61–70 of 105 posts
Kind of the ultimate blow to the iPad and iBook. Even if the iPad has color and is backlit, just how many people will choose a $600 book reader over a $0 book reader that's 'almost' as good?
Those who want a device that can be used for more than just reading books.
The use of the graph is ridiculous in this post. If the author wants to predict a free Kindle in the near future and back it up with some one line quote from Bezos, fine. However, that graph is pointless. I can craft countless other curves to those four points that are just as "predictive" as that one yet would predict vastly different prices. Further, if that graph was correct, Amazon would start paying us to take K…
Amazon Prime isn't available everywhere.
What about the International markets? Or is this just a US thing?
By this logic, Amazon will pay you to take a Kindle by the start of next year. Amazon makes future money on Kindle owners because they're avid book readers and they buy a lot of eBooks. If Amazon were to give away Kindles for free a lot of non-avid readers would pick them up just to have one, which would kill the model. I think a $99 price point (maybe $49 with Prime) makes a lot more sense.
I own a Kindle but rarely buy Kindle books from Amazon. There is plenty of high-quality free content as well as eBooks from other publishers like Pragmatic Press.
Kind of the ultimate blow to the iPad and iBook. Even if the iPad has color and is backlit, just how many people will choose a $600 book reader over a $0 book reader that's 'almost' as good?
It is an ultimate blow for all of the other book readers (Nook, Sony's readers). Amazon is in iPod territory here: their readers are better and cheaper than the competition and likely to remain so, at least for the short-term (next 2-3 years).
If it weren't for the fact that many users wouldn't use a FREE Kindle, they probably should give Kindles away. Buy 10 eBooks and get a Kindle free would be a good strategy.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Prime is great if you're going to use the free 2-day shipping feature, but Amazon streaming is horrible IIRC. It uses Flash, and I'm guessing doesn't have the selection Netflix does.
Amazon has recent movies, though. For example, I watched District 9 through Amazon On Demand in Jan/Feb 2010. That's 5-6 months after it was released. Most Netflix Streaming titles are something you'd find on VHS in your mom's basement.
BTW, most Amazon streaming titles are something you'd find on VHS in your mom's basement. I just checked and the first movie they tempted me with was "Contact" from _1997_.
Why do we need Amazon anymore?
If anyone can write a book and make an ebook and accept payment and distribute the book... why do you need an amazon?
Could I buy a reader for $500, pay $5 for ebooks, and the author and publisher still make more money?
It seems like giving away the reader for free with a proprietary format is just an attempt to lock in readers and create need for a service that isnt really needed.
To win the ebook market big time they WILL have to win the reader market, which will amortize to giving away free readers.
By this logic, Amazon will pay you to take a Kindle by the start of next year. Amazon makes future money on Kindle owners because they're avid book readers and they buy a lot of eBooks. If Amazon were to give away Kindles for free a lot of non-avid readers would pick them up just to have one, which would kill the model. I think a $99 price point (maybe $49 with Prime) makes a lot more sense.
Wouldn't Amazon be able to tell if existing customers are avid readers or not by their purchase history? Perhaps, rather than thinking they would give them out on a street corner, they would gift them to customers who reach a purchase $amount/frequency.
Sure, if they buy their books from Amazon. I tend to buy from brick-and-mortar stores (a habit I should perhaps get out of, since there doesn't seem to be a store with a decent selection within 100 miles).