Ebooks: Now what? http://bit.ly/bmZ5ip

Ebooks: Now what?: Therefore, expect them to price the platform as low as they need to, even free, to move more eb… http://bit.ly/bNcT89

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Ebooks: Now what?: Therefore, expect them to price the platform as low as they need to, even free, to move m… http://tinyurl.com/33ppjkl

You make fun of the Sony reader but not being backed by a huge bookstore put them at a big disadvantage . I think the future wars between ereaders won't be about price like you say but rather different technology like for say a soft cover ebooks reader and different features available. They still want to profit from their devices and not give them away for free they just will improvise.

Ebooks: Now what?
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Ebooks: Now what? | Mobility Site http://bit.ly/9DAnCi

Ebooks: Now what?: Therefore, expect them to price the platform as low as they need to, even free, to move more eb… http://bit.ly/bNcT89

You make fun of the Sony reader but not being backed by a huge bookstore put them at a big disadvantage . I think the future wars between ereaders won't be about price like you say but rather different technology like for say a soft cover ebooks reader and different features available. They still want to profit from their devices and not give them away for free they just will improvise.

[...] if this backfires for Apple. It’s just not the prices of ebooks that are being affected. Prices of e-readers are being slashed, and in some cases, bookstores are making losses with each e-reader [...]

I think the future wars between ereaders won't be about price like you say[....]

I don't think Z said that at all. He said the prices could drop to zero and the companies could still make money selling books. Getting people locked in to your store is where the money is at.

They still want to profit from their devices and not give them away for free they just will improvise.

While they may want to profit off of the hardware, do they need to? If they can make enough money on books to compensate for losing money on hardware, they'd probably rather get you locked in to their store.

It's similar to other devices. Cellular carriers often give away phones to get you locked into their service for two years. I've read most of the game console companies lost money on the hardware when their consoles were new because they realize that selling games is where the money is.

Steve

There ARE lessons to be learned from this, but “Ebook Readers are Dead” is not one of them.

I agree. eBook readers still provide advantages over tablets (price for one, convenience for another).

Amazon knocked a full THIRD off the price of the Kindle just like that.

Not quite. It was just over a 27% cut ($189/$259). You might have looked at it backwards ($259/$189), which gives a 37% markup, but the denominator always has to be the starting price to figure discounts and markups.

Also, everyone always says the screen is the most expensive part of an ebook reader, but B&N removed the 3G antenna from the Nook and dropped the price by nearly HALF.

I haven't seen the guts, but I'd guess that they really just disabled cellular in software and didn't change the hardware at all. That would be cheaper than manufacturing two devices. Given that the “free-to-users” cellular costs are actually included in the book prices, B&N will make their money back that way, I suspect.

Which of course also means we can expect the prices to drop even further. If we assume that both Amazon and B&N are working from the classic “Give away the razor and sell the blades” business model, then the prices are going to drop A LOT more. After all, both companies (and soon Borders) are making most of their money off selling the blades, that is, the books and not the readers.

I'd be interested to know if they're really making enough off of book sales right now to give the devices away. Amazon may be, given how long the Kindle has been available, but I don't know if B&N is.

However, in the long run, I suspect you're right. My guess is that they'll never actually give away the hardware, though. They'll probably “sell” the reader and let you pick 10 (or whatever) “free” books (book club style). That will get you locked in from the start, but it will probably be more acceptable to consumers — they're actually buying something “real” (the reader), not something insubstantial (the books).

In the end, I think both Amazon and B&N will give up on trying to say their devices are better for reading than a tablet and focus completely on leveraging their enormous libraries. I think they already view the Kindle and Nook as simply a platform to sell books, the whole “reading experience” thing is just marketing blather for them.

Maybe, but it's still true. The iPad doesn't provide a good one-handed reading experience, does it? The Kindle does. Maybe if tablets get as small as the Kindle, they'll provide similar reading experiences, but then the tablet will lose the advantage of screen size.

Steve

I think the future wars between ereaders won't be about price like you say[....]

I don't think Z said that at all. He said the prices could drop to zero and the companies could still make money selling books. Getting people locked in to your store is where the money is at.

They still want to profit from their devices and not give them away for free they just will improvise.

While they may want to profit off of the hardware, do they need to? If they can make enough money on books to compensate for losing money on hardware, they'd probably rather get you locked in to their store.

It's similar to other devices. Cellular carriers often give away phones to get you locked into their service for two years. I've read most of the game console companies lost money on the hardware when their consoles were new because they realize that selling games is where the money is.

Steve

There ARE lessons to be learned from this, but “Ebook Readers are Dead” is not one of them.

I agree. eBook readers still provide advantages over tablets (price for one, convenience for another).

Amazon knocked a full THIRD off the price of the Kindle just like that.

