what it does and the Kindle and what it does.

kinda' scary when you think about how many other completely uninformed similar decisions are out there!

I completely agree with you. There are not comparing apples to apples. They just see it as one manufacturer to another and not based on product comparison.

[kjk]

Actually, one of her main points wasn't the iPad, but the Nook. Amazon dropped the price of the Kindle to match the Nook, which she thinks means they are no longer making any profit on the hardware.

Wolk cited concerns about profit margins. She estimated that at its previous price of $259, the Kindle's margins were about 15% to 20%. At its new price of $189, she thinks Amazon.com may wind up only breaking even on each sale.

In addition, she mentions Google Editions as being a potential threat.

[LDBoblo]

Yawn. Another thread of E-Ink supporters getting offended at a comment about the iPad possibly being a better reading device? How many of these do we need?

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

Yawn. Another thread of E-Ink supporters getting offended at a comment about the iPad possibly being a better reading device? How many of these do we need?

What !?

Wait - how - where .....