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Prices Slashed For Nook, Kindle E-Readers
b0bby sends in a report from ZDNet about the sudden outbreak of a price war in e-reader devices. "On Monday, Barnes & Noble cut the price of the 3G Nook to $199. It also launched a $149 Wi-Fi version. Just hours later, Amazon responded by cutting the price of the Kindle to $189. At $259, the price of the Kindle and Nook just 24 hours ago, an e-reader purchase competed with an Apple iPad, which started at $499 for a Wi-Fi version. Below $200, a dedicated e-reader purchase makes a lot more sense." Sony dropped prices for its readers three months ago, but the move didn't kick off a price war at that time. Some believe that dedicated e-readers are doomed in the long run to lose out to general-purpose devices such as the iPad — and its coming imitators, many of which will be based on Google Android.
Until they drop Ebook prices, they can pound sand...... For those prices, Kindle/Nook should be free
Self Defense - A Human Right www.a-human-right.com
It's a lot easier to say that it's over and the iPad/tablet rush will kill the eReader revolution.
Not to mention the fact that the nook/Kindle are much, much cheaper. That makes taking it to places like the beach (large zipper plastic bag keeps it safe and readable) or just on the go in general is something you don't have to worry about.
Yes, the iPad will have its fans. But there are people who don't want a "do everything" device, they want something that reads books really, really well. And the nook, Kindle, and other eReaders do that. Until there's a radical revolution in color screen technology that gains the benefits that e-ink has (which are great for a book reading device)
Not to mention that the 3G iPad is $130 extra, and doesn't include free 3G for the store so you can make an impulse book buy wherever you are. That's major in the convenience factor of the device.
e-Ink is more expensive than you think (I don't have a definitive price, but according to this link the cost to Amazon for the e-Ink display on the Kindle is $60 by itself). Tack on the cost of the processor, memory, networking gear, battery, casing, quality control, etc., and the supposed cost to Amazon is $185. Given that prices have probably dropped a bit since that report, I suspect they are making a small profit on each device (though of course the cost of warranty replacements probably removes even that). The money is in e-Book sales; each sale may be for less than the hardcover, and the publishers may take a large cut, but what remains is pure profit; sale and distribution of pure data is effectively free.
$_ = "wftedskaebjgdpjgidbsmnjgcdwatb"; tr/a-z/oh, turtleneck Phrase Jar!/; print
Forrester projected that the $150 price point would jump start e-reader sales.
And I predict a $49.99 will make them take off like a rocket!
Now if only there was a price war with content.
I think subtracting the printing and distribution costs of a printed version from a dead tree version of a book would be a fair price for econtent - the publisher makes their money, the author gets the same royalty, and the consumer doesn't feel like their over-paying for content.
Example: $50 paper book - $20 for royalties, advertising, general administrative costs, publisher profit = $30 for printing, paper, trucking of the dead trees. Sell the book for $20 + retailer markup = $28.
I can live with that for the same content. Now if they'd allow for that content to be transferred easily ..... yeah, dream on. I guess if someone want's to borrow a book on the eReader, you would have to lend them the entire reader. That sucks!
RIP America
July 4, 1776 - September 11, 2001
Everyone is learning from Apple (used to be the case with music, still the case with apps):
When you entice people to make a significant investment in your platform (via books with your proprietary DRM system - the nook uses ePUBs, but it's wrapped with their own DRM) so switching means throwing all of the books they bought away, you'll have them buying your device (and more importantly, the books) for years to come.
Some people would argue that you argue that you only read books once, but some people watch movies, read books, etc. multiple times.
Probably nowhere near that high. E-ink screens are an oddball in process terms, so they don't share economies of scale with LCDs(which is why the real cheap seats in the e-reader market are black and white LCD devices, and why E-ink, inc. probably says a prayer of thanksgiving every time Pixel Qi's stuff gets delayed again). A fully pixel-addressable one of reasonable size and resolution is not inexpensive(unlike the cheesy region-addressable ones, which are fairly cheap). As discrete items, 3G modems suitable for computer use seem to go for 30-80 dollars. I'm assuming that they are cheaper in bulk; but that is still something extra on the old BOM.
We are probably talking at least 100% above BOM; but I'd be surprised at anything markedly higher than the consumer electronics average. The real rip-off, though, is in the fact that you are paying all that just for the right to purchase a bunch of fancy bitstreams, generally for at least as much as the paperback equivalent, sometimes more, from somebody's proprietary storefront.
