Amazon is destroying e-reader innovation

[Manabi]

Originally Posted by 6charlong

Amazon’s business model relies on their shareholders/board of directors allowing them to go on year after year without paying a single dollar in dividends. That works while their stock value keeps going up and their shareholders can take their profit in stock value, thus gaining the tax advantage of growing wealth over income. It seems to me that the model will max out someday when there is no longer anywhere for Amazon to expand so profitably, or alternatively, until Amazon becomes a true monopoly in the book business and are sued and broken up by the government’s regulators.

Not all stocks pay dividends, some never do. It's perfectly normal for a growing company to reinvest all its earning into continuing expansion like Amazon is doing as well. Of course growth will max out at some point if Amazon is stupid and doesn't try to expand into new markets. That's why they added an mp3 store, an e-book store, the streaming video store, and their Android app store. The Kindle and Kindle Fire devices are part of that strategy too, and help boost profits from the digital content they sell. (It's also notable that Amazon has gained a near monopoly on e-ink devices in the US despite not being the first to market. They did a better job than Sony, and Sony lost.)

Even if Amazon does become a monopoly that, in and of itself, is not illegal. What is illegal is abusing your monopoly position, for things like undercutting competitors to take over another market and gaining another monopoly that way. Or to abuse customers on pricing. But if a company becomes a monopoly naturally (the market gives it to them because they do a better job than others, they create a new market entirely, etc.) it's perfectly legal.

Originally Posted by cfrizz

In your own way you people are just as much dinasaurs as the price fix BPH-5. You refuse to be flexible, you refuse to change, and you are the minority. So stick with your eink machines til they all die, the rest of us will continue marching on happily reading on whatever devices we have that can display ebooks, play music, make phone calls etc.

There are other reasons to want e-ink devices to innovate and the market for them grow. Those screens use vastly less power than LED/LCD screens, and if they can eventually get to where their refresh rate and colors are comparable, they would greatly benefit all portable devices. So even if you think dedicated e-book readers are a dinosaur, you should still want e-ink to develop and grow. Someday it might make your tablet devices even more awesome. (For the record, I prefer tablets and don't even own an e-ink device, but I do hope the screens pan out as a replacement technology because of those benefits.)

[QuantumIguana]

Or perhaps Amazon's products give people what they want.

[Billi]

Originally Posted by GeoffR

But Europe has DRM too, so that doesn't explain a difference between US and European ereaders.

Without any judgement and only drawing conclusions from posts in this forum I have the impression that American buyers much more base their decisions on price and only on price than on features than European buyers do.

[carpetmojo]

Originally Posted by cfrizz

Sigh, you people really need to get over your obsession with only reading on a one note machine. Ebooks and ereading is alive, well, and more than likely growing since most of us are reading on our phones, and tablets and we are reading more than ever before.

In your own way you people are just as much dinasaurs as the price fix BPH-5. You refuse to be flexible, you refuse to change, and you are the minority. So stick with your eink machines til they all die, the rest of us will continue marching on happily reading on whatever devices we have that can display ebooks, play music, make phone calls etc.

The only thing Amazon is guilty of is giving people what they want, all in one convenient place, at prices we are willing to pay. There is nothing illegal or destructive about that since we are the ones making the purchasing decisions.

Well, I do so love a nice reasoned argument ......

I suppose I am a "you people", so if I could be permitted a comment or two........

Ummm.... obsessed? .........No. I just prefer a purpose-made device, and different ones for different circumstances.

One note machine ?..........yes, see above - and the best play quite a few useful and helpful harmonies.

Dinosaur ?.............. strangly enough, my son refutes this, even though he drags me into the 21stC on the odd instance, although I confess I've drawn the line in the sand at twittering .......
I am flexible (sadly, not now quite as physically so as I'd like, but, hey ho, it comes to us all...) and may question the need to be so now and then, but usually at least explore the possibilities of any new "opportunity" to change.
Oh, and I may refuse to change on certain points, but do remain open to persuasion - apart from the evil that is twitter, of course .......

And, frankly, I've lost Amazon's place in all this, but I am, I suppose, possibly in the minority that don't much like certain things they do, like "avoiding" paying reasonable taxation, damaging bookshops, treating some employees/suppliers not too well ....... I shan't go on, others do it better ........ And to follow on from that, I'm in the minority that still hypocritically use them if I can't find an acceptable alternative .

Oh, and yes, I do agree with you when you say you "will continue marching on happily reading on whatever devices we have that can display ebooks, play music, make phone calls etc.....
'Cos so will I, and a lot of those like me, who simply prefer not to have them all done by one behemoth device ......
I mean, I dearly love my offspring, and he is quite a tech-wiz .......but I do admit to the merest smirk when even he complained over the size/cost and sheer complexity of his latest smartphone ......

But a sideways glance told me quit when I know I'm ahead....

Even the dinosaurs got it right now and then .....

Where's me typewriter ribbon ?