Not quite. It was just over a 27% cut ($189/$259). You might have looked at it backwards ($259/$189), which gives a 37% markup, but the denominator always has to be the starting price to figure discounts and markups.

Also, everyone always says the screen is the most expensive part of an ebook reader, but B&N removed the 3G antenna from the Nook and dropped the price by nearly HALF.

I haven't seen the guts, but I'd guess that they really just disabled cellular in software and didn't change the hardware at all. That would be cheaper than manufacturing two devices. Given that the “free-to-users” cellular costs are actually included in the book prices, B&N will make their money back that way, I suspect.

Which of course also means we can expect the prices to drop even further. If we assume that both Amazon and B&N are working from the classic “Give away the razor and sell the blades” business model, then the prices are going to drop A LOT more. After all, both companies (and soon Borders) are making most of their money off selling the blades, that is, the books and not the readers.

I'd be interested to know if they're really making enough off of book sales right now to give the devices away. Amazon may be, given how long the Kindle has been available, but I don't know if B&N is.

However, in the long run, I suspect you're right. My guess is that they'll never actually give away the hardware, though. They'll probably “sell” the reader and let you pick 10 (or whatever) “free” books (book club style). That will get you locked in from the start, but it will probably be more acceptable to consumers — they're actually buying something “real” (the reader), not something insubstantial (the books).

In the end, I think both Amazon and B&N will give up on trying to say their devices are better for reading than a tablet and focus completely on leveraging their enormous libraries. I think they already view the Kindle and Nook as simply a platform to sell books, the whole “reading experience” thing is just marketing blather for them.

Maybe, but it's still true. The iPad doesn't provide a good one-handed reading experience, does it? The Kindle does. Maybe if tablets get as small as the Kindle, they'll provide similar reading experiences, but then the tablet will lose the advantage of screen size.

Steve

I really need you around to do my math for me, Steve.

As for the antenna in the WiFi version, you are right it would be cheapest just to disable it but that doesn't mean they wouldn;t remove it. The WiFi only Nook is about half an ounce lighter than the 3G version…would a 3G antenna weigh half an ounce?

I also see what you mean about Kindles being much lighter and smaller than any tablet…but are books themselves any good at one hand reading experiences (assuming you don't break the binding). I have a feeling most people would give up the one handed option and the E-ink screen for more functionality, or the ease of having all you do on one device. If the Kindle and company want to retain more then bibliophiles and true believes, then the keys will library access and price.

I really need you around to do my math for me, Steve.

As for the antenna in the WiFi version, you are right it would be cheapest just to disable it but that doesn't mean they wouldn't remove it anyway. The WiFi only Nook is about half an ounce lighter than the 3G version…would a 3G antenna weigh half an ounce?

I also see what you mean about Kindles being much lighter and smaller than any tablet…but are books themselves any good at one hand reading experiences (assuming you don't break the binding). I have a feeling most people would give up the one handed option and the E-ink screen for more functionality, or the ease of having all you do on one device. If the Kindle and company want to retain more then bibliophiles and true believers, then the keys will be library access and price.

My point was since they can profit from their devices they will. Your example of cellular companies proves this point. Just who takes the free cellphone they give you with the plan? nobody because its the most basic outdated cellphone available we all want the latest features so we pay for them. Apple does this the best and thats why their market cap surpassed that of Microsoft. Zealots point is true but if they can have the best features and the best price then they will be king because it will be a “gotta have it” device. Ebooks can be purchased from many places and they cant lock you in like the cellphone companies, so whoever has the must have it device will capture the lions share just look at Apple. Thats my opinion.

The problem is that you can't buy many current (in other words, more popular) eBooks from that many places — and the places where you can buy them use a proprietary DRM (at least for now). That's how Amazon or B&N will achieve lock-in.

Also remember that some people must be taking the low-end phones, otherwise the carriers probably wouldn't bother with them. So nothing would prevent Amazon or B&N from offering a “free” reader (or enough free books to make the reader free as I mentioned above) and a more feature-filled reader. In fact, all of the major players now have readers at various price points (Amazon with the Kindle and Kindle DX, B&N with the Nook WiFi and Nook, Sony with the Pocket Reader, Touch Reader and Daily Reader, etc.), so it doesn't seem improbable that one of those price points will be “free” in the next couple of years.

If you want proof that people don't always pay for the coolest device, I can supply it from personal experience. Just this week, I bought three Series 2 Tivos for $50 each. That's 240 hours of SD recording capability for $150. I couldn't have bought even one of their new Premiere units ($300) for that, even though I really would have preferred the Premiere because it's so cool.

You seem to think people will always get the coolest (and most expensive) thing, but it's simply not true. Some people will, but not everybody (or even the majority in most cases); most of us aren't made of money and have to budget things.