With a 4"+ screen it bridges the gap enough between too small and not portable. While e-ink may mean less strain on the eyes, I mostly read at night so I would need some sort of light anyways.
I own both a Sony reader and an iPad. The Sony reader is far better at reading fiction than the iPad. The iPad is great for more technical stuff and magazine like reading.
iPad meh...
Is that Apple's version of Natalie Portman?
You might try another hobby or social activity besides reading. That'll make moving less strenuous and maybe provide people to help.
I disagree. I've owned a Sony Reader and an iPad. The iPad is, hands down, easier on the eyes.
The Kindle and other eInk displays have a contrast ratio of 6:1 to 7:1. The iPad backlit IPS display is 750:1 to 930:1.
Other than perhaps directly under the sun, the iPad display wins. In dim light, the iPad owns.
You only got one of your android facts right. In your quest to find out which one it is I'm sure you will learn much.
Why is it so hot? Where am I going? What am I doing in this handbasket?
"Android will be better next year!"
In my opinion Android is better _this_ year.
For phones: My girlfriend updated her iPhone 3GS to the new OS last night. I see that she now has a phone that still can't compare to my HTC Desire with Android 2.1. (2.2 upgrade due within 2 weeks)
For tablets: I don't want a locked-down tablet like the iPad. There are some sucky Android tablets out now, yes, but inevitably there will be some very good ones. And even if they aren't as pretty and slick as the iPad, they will be _better_ than the iPad because, whichever one I choose, it will be my device to do whatever I want with.
I'm surprised that anyone would currently think Android needs to catch up with iOS. Android is far ahead. It's just that a lot of Android devices lack the "shiny factor" of the iDevices.
Yeah, just like how consoles were replaced by those general purpose PCs (and imitators, *cough*). It's gonna happen soon, right?
Reading the details the Nook will allow you to hook up for free to any B&N or AT&T WiFi hotspot. If you're in a B&N bookstore, you can "read" any of the ebooks for free. You can't take them with you if don't buy them. So, you can just come in and kill a few hours drinking over-priced coffee and reading like at a library.
They also have a "lending" function, as long as you use their software. I won't buy DRM books, but for people who don't mind you can "lend" an e-book to a friend for 14 days. Works with the iPod, Android, Mac & PC as well as some other platforms. Oh, and the Nook runs Android.
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
e-Ink is more expensive than you think (I don't have a definitive price, but according to this link [engadget.com] the cost to Amazon for the e-Ink display on the Kindle is $60 by itself).
GP is still fundamentally correct - e-Ink displays are overpriced. The reason why that is the case is that there is a single company - E Ink Corporation - holding key patents on technology, and maintaining monopoly on production.
Then again, what is "overpriced"? I paid $300 for a Sony PRS-505 two years ago, and, given the amount of use the device has got over that time period - more than any other gadget I own, with the exception of cellphone - consider it money well spent.
So, YMMV - largely depending on what you read, and how much. For people who read fiction a lot (as in, 1 book per week or more), I'd highly recommend one.
I think what he is talking about is taking FedEx or UPS out of the map. Amazon usually offers free shipping on orders over $25. I'm in Canada so its around $40. Anyways, I remember because there's a lot more stuff on Amazon.com (partner resellers etc), that people would find $0.99 items or less when their order was nudging on the free shipping price. That second item will cost Amazon more than its worth FWIW.
A fair amount of bandwidth is gobbled up just browsing the Amazon website. Amazon has to upkeep their website anyways. So I think the cost of delivery of the digital goods which would probably be a few bits and bytes more than some other user is friendlier to Amazon's pockets than paying free shipping on parcel delivery regardless if its a minimum order or a $1000 order books or not. I'd wager digital delivery is also friendlier on the environment.
That's why it only sells on the closed networks in the US.
Which closed network? T-Mobile? AT&T? Verizon? Sprint? MetroPCS? Is there even a single actual network that doesn't sell Android phones anymore? Go ahead. I dare you. Name a single one. Or did you mean Android only sold on all the networks of the US (therefore implying that all the networks in the US are closed)? Because, I can tell you. I'm currently in the UK right now, and there isn't a single shop in the UK that doesn't have Android devices on sale right now and that aren't selling like hot cakes. And sure, the iPhone is still very popular in the UK right now, but at the sales counter where it counts, it's getting assaulted by several very good Android phones that are all selling just as well as the iPhone. It's not fair fight anymore. One phone against 39 phones, several of which are actually far superior to the new iPhone.