[HappyMartin]

A lack of innovation? Hmm. I turn on the reader and read my book. Not sure what else I can hope for in this one. Bit like a book really. Open it and read it. That's what I hoped for.

I think it is pretty mature tech now. Us people like it

[ingmar]

Originally Posted by HappyMartin

A lack of innovation? Hmm. I turn on the reader and read my book. Not sure what else I can hope for in this one.

Frontlights, e.g. Yes, we have those by now, but this is actually something that makes an ereader better than a regular book. Other areas that come to mind are search functionality, built-in dictionaries, note taking, beach-worthiness (Is that a word? I mean water and sand proof) etc. It's still a dedicated reading device, though.

I think it is pretty mature tech now. Us people like it

I like my reader, too (obviously), but I think there's still room for improvement.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Billi

Without any judgement and only drawing conclusions from posts in this forum I have the impression that American buyers much more base their decisions on price and only on price than on features than European buyers do.

You are not far off.
As I said above, the markets are different because the buyers' interests are diferent. The (non-UK) euro markets are driven by techies and hobbyists, students and academics--people who are interested in the technology and not just the stories.

Such people exist in the US too. But instead of making up 40, 50, or even 80 percent of the market, we amount to a sliver. The absolute numbers are comparable: tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands. But we are swamped by the millions of ereader buyers whose interest isn't the technology or managing ebook collections or reading academic papers, but simply reading. To those people, the device is a means to an end: accessing and displaying ebooks.

Just that.

They're not interested in matters like DRM, interoperability, monopsonies or conspiracies--they are interested in romance, SF&F, mysteries, adventures, and thrillers. As long as the device lets them get to the stories unobtrusively and, yes, cheaply, they don't see much value in added features as they value simplicity.

And things don't get much simpler than scrolling through a list of titles, tapping or clicking, and start reading. Kindles even take you straight to the beginning of a new story, bypassing the cover, copyright notices, blurbs and what-not.

Which isn't to say Kindles are barebones devices; their software is actually as feature rich as any. But the features they focus on are those that assist in reading: dictionaries, glossaries, character lists, even commentary. They may be relatively week on flexibility of organizing big libraries, but they are strong in reader assistance. Things like reading time estimates, synchronization across devices, even the fact that most Kindle readers arrive pre-registered, are all features that add real value to the reading experience.

I'm a techie--wouldn't be here otherwise. My mother isn't. I've been reading ebooks since the PDA era on HPCs, PocketPCs, TabletPCs, BeBook, Pocketbook, and even Kindle. My mother's been reading just as long on a Clio HPC Pro with Mobipocket, dual Rocket Readers (she switched when one needed charging), and Kindle. Kindles are lighter, easier to read, last longer between charges and charge faster. No muss, no fuss. No need to know PCs. Turn it on and start reading. And there are thousands of readers like my mother for every one like me.

To people focused on the stories, cheap readers matter: a Kindle basic runs US$49-69--a Kobo Aura $149-169. That hundred dollar spread amounts to 20-30 ebooks right there. Maybe 50. Non-trivial. So yes, cheap matters.

The key thing is there really is one way that Amazon is negatively impacting the development of ebook readers devices: by supporting other types of devices with their reader apps. ebook access doesn't get any cheaper than free and free Kindle apps turn smartphones, tablets, laptops, and even desktops into ebook readers.

Are eink reader sales declining? Look to the growth in tablets. Look to the feature-parity of the apps with the gadgets. Amazon doesn't do small screen readers? Look to the smartphones. Big screen readers? Color? Kindle Fire. Kindle for Android, Kindle for Winphones, Kindle for iOS.

Kindle is all about the books. That *is* Amazon's business.
What makes the mature ebook markets mature is the fact that they revolve around the books, not the devices. Not about collecting, cataloguing, and managing entire libraries, but rather about the romance, the fantasy, the thrills, and the ideas in the stories.

Like it or not, Amazon (with the unwitting aid of the idiot conspirators) has created an ebook industry model that is centered on the stories, not the devices. Simplicity, ubiquity, and unobtrusiveness rule. (And yes; cheap, too.) Which isn't to say there isn't room for feature rich dedicated reading devices, just that they are and will remain niche products.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by ingmar

I like my reader, too (obviously), but I think there's still room for improvement.

Sure.
But how many paying customers will those improvenents bring? Thousands, tens of thousands, millions? At what cost differential?

How good of a business decision is it?

[meeera]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

To people focused on the stories, cheap readers matter: a Kindle basic runs US$49-69--a Kobo Aura $149-169. That hundred dollar spread amounts to 20-30 ebooks right there. Maybe 50. Non-trivial. So yes, cheap matters.

Why would you compare the price of a Kindle Basic to a Kobo Aura? It's more like to the Kobo Touch or Mini. Kobo Aura is more equivalent to the Paperwhite 2.

The key thing is there really is one way that Amazon is negatively impacting the development of ebook readers devices: by supporting other types of devices with their reader apps. ebook access doesn't get any cheaper than free and free Kindle apps turn smartphones, tablets, laptops, and even desktops into ebook readers.

