Amazons upcoming tablet and their unique quantities of free ebooks

[din155]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The cynic in me wonders what proportion of those sales will immediately reappear on eBay.

You never know. In fact some people may even fall for that on eBay and for much more than 100-150.

[kjk]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The cynic in me wonders what proportion of those sales will immediately reappear on eBay.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from...All-Categories

lol, look how many were listed as of 2 days ago, with no actual product photo-with deliveries "est. next week".

[Barty]

Originally Posted by din155

That doesn't change the view that there is a place for cheap tablet with good brand name. On the contrary the sell out of HP touch pad in spite of no future support tells that people will buy cheap tablet.

din

I think it just tells you people love a bargain. I've been trying to get one myself with no luck.

You can get a tablet not named HP for $99. A cheap knockoff with resistive touchscreen that makes you tear your hair out. Not a huge market for it in the US.

I think tablets are overpriced now but I don't think it's that overpriced. Remember before the iPad was announced people had been expecting $800-$1000 price point. To get much cheaper than the $500 baseline (for 10") you'd need a subsidized product, some type of contract.

[RockdaMan]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

And price it under an iPad.

The price point will be key.

I wonder when Apple will start dipping the price point on the iPad. They have to be planning for it as surely as Amazon did for the original Kindle.

[RockdaMan]

DuskyRose, you need not direct your questions at me. The author of the article is a member of this fine forum.

Though I do think his research shows that you are wrong when you say that its incorrect to say that Amazon offers more freebies than the others.

Originally Posted by DuskyRose

If I find a book free at Amazon, odds are it's free elsewhere if it's on offer at the other stores as well. And if it's not free at the other site at the same time, I find that it will be soon. So a lot, if not most, freebies aren't limited to Amazon at all.

I think you're assuming that it's Amazon who's making the decision to offer a book for free, rather than the author or the publisher. If it's from one of the Agency Six, then they're certainly deciding that for themselves. I don't see why other authors wouldn't do that as well if they think it's in their best interest in order to build up a fan base and advertise their own work.

I haven't seen anything anywhere that suggests that Amazon is the one choosing the freebies to offer and then paying the author for each download anyway. Which is what they'd have to do to make the book a "loss leader".

What evidence do you have that the freebies actually are Amazon's decisions to make, and that they're losing money on them?

[RockdaMan]

Originally Posted by Dopedangel

Tell's you their is a large untapped market for cheap but good name brand tablets and I feel Amazon is in a position to exploit it while still being profitable

Apple is doing the same thing at $499+ that HP is doing at $99/$149. Think about that.

People aren't buying the Touchpad because they want namebrand quality. They are buying it for the same reason that cheap gum and candy and energy drinks are right by the cashier at the grocery store. It's just an impulse.

Being profitable in tablets isn't easy. It's going to get worse, just as being profitable in PC sales is getting worse. You can expect less investment in this catagory as time goes on, not more.

If you love competition, hope Amazon gets it's tablet right. Samsung, Lenovo, Acer, Motorola, Asus, Toshiba, etc. are floundering in the tablet marketplace...

[RockdaMan]

Originally Posted by stonetools

My understanding is that Amazon is going to price the Am Tab below the IPad, with cheaper innards,

This will be interesting:

Apple has used its massive cash reserves and manufacturing investment to block other manufacturers from sourcing the best parts for their devices, creating frustration in its rivals like HP and widening the gap between the iPad and its competition, a source with knowledge of the matter has informed The Next Web.

This isn’t just for displays either, whether it’s glass, screens, chips or any other parts, Apple uses its cash hoard to secure exclusive rights by investing in companies and manufacturing processes. This is seen within HP not only as a way that Apple secures the best hardware for itself, but also as a way that Apple stymies innovation in other companies by using its power to cut exclusive deals.

What I don’t agree with is the sentiment that Apple is ‘blocking innovation’ with its tactics. When companies find it hard to source the same parts as Apple, in the same quality, they are feeling the bite of a decade’s worth of hard work and forward-looking strategy, not some sort of technology trump card.

http://thenextweb.com/apple/2011/08/...sourcing-deals

[din155]

Originally Posted by Barty

I think it just tells you people love a bargain. I've been trying to get one myself with no luck.

You can get a tablet not named HP for $99. A cheap knockoff with resistive touchscreen that makes you tear your hair out. Not a huge market for it in the US.

I think tablets are overpriced now but I don't think it's that overpriced. Remember before the iPad was announced people had been expecting $800-$1000 price point. To get much cheaper than the $500 baseline (for 10") you'd need a subsidized product, some type of contract.

Yes, I love bargain, who doesn't! I literally didn't mean 100-150 price point but anywhere between 200-300. Personally I would like to have 7-8" honeycomb tablet sometimes later this year. Obviously price has to be in the lower 200-300 range with more than 8 hrs battery. Hopefully Amazon comes out with something good.

din

[din155]

What I don’t agree with is the sentiment that Apple is ‘blocking innovation’ with its tactics. When companies find it hard to source the same parts as Apple, in the same quality, they are feeling the bite of a decade’s worth of hard work and forward-looking strategy, not some sort of technology trump card.

It's amazing to see these guys rationalizing every single act of Apple! Either Apple's PR machinery is the best in the world or they are simply the saviors of entire mankind and can do nothing wrong.

[din155]

And as another post with a totally different title has turned into Apple vs rest of the world I will stop posting in this topic.

[OtterBooks]

that'll teach 'em.

[Sil_liS]

Originally Posted by din155

That doesn't change the view that there is a place for cheap tablet with good brand name. On the contrary the sell out of HP touch pad in spite of no future support tells that people will buy cheap tablet.

I think that the biggest problem for manufacturers would come if consumers decide that it's a good idea to wait and get the the products when the price goes down. If the price goes down, good for them, if it doesn't, they can buy it later.

[Lazybones]

I do know that Amazon won't even let independent publishers price their work for free in the Kindle store; the minimum is 99 cents. They will price-match if it's lower elsewhere, but it takes some effort to get a free title on their site.

[osnova]

The Kindle Tab (or whatever it's name) will have at least one advantage over all other tabs. The Kindle software will not be crippled (full dictionary/index support, etc.) I am disappointed with the existing software Kindles for this reason.