And, other than Apple, how many “must-have” portable electronic devices have you seen in the last few years? Apple seems to be the only company that can pull it off, so they may be a singular exception.

Steve

I really need you around to do my math for me, Steve.

I'm not sure that you could afford me. :P

As for the antenna in the WiFi version, you are right it would be cheapest just to disable it but that doesn't mean they wouldn't remove it anyway. The WiFi only Nook is about half an ounce lighter than the 3G version…would a 3G antenna weigh half an ounce?

Maybe they do take it out; as I said, I don't really know. But imagine leaving it in and offering people the ability to upgrade their WiFi Nooks to cellular for a small fee later. That could be a nice extra bit of cash flow for B&N. :D

I also see what you mean about Kindles being much lighter and smaller than any tablet…but are books themselves any good at one hand reading experiences (assuming you don't break the binding).

Don't you ever hold the book open with your thumb in the middle? You can read two pages before you need your second hand, and that doesn't break the spine. I'm not sure you could comfortably read an iPad one-handed for an extended period.

I have a feeling most people would give up the one handed option and the E-ink screen for more functionality, or the ease of having all you do on one device.

There are always one-device and two-device people. Some people carry iPods and smart phones, even though the phone could serve both needs. It all depends on what the person values most.

If the Kindle and company want to retain more then bibliophiles and true believers, then the keys will be library access and price.

I think we agreed on that. I just think there are some additional people (the two-device people) who won't want the jack-of-all-trades device (or, even if they do, will still want an eBook reader for when their other device's battery dies :D).

Steve

[...] Ebooks: Now what? Well we all knew it was coming. The arrival of the iPad and the pressure that Apple suddenly began to apply to the Ebook Reader market was bound to have an effect, just as Apple and the iPhone forced the telecom industry to respond just be being there. I was also pretty sure that the first thing that the iPad would affect would be price. After all, it is the easiest thing for most tech vendors to change as it simply means cutting the margin finer, and it was sure to have a major effect on consumer and the tech press. [...]

The problem is that you can't buy many current (in other words, more popular) eBooks from that many places — and the places where you can buy them use a proprietary DRM (at least for now). That's how Amazon or B&N will achieve lock-in.

Also remember that some people must be taking the low-end phones, otherwise the carriers probably wouldn't bother with them. So nothing would prevent Amazon or B&N from offering a “free” reader (or enough free books to make the reader free as I mentioned above) and a more feature-filled reader. In fact, all of the major players now have readers at various price points (Amazon with the Kindle and Kindle DX, B&N with the Nook WiFi and Nook, Sony with the Pocket Reader, Touch Reader and Daily Reader, etc.), so it doesn't seem improbable that one of those price points will be “free” in the next couple of years.

If you want proof that people don't always pay for the coolest device, I can supply it from personal experience. Just this week, I bought three Series 2 Tivos for $50 each. That's 240 hours of SD recording capability for $150. I couldn't have bought even one of their new Premiere units ($300) for that, even though I really would have preferred the Premiere because it's so cool.

You seem to think people will always get the coolest (and most expensive) thing, but it's simply not true. Some people will, but not everybody (or even the majority in most cases); most of us aren't made of money and have to budget things.

And, other than Apple, how many “must-have” portable electronic devices have you seen in the last few years? Apple seems to be the only company that can pull it off, so they may be a singular exception.

Steve

I really need you around to do my math for me, Steve.

I'm not sure that you could afford me. :P

As for the antenna in the WiFi version, you are right it would be cheapest just to disable it but that doesn't mean they wouldn't remove it anyway. The WiFi only Nook is about half an ounce lighter than the 3G version…would a 3G antenna weigh half an ounce?

Maybe they do take it out; as I said, I don't really know. But imagine leaving it in and offering people the ability to upgrade their WiFi Nooks to cellular for a small fee later. That could be a nice extra bit of cash flow for B&N. :D

I also see what you mean about Kindles being much lighter and smaller than any tablet…but are books themselves any good at one hand reading experiences (assuming you don't break the binding).

Don't you ever hold the book open with your thumb in the middle? You can read two pages before you need your second hand, and that doesn't break the spine. I'm not sure you could comfortably read an iPad one-handed for an extended period.

I have a feeling most people would give up the one handed option and the E-ink screen for more functionality, or the ease of having all you do on one device.

There are always one-device and two-device people. Some people carry iPods and smart phones, even though the phone could serve both needs. It all depends on what the person values most.

If the Kindle and company want to retain more then bibliophiles and true believers, then the keys will be library access and price.

I think we agreed on that. I just think there are some additional people (the two-device people) who won't want the jack-of-all-trades device (or, even if they do, will still want an eBook reader for when their other device's battery dies :D).

Steve