There is no shortage of free apps that read open epubs and PDFs, and there are free apps to read the walled-garden ones too.

[GERGE]

Innovation haven't stopped but there is a limit of how fast you can improve. I am not talking about innovation saturation as some of us did here, there are still new people to sell ereaders to. The thing is technological improvements at a neck breaking speed only only occur when there is a clear and pronounced demand for it. Like saying "we want soft, nice lights in our ereaders."

eReaders are mostly matured. Lets talk about my almost two years old Kobo Glo:

• Resolution is sufficiently high. Recent studies have indicated that the unaided human eye can generally not differentiate detail beyond 300 PPI. 2 years old Kobo Glo has a 212 PPI screen. It is good, more than good even.
• Device size is just about right for many people. I live in a somewhat cold part of our world, therefore I gathered tens of coats, jackets, raincoat over the years. Kobo Glo fits in their pockets almost perfectly. A little bigger, and it would have began to have problems with some of them. I only have one suit but it fits into its pocket just perfectly too. I would not buy a 8" ereader. That would be a bag device.
• Light is very good too. Right now I have one paperback, one trade and Kobo Glo open. Kobo Glo beats them all in presenting a clear page with nice contrast.
• Speed is very good too. I tap the page, and it changes. It changes faster than I could change a page in an usual book.

More examples could be given but it is clear that there is not that much demand and need for innovation as there were in the times of Nook with a LCD mini screen and Kindle with a keyboard. So of course innovation would be a lot slower too.

If a company releases a eReader with a 350 PPI screen thus easily reaches natural limit of my eyes, I wouldn't buy it. For example, I haven't bought Kobo Aura yet and I can't figure out a reason why I should. Aura has a 20% faster processor and (in my humble opinion) a better design. So what? I don't really believe that %20 speed increase would really matter and while better design might be a reason for buying (sometimes I think that I am becoming a slave to nice designed things; I can't even remember how many wallets or coffee cups I bought for design alone, paying as much as an ereader sometimes), I have decided to wait for overall better tech too.

So, there is innovation; new screens, faster speeds, less ghosting... But taken at their one at a time speed, they would not make anyone but the enthusiast buy ereaders. Therefore spending greats amounts of resources in R&D would simply be bad management.

You just wait. Innovations are coming one by one. One day we will check our local tech store and realize that there is a much better ereader out there, and then we will buy it.

[meeera]

Unbreakable + retina screen res would have me upgrading in a heartbeat. I could also get quite interested in a frontlight with adjustable warmth.

[GERGE]

Retina Macbook Pro has 220 PPI while Retina iPad has 264 PPI.
Kobo Glo and Kindle Paperwhite has 212 PPI, Kobo Aura HD has 265 PPI.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by meeera

Why would you compare the price of a Kindle Basic to a Kobo Aura? It's more like to the Kobo Touch or Mini. Kobo Aura is more equivalent to the Paperwhite 2.
.

Because they represent the two extremes, of course.

If the charge is that people buy Kindles because they are cheap, that is the Kindle they get. And it hasn't changed significantly in over two years. Whereas the Aura is marketted as a premium reader at a higher price than its predecesor.

It's not about the devices but about the buyers.

Ages ago, in the dawn of the PC era Adam Osbourne observed that "adequacy is sufficient" when criticized for the functionality of his first transportable computer product line. Story-focused readers just want adequacy. The simplest and easiest experience they can get. And, in mature markets, they are legion.

[5thWiggle]

Originally Posted by Manabi

There's a lot of truth to this, it happened in the mp3 music market. Eventually the labels realized that DRM was giving Apple a total stranglehold on the market and allowed Amazon to go DRM-free with their mp3 store. Not long after, iTunes did as well.

Other way around. The music labels required Apple to use DRM, with Sony BMG being the pushiest about it (remember Sony's First4Internet DRM installing root kits). Jobs argued argued against DRM (a little hypocritically, since he wouldn't license Fairplay to anyone else ) in private with the labels, and eventually in an open letter on Feb 6/07. EMI went DRM free on iTunes in May '07 (for 30cents more). In October '07, price went back down to $0.99 for DRM free. Universal and Warner went DRM free soon after, and Sony BMG in 2008. DRM free was initially for new music only, and all itunes music went DRM free in 2009 when the initial agreements lapsed. Amazon MP3 started in September '07 with music from EMI and Universal. Since it started with new agreements, all titles where DRM free from the start. Warner joined in December '07 and Sony BMG in early 2008. I worked for EMI from before the iTunes store opened and know all about the music labels' affair with DRM both on iTunes and on physical media. You can't blame Apple for this, we did it to ourselves...

[fjtorres]

Sony had weird ideas in those days.
I remember their first digital music player: it wouldn't play mp3 files and it used an obscene check-out/check-in DRM that *moved* ripped files back and forth from the PC to the player and back:
http://www.mp3newswire.net/stories/sonyclip.html

Mind you, a few since gone and forgotten ebook vendors did the same thing. Which is why they are gone and forgotten.