That's why 75% of Android devices run v1.6.
No, it's more like 50% of the Android devices are running v2.1. I can cite my source. Can you even cite yours?
Being able to port desktop C apps over rather than rewrite in Java only becomes even more important.
Please repeat after me: The C and C++ apps of the Android NDK do not run on the Dalvik VM. The C and C++ apps of the Android NDK do not run on the Dalvik VM. Please repeat this one hundred times.
and the next thing you know "Android will be better next year!"
If anyone is saying that, and repeating it ad nausea um, you're the only one. I've corrected your strawman argument plus several of your other factual errors in your other threads. But you don't even seem to even read my responses, or even care about citing your sources.
A 6" 600x800 screen, as seen in most readers, is simply not high-res enough to read most PDFs in fit-page-to-screen mode - and you can't really go for anything else, as scrolling is very painful with such low screen refresh rates, and PDFs don't reflow. You need something bigger, like Kindle DX, or, better yed, iLiad. iPad also does better largely due to high-resolution (well, and the fact that it can actually scroll them reasonably well).
When everyone says free, they are generally talking about the marginal cost.
The marginal cost of an ebook is practically $0.00. The marginal cost of a $8 paperback is at least $2 (materials and physical movement of the book.)
Taking a popular book as an example:
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
paperback $7.99
kindle $9.99
So the marginal cost per book goes down and the price goes up. It's easy to see where customers think they're getting gouged when they're paying more for a cheaper copy that is more restrictive (no resell possible).
t
Not only that, but I own 20 year old paperbacks. It's not clear that Kindles will last anywhere near that long.
Laissez lire, et laissez danser; ces deux amusements ne feront jamais de mal au monde. - Voltaire
On the other hand, I bought a Sony Reader and I love it. I just don't buy it for books I'll be reading more than once or books where the price difference won't justify a purchase. The reading experience on the Reader is better than a paper book. It lays flat, it can be held in a single hand or not at all. There is no curve to the page. There is no flipping hand positions from left page to right page...etc...
Tons of free books out there have justified the cost for me. I just don't see it going mainstream until the price of books makes sense.
t
There are things where an ebook reader is inferior to real books.
Can you share books with your friends? Can you sell the books (or give some of them for free)? If you have two kids, can they read two different books you bought for your ebook?
There are things the eBook Readers do better than paper books - but not all of them.
How much would it cost you to buy one book? $$ versus $$$
How so? Books are a communal thing, an eBook reader is not. My mom has been buying what was once considered 'trashy" Sci-Fi and horror paperbacks since the late 50s, thanks to her our public library gets to have one of the best classic Sci-Fi horror sections around, and my mom is on a first name basis with the librarians and most of the college girls in town thanks to her "need to free up shelf space" a couple of times a year. When she is in the library (which is often) she ends up chattering for ages with the local college girls, who want to know what she thinks of a particular artist/series or want to know if she has a missing book in some old fantasy series the girl is reading (which she often does) and they will sit there for ages discussing books.
You just don't get interaction like that with an eBook. They are just little ones and zeroes, little chunks of DRM that are quickly not worth anything, even to the one who paid. I remember when this whole eReader fad came around last in the mid 90s, and just like today the publishers wanted too much money for DRM infested crap. Just like then I have a feeling it will all end up in the trash, while my mom and the college girls at the library swap the last fantasy authors over tea.
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
I assume you haven't heard about ManyBooks.net, where you can find thousands of books you will never need to reflow, because you can download them in the exact format your device makes the best of. Or read it online as a web page. Your choice.
I just went there, and it seems to be mostly fiction. Note that I was specifically talking about technical literature in my post. For fiction, there are many places to buy books in proper formats.
I assume you haven't heard about all the tools (Calibre, chm2pdf...) that allow you to change in seconds the format of most of books to suit your device.
Calibre is great, but it doesn't help you with PDFs. Once again: you need to reflow them to fit the screen, and the format is not properly reflowable by design (because it requires absolutely positioned and sized text runs).
I assume you assume that Adobe garbage about PDF being the right format for e-books
No, I don't. I'd gladly buy technical books in e.g. ePub, or even HTML - problem is, practically no-one is selling them that way (or at least I haven't seen any). Hence the question: if you know of any place that actually sells technical books in any reflowable format, please just give the link to it. Don't preach how PDF is crap etc; I know already. Just give me the way to actually use something different.