I recently came across an article on CNET about the shortcomings of the Kindle and how these short comings represent opportunities for competitors to exploit.
“Competitors will attack Amazon’s market position by launching new features, expanding content beyond books, dominating markets outside the U.S., reducing costs, and improving relationships with publishers.”
I’ve long argued that the Kindle was too expensive and the fact that it is currently restricted to the US market is a major limitation. It’s ironic that one of the Kindle’s strengths – it’s on demand link to Amazon.com – is also what is holding it back outside of the US.
It was also interesting to see the projections for the market, both in terms of the # of consumers, and how the eBook reader market will change in response to this growth.
We are already seeing a lot of competition in the eBook reader space, with form friendly products like Readius to traditional ‘booklike’ products from txtr, Plastic Logic, Onyx, and Samsung. With all this competition it won’t be long before we reach the sweet spot for eBook readers, that magic sub $200 price point. Once that happens we’ll really see sales of eBook readers take off.
With all these new devices, the future for eBooks looks bright, and authors and publishers who have already embraced eBooks stand to benefit the most.
I’d love a Kindle, but I’m in that ‘not a US address’ boat that you’re in. I’ve got an eBookwise reader and so far I really like it. And the cost was enticing as well, $139 USD. But I do think the trend is moving forward. With the proliferation of smart phones and other devices, there are new and exciting ways in which to read an ebook cropping up all the time. Someone, somewhere will put together a good product that can read in some of the established formats (pdf, lit, epub) without having to download proprietory software, and then watch the explosion take off.
Thanks for commenting Ellen. My wife has an iPhone and we can’t get the Kindle iPhone application here in Canada either. She can read books on Stanza but it’s not as easy as it should be. Personally the reader that really excites me at the moment is Readius. I love the form factor but I don’t know much about the usability yet, which is of course key to it being a success.
I’ve been reading ebooks for years on my various Palm devices. I haven’t found that the smaller screens slow me down, if anything I read even faster than before. And my Palms also offer a lot of other features. I certainly can’t justify spending several hundred dollars on a reader that only has eInk and always on connectivity as the only improvements over my current situation.
Plus, I REALLY object to being restricted to shopping at Amazon! I read almost exclusively ebooks these days and shop at several online stores/publishers.
Catherine
I agree Catherine. I know that Amazon recently purchased Stanza so perhaps this will open up the Kindle to other markets. If not, I’m sure that market demand will take care of it, especially once eBook readers become mainstream and more versatile / functional. The other factor to consider is that Amazon isn’t making very many friends in the publishing community. I’ve seen a lot of complaints about Amazon’s draconian policies and grab for more of the profit margin. More eBook readers will give smaller publishers alternatives to dealing with Amazon.
David
It’s a good article, and I hope you’re right. I happen to agree with out that the time for ebooks is now and soon and things are getting better and better. I have six ebooks in the market, and so anything positive I say about the subject is suspect. On the other hand, that doesn’t mean I’m wrong, either. The next few years are going to be very interesting ones. Actually, I don’t think there’s been a more advantageous time for writers to get their materials out there since invention of the printing press. Technology is proving the great enabler.
Keep up the good work. Best,
John Klawitter
http://www.johnklawitter.com
I have a Sony reader and my husband has an eBookwise reader. He likes the backlight, I’d just as soon read in the light.
The biggest advantage to us is two fold. First we can change the font. As you age, for some, your eyesight deteriorates. Our has! Second, the bestsellers we like to buy are priced less than the bound copy and are often available in e-book format long before the paperback is available.
Allison
Sounds like a feature request to me Alison. It would great to have a device that offers the option of being backlit or not. As for the eBooks, not only are they often available long before the paperback is available, there are some publishers that offer eBooks only, in which case an eBook reader is your only option.
Thanks for the comments John. In the interest of full disclosure I have an eBook in the market as well, although I don’t own an eBook reader. Not yet anyway. Once the price comes down and the features improve, I’ll be there.
Great article. I used to have an Rocketbook, and adore it, used it constantly and morned it when it died. I’m waiting for the cost to come down on the various new readers, and then I’ll purchase. In the meantime, I’ll continue to use my laptop. I pop in a cd for sound effect, and read away.
You nailed it Angelica and Zi – waiting for the cost to come down. Don’t worry, it will happen and personally I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened earlier than predicted.
It not the market of Ebooks. It is the offer of Ebooks in the market. Demand is not present any. A distribution infrastructure – chaotic. There was a possibility to publish the texts on the Internet and all have started to be engaged in it. Why not? Every day on the Internet there are 400 000 new users. This advertising company also is calculated on them with ereaders. Actually, while there is nothing to read, except instructions – how to read and what to read. I exaggerate. And digital copies of paper books is as meal reflexion in a mirror. Looks also, and to sense any.
Just to add to the Kindle discussion.
While the machine itself is great, I dont see myself getting one because I already have an iPhone.
Now I know what you are thinking, small screen yada yada.
I probably read more news (NYTimes, CNN, BBC) on my iPhone than I do in print. Would I want to read a novel on my iPhone? No. But I wouldnt want to read it on a Kindle either.
Two cents
i have heard a lot of good things about kindle and have always wanted to try using it… only i’m from outside of the u.s… pretty sure there are a lot like me who would’ve used it if it were available, kindle truly is missing a lot from that market…
mm… nice