Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Free Kindle This November

kk.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

91–100 of 105 posts

Re: Free Kindle This November

#91

Post by _b8r0 »

joshkaufman wrote: post #7

A classic loss leader strategy. Given how much Amazon Prime increases Amazon purchase behavior, this makes all sorts of sense if the cost per unit goes down enough. Details about how Amazon Prime affects purchasing behavior: http://www.quora.com/Who-invented-Amazon-Prime-What-impact-h...

I'm an Amazon.co.uk Prime subscriber. I love it and things that I would normally shop around for I now just get from Amazon (as more often than not it's either cheaper with free delivery or the same price - the hassle of shopping around combined with the uncertainty stop me from going elsewhere. With Amazon I know it'll arrive in X number of days and I'm not going to save more than a few pounds).

Unfortunately in the UK we don't get the same deal as others, we have no movies on demand (which is a shame), but free kindles would seriously disrupt the ebook market here.

Re: Free Kindle This November

#92

Post by Roritharr »

reedlaw wrote: post #23
Nogwater wrote: post #6

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.

Thats my major concern here, i recently bought the Cracked.com Kindle Book and was astonished how amazingly bad the Kindle Version is in comparison to the real one. The included images were pixelated to the point of beeing unrecognizable and the text seemed to be not really formatted for my device.

And thats considering i paid 4$ more than the real one would have cost... so until they produce more quality in these things i stick to Project Gutenberg and read the classics.

Re: Free Kindle This November

#93

Post by dlevine »

I didn't have Prime until very recently. My rationale was that I pretty much always got free shipping anyways (Super Saver is free if you purchase more than $25 at a time, which isn't hard, and I don't care about the delivery date).

However, the free movie streaming actually convinced me to sign up for Prime (comparably priced to Netflix streaming, plus I get free two day shipping on all my Amazon purchases). I think that Amazon could potentially get a lot of new people to buy prime if they give away a free Kindle, which would probably be a net win for them.

Re: Free Kindle This November

#94

Post by Titanous »

dangrossman wrote: post #87
pyre wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why does Amazon Prime exist in Germany, but not Canada? Heh. I knew it existed in the US and not Canada, so I assumed that most of Amazon's "cool stuff" was just US-only.

Canada's 28 times bigger than Germany. I would expect the cost to ship something across Canada is much higher than the cost to ship something across Germany.

This may be true in some of the rural areas, but to Ottawa, the free shipping takes 1-2 days.

Re: Free Kindle This November

#95

Post by sliverstorm »

officemonkey wrote: post #72
sliverstorm wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course. I was speaking in regards to the folks who try to sell the iPad as a better book reader. I don't doubt the iPad will continue to sell.

But the iPad _isn't_ a better book reader. Electronic paper reads much better in sunlight. I did a side-by-side comparison with the iPad and the Kindle and I much preferred to read on the Kindle.

I prefer the Kindle as well, but some people think that a color screen is a very important feature on a book reader.

(Don't ask me)

Re: Free Kindle This November

#96

Post by drawkbox »

jrwoodruff wrote: post #56
drawkbox wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I pretty much agree with that and prefer my iPad for those types of things. But the Kindle will evolve and just the thought of getting away from the textbook fix would be nice. If Amazon Kindles were starting to appear in schools, iPads and Apple would be right there. Apple has always been good about getting computers into schools. The textbook industry got so crazy that most kids have TWO of each now because they ne…

That is a good point about the note-taking. I was thinking in context of higher ed, but high school/middle school... maybe it would work. Although I will say I do remember kids taking notes in pencil in the margins. Also - two textbooks? seriously? I can't imagine any school springing for that added expense, or even parents for that matter.

Part of the two textbook thing is related to not giving students lockers at some schools nowadays.

I can't imagine the cost/waste of all those textbooks and how silly it will look when we look back on how we do it now.

Re: Free Kindle This November

#97

Post by z23z23z23 »

I bought a $139 Kindle. Immediately de-linked it from my Amazon account and I manage it with Calibre. Fully loaded with tons of pirated MOBIs and PDFs.

To make matters worse, I bought one of the hard covers from a Best Buy which caused power shorts, then I called Amazon and got a replacement with a light from Amazon for free. Then I returned the lightless hardcover back w/receipt back to Best Buy. I wasn't trying to get a $60 cover for free, but this method works, no social engineering even required.

Loss leader indeed.

Re: Free Kindle This November

#99

Post by true_religion »

sliverstorm wrote: post #95
officemonkey wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But the iPad _isn't_ a better book reader. Electronic paper reads much better in sunlight. I did a side-by-side comparison with the iPad and the Kindle and I much preferred to read on the Kindle.

I prefer the Kindle as well, but some people think that a color screen is a very important feature on a book reader. (Don't ask me)

Color is important when it comes to newspapers and magazines, but most books that adults read don't have pictures--much less color pictures.

Re: Free Kindle This November

#100

Post by true_religion »

officemonkey wrote: post #67
bricestacey wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Since they're partnered with "Starz Play", Netflix gets a quite a few new pretty quickly. 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_.

Yep, they're even streaming TV shows as they come out like Spartacus.
Post reply on HN