Amazon Kindle

vansmack wrote:
So I found a report on NPR yesterday that said that Amazon makes 70% on the price of books and mags on the Kindle, and the publisher keeps 30%.

That would explain the Economist being as expensive as it is and not giving you web access or the Audio Edition.  If I've done my math correctly:

At $125 a year for the Kindle subscription, The Economist is taking in around $37 per subscriber.

Amazon on the other hand is bringing in $88 per subscriber.

If I were The Economist, I wouldn't give web or Audio access for $37 either.  Boo for Amazon.

If the music industry had gotten together as quickly as the Magazine industry did to thwart the Kindle Model, then iTunes wouldn't have near the dominance.  This might be the tipping point for me getting an e-reader:

LEADING PUBLISHERS FORM VENTURE TO OFFER CONSUMERS NEW DIGITAL STOREFRONT AND PORTABLE READING EXPERIENCE

Initiative Will also Offer Marketers Rich Array of Innovative Advertising Opportunities

New York, NY, December 8, 2009 ? Condé Nast, Hearst, Meredith, News Corporation and Time Inc. today jointly announced that they have entered into an independent venture to develop open standards for a new digital storefront and related technology that will allow consumers to enjoy their favorite media content on portable digital devices.

The goal of this digital initiative is fourfold, to create: a highly featured common reading application capable of rendering the distinctive look and feel of each publication; a robust publishing platform optimized for multiple devices, operating systems and screen sizes; a consumer storefront offering an extensive selection of reading options; and a rich array of innovative advertising opportunities.

Beyond the publications of the equity partners, the venture will welcome other publishers to offer their content via this new digital platform. Publishers will derive revenue from content and advertising sales, as well as from print subscriptions.

"For the consumer, this digital initiative will provide access to an extraordinary selection of engaging content products, all customized for easy download on the device of their choice, including smartphones, e-readers and laptops," explained John Squires, the venture's interim managing director. "Once purchased, this content will be 'unlocked' for consumers to enjoy anywhere, anytime, on any platform."

For publishers and advertisers, the venture will offer an attractive, cost-efficient, consumer-focused environment. Advertisers will be able to utilize innovative formats that benefit from the highly engaging, interactive nature of this new medium. In addition to entirely new magazine and newspaper reading experiences, content selections may ultimately include books, comic books, blogs and other media.

For the hardware, software and retail industries, the initiative will provide dynamic new business opportunities by organizing a library of quality content with a common format and technical specifications. The venture partners represent an unduplicated audience of 144.6 million according to Mediamark Research & Intelligence (MRI). By the end of 2010, Forrester Research estimates that 10 million e-readers will be sold in the U.S., and according to m:Metrics (comScore), there will be over 50 million smartphones in the U.S. by the end of 2010.

Jaguar wrote:
One thing that never seems to be addressed is that some of us (and yes, there are a lot of us) who just love the physical sensuality of holding a book or magazine in our hands. Personally, I don't care about the mags, but a good book has it's own pleasures. Very much like those of us who require the physical album or CD with art work when it comes to the downloads vs. physical product arguement.

Sure, Kindle has it's advantages but it will never replace the thrill of having your own library of words.

Not to mention that anyone using a Kindle just automatically looks like a douche.

Doctor wrote:

Jaguar wrote:
One thing that never seems to be addressed is that some of us (and yes, there are a lot of us) who just love the physical sensuality of holding a book or magazine in our hands. Personally, I don't care about the mags, but a good book has it's own pleasures. Very much like those of us who require the physical album or CD with art work when it comes to the downloads vs. physical product arguement.

Sure, Kindle has it's advantages but it will never replace the thrill of having your own library of words.

Not to mention that anyone using a Kindle just automatically looks like a douche.

Spoken like a judgemental West Virginia redneck.

James wrote:

Doctor wrote:

Jaguar wrote:
One thing that never seems to be addressed is that some of us (and yes, there are a lot of us) who just love the physical sensuality of holding a book or magazine in our hands. Personally, I don't care about the mags, but a good book has it's own pleasures. Very much like those of us who require the physical album or CD with art work when it comes to the downloads vs. physical product arguement.

Sure, Kindle has it's advantages but it will never replace the thrill of having your own library of words.

Not to mention that anyone using a Kindle just automatically looks like a douche.

Spoken like a judgemental West Virginia redneck.

Doctor Doom = mr_goodbomb ??

vansmack wrote:
Finally, some legitimate competition (no offense Sony):



The Barnes and Noble "nook"....$259.

If nothing else, expect a price war near Xmas.

