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The Kindle Index

priceonomics.com

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Re: The Kindle Index

#21

Post by pdubs »

rtrunck wrote: post #18
pdubs wrote: post #11

>Kindles and Nooks aren’t really competing against each other so much as both of them are holding on for dear life versus the iPad ...except that Kindles and Nooks aren't trying to compete with the iPad, being completely different types of devices for completely different primary purposes.

Maybe some Kindles and Nooks, but the Kindle Fire is certainly not a completely different type of device.

Even then I find it difficult to compare a $200 7" tablet with a purposely limited app store to a $500 10" tablet with the largest app store around. There are similarities, but I think it's closer to how Toyota doesn't really compete with BMW.

Re: The Kindle Index

#22

Post by corin_ »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #7
mvid wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They can be, just like a computer can be. Ever tried reading on one of those for >30 minutes? Awful.

The last seventy or so books that I read on my iPad, from novels to textbooks, weren't too bad.

I've never had a problem reading text on my blackberry, or even books on my iPad - but since I got a Kindle I do far, far prefer it to the iPad.

Maybe that's largely a personal opinion or maybe most people would agree with me, but either way my point is - yeah, it's not "too bad", and is perfectly fine, but it doesn't mean it's not significantly worse.

Re: The Kindle Index

#23

Post by personlurking »

dkarl wrote: post #17
guccimane wrote: post #2

iOS and Android have a Kindle app, which means every iPhone, iPad, and Android device can also be a Kindle. This fact is conspicuously missing in the analysis.

I had a Kindle once. Lost it in a breakup. I still read more books in the Kindle app than dead tree books, and I don't miss not having a Kindle. Thanks to the Kindle app on my iPhone, reading serves as the mortar of my life, filling up all the cracks. I only used my actual Kindle at home for sit-down reading.

Interesting, the trend in calling regular books "dead tree books" and in leaving out the "e" in e-books. I have my own ideas as to why this is happening though I fear they would derail the conversation on the article at hand, thus I'll just leave it as food for thought.

Re: The Kindle Index

#24

Post by walkon »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #7
mvid wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They can be, just like a computer can be. Ever tried reading on one of those for >30 minutes? Awful.

The last seventy or so books that I read on my iPad, from novels to textbooks, weren't too bad.

All this pre-retina? I find pre-retina text display blurry to the point of distraction after long periods of reading. Also, how do you hold your iPad? I like the newest and cheapest Kindle's size and weight for holding it an almost any position for long periods of time.

Re: The Kindle Index

#26

Post by zokier »

midas wrote: post #4

I wonder if the reason that there are so few e-readers for sale is because their use-case doesn't really change. In other words, they remain useful for much longer. This might make people hold onto them instead of constantly upgrading to the latest version.

I think part of the explanation would be that the underlying eInk displays have not evolved very much either, and thus the devices themselves have limited potential to grow.

Re: The Kindle Index

#28

Post by camtarn »

Here's an interesting dimension to look at: prevalence of e-readers (and iPads etc) vs mass transit use. My train to work in the morning is stuffed with people using various hand-held non-phone devices; I can't imagine they'd be as popular with car commuters :)

Another (silly) one: e-readers vs holidays taken in hot places. Maybe people don't buy e-readers in California because they're already somewhere sunny, so they don't take beach holidays? ;)

Re: The Kindle Index

#29

Post by zokier »

personlurking wrote: post #23
dkarl wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had a Kindle once. Lost it in a breakup. I still read more books in the Kindle app than dead tree books, and I don't miss not having a Kindle. Thanks to the Kindle app on my iPhone, reading serves as the mortar of my life, filling up all the cracks. I only used my actual Kindle at home for sit-down reading.

Interesting, the trend in calling regular books "dead tree books" and in leaving out the "e" in e-books. I have my own ideas as to why this is happening though I fear they would derail the conversation on the article at hand, thus I'll just leave it as food for thought.

I think it just means that the concept of book has separated from it's transfer medium. So "book" refers more to the content than the physical (or digital) representation. Compare to movie vs dvd.
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