Wired twitted this about the Nook

Our own @pgcat just played with the Nook for a few minutes: "Compact but slow, clumsy user interface. Tiny LCD screen adds little value."

not exactly a ringing endorsement…

i'll just wait for the apple tablet/e-reader due out next year

Kindle 2 can charge over USB. I agree that limited titles, and additional charges for international users when buying titles decreases the appeal, though.



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What if you couldn't get the new release book electronically for 4 weeks to six months after it's release?

Could you imagine if the music industry had done this to Apple?

So I got a Kindle for Xmas and must say, I like it much more than I thought I would.

For anybody else who has one, I would recommend Calibre software for avoiding charges to wirelessly deliver newspapers and magazine's to you device.  I use my paid access to The Economist web site to add the print edition to my kindle wihtout paying the Kindle price for the mag.  It's pretty sweet.

Kosmette just bought a nook….

I've had a Kindle 1 for about a year before I bought the DX. What I like and recommend over the Kindle 2 is the incredible increase in screen space. More screen space equals more words on the page and less "turning the page"


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kosmo wrote:
Kosmette just bought a nook….

Let me know what she thinks of the software.  I used one right before the holidays and it was sluggish but I hear they're really making it snappy these days.

vansmack wrote:

kosmo wrote:
Kosmette just bought a nook….

Let me know what she thinks of the software.  I used one right before the holidays and it was sluggish but I hear they're really making it snappy these days.

She got the new SW and is pleased so far, she wanted a reader that handled PDFs better since a lot of her class readings are provided in that format.

i got a kindle for christmas, completely unexpected. and i kind of love it. it won't replace my purchase of regular books (yet), especially since i still read a lot of graphic novels.

i enjoy having it for travel since i can carry multiple books without actually doing it and can read the onion, etc. to be fair though, i don't have a smart phone - so other than an ipod, i don't really have any kind of technological device to keep me amused during my commute - so maybe that is why i'm pretty partial to it. also, i already have enough shit in my purse without lugging a couple books around in addition.

I've been looking over Kosmette's shoulder while she is using her Nook and come to the conclusion that really is a nice size for a portable tablet/e-reader/ etc.  Which of course makes one wonder what Apple was thinking with regards to the iPad, other than it just being another platform for peddling content to. 

I suspect much like the iPod, the masses will embrace the iPad and its short coming, leaving the enthusiasts to bicker among themselves as to which niche device is the superior product. 

It's a shame cause Apple has a leg up in the apps department and will the Nintendo's, Nooks, Android developers ever catch up. 

Of course until we can easily swap SIM cards between devices, we'll never be able to one day be able to cart around an iPhone and the next day use a Nook/Kindle device as a phone without having two voice plans.

I agree Kosmo, and that's why I went with the Kindle 2 over the DX.  The small form factor of that and my netbook means that I can carry everything in my 10inch mini messenger back which is super convenient.  More important than size though is the e-ink screen - that's where the iPad is really going to fail and it's just a matter of time before start to realize how hard on the eyes a back lit screen is (and kosmette will realize how easy on the eyes her nook screen is).

As for the apps, somebody will make a simple app port program from iPhone to Android, so that won't be the problem.  The danger comes in all the different screen sizes for all of the Android running devices…some of those ports are going to look awful.

I am happy with my Kindle. I only want more books from Murakami and Chabon to be available.

I was tempted to put this in the Southwest bashing thread, but I'll put it here instead.  Do to a change in Smackette's plans, I flew Southwest yesterday instead of Virgin.

And for the first time yesterday, I had a flight attendant tell me to stowe my kindle during take off.  I asked if he was serious?  He said "Yes. I see the wireless is off and I know that it doesn't use any power except when you change the page, we just don't want any items flying around the cabin in an emergency."

I looked at Smackette's hard cover novel in her lap that she was reading (easily 5x the size of my kindle) and then at my kindle, then an "are you REALLY serious?" look back at him…

"OK.  I'll let you keep it out, just don't turn the page."

"No, don't worry about it - I'll put it away.  I'm sorry you didn't get what you want for Christmas…." then I looked back at Smackette "This is why I fly Virgin.  They JUST GET IT."

He didn't ask me to put it away for landing.

Now that Amazon sells more ebooks than hard back books and the Kindle price has hit Smackie's sweet spot, this was fairly poigniant:

Why I only Buy Kindle Books

"If anything, Kindle's in a better position than iTunes, since it doesn't restrict you to Amazon's hardware. It's a true service."…..He doesn't to sell you a Kindle. He wants to sell you Kindle.

Much smarter than Apple was with iTunes.  I can't imagine how many more songs Apple would have sold if they had been open with FairPlay.

i heard the i pad destroyed the e book reader world.  is that true?

destroyed as in . . . why buy the others when i pad can do it and so much more.