Amazon's Kindle: Did Steve Jobs blow it?
Apple CEO Steve Jobs was pretty dismissive of Amazon's Kindle electronic book reader when it first came out. "The whole conception is flawed at the top," he told the New York Times a little over a year ago, pointing out that 40% of Americans make it through one book a year or less. "People don’t read anymore."
The launch Monday of the Kindle 2 after 14 months of strong sales — as many as 500,000 units, according to one analyst (Amazon does not release sales figures) — has led some second-guessing among Apple watchers.
"Why don't we own this market?" asked one investor on The Mac Observer's Apple Finance Board (AFB). "Apple had ALL the elements here, the capacity to design, the money to market, and the distribution system already in place via the App Store and the iTunes Store." (link)
It's an interesting question, with an unsual twist. Although Apple and Amazon are both making white hand-held electronic devices these days, they come at it from very different directions.
Amazon (AMZN) is primarily an electronic retailer; it ventured into manufacturing with the Kindle to drive sales of titles from its huge online bookstore.
Apple (AAPL) is an electronics manufacturing company; it provides music, movies, apps and even some books on the iTunes Store primarily to drive sales of Macs, iPods and iPhones.
"The Kindle is a good product. Amazon is a good company," wrote another commentator on AFB. "Notwithstanding that, the P/E disparity is staggering."
He has a point. Check out the tale of the tape:
Apple is three times the size of Amazon and nearly four times as profitable, yet Amazon trades at 44.7 times earnings while Apple closed Monday at less than 20. And that's not including the growing stash of deferred revenue Apple is squirreling away from sales of iPhones. (See Spotlight on Apple's hidden revenue stream.)
Of course it's not too late for Apple to get into the e-reader market, should its management team overcome its CEO's skepticism about America's reading habits.
Meanwhile, Amazon has signaled that it is willing, once some technical hurdles have been overcome, to let iPhone owners read the books in its electronic library — as long as they buy a Kindle first.
In fact, Jeff Bezos is convinced that anybody who tries to read a book on a smartphone will quickly see the virtue of a dedicated e-reader.
"If you are going to read for a couple of hours, you are going to have problems with battery life with a mobile phone, you are going to have eye strain and you are going to have problems with screen size," he told the New York Times yesterday. "Reading is an important activity and deserves a purpose-built device."
One of the disagreements in these comments so far is about whether an iPhone provides a good reading experience. But notice that those who say "yes" are those WHO ARE ACTUALLY USING AN IPHONE TO READ BOOKS! In other words its a theoretical "no" versus an experiential "yes." I own both a Kindle and an iPhone, and I rate the reading EXPERIENCE on the iPhone, the Kindle, and the printed book as equal, with the principal variable being the quality of the words themselves!
Apple is already in the e-book market, what a poorly written article which seems to be the norm on the internet.
Check out eReader or Stanza or BookZ free or Google Book Search on the iPod touch. Contrary to what Bezos says the font size is the same as the actual printed page with these books and reading on the touch is a charm. Apple IS in the market, they just needs to advertise it and stop keeping it a secret. iPod touch is a great way to read books and does so much more than a Kindle.
No shortage of Appleheads in this comment section eh?
Anyway…I ordered a Kindle 12/6/08. STILL haven't gotten it yet! Called Amazon to see why 2 days ago. Turns out to be nice they DELAYED shipping my the Kindle 1 because the Kindle 2 was just about to be released and they didn't want me to have any hard feelings. A far cry to what Jobs/Apple did to iPhone1/iPhone2 purchasers.
Bottom line is Oprah put this on her favorite things list…Apple is done. Anyone that cares about an eReader will most likely just get a Kindle. What's Apple gonna do…release the iRead? LOL. 500,000 units/yr. at $359 is almost 180 million $'s a year. I'm sure Apple woulda liked that. And this device is so simple compared to an iPhone…probably WAY more profitable of a machine. Good for Amazon. Go read a book Jobs…
Kindle, shmindle. Its a piece of crap. I've never met anyone who owns one, Ive never seen one in use anywhere and I travel extensively. Its a toy that wants to be more and its not. What a joke.
Amazon has already won the ebook war, it's too late for anyone to compete with them. Amazaon is a shop, a content deliver, that's their main purpose. Kindle is nothing but a way to push ebooks into mainstream. What Amazon wants is not a dominance in reading devices, they want to dominate the book sales for such devices, the same way they dominate physical book sales.
Kindle has been doing wonders with convincing people to ebooks. Of course we ebook maniacs have been reading on your pdas, laptops, tablets etc for years, but those devices such from mainstream reader perspective. For any typical reader an idea of using iphone as a ebook reader is just a nightmare. What Kindle does so nicely is emulate real book reading and with wireless tech it opens it up to people not tech savy enough (and most avid readers aren't anywhere near as tech savy as typical apple customer). Amazon actualy made people who previously though ebooks are a sacrilege to wonder and be curious about the prospect.
Sooner or later Amazon will open up it's store to other devices and reek billions on it.
Apple if they ever decide to enter the game might create a device that will blow Kindle away, but as it looks now, even if they do, people will be buying most of books on this device from Amazon.
Amazon is positioning itself as for dominance for ebooks, exactly the same way Apple iTunes is dominating digital music distribution.
Let's think for a while here: does anyone things any online shop will be a real competition to iTunes in the near future? Nope, not likely. And it's also unlikely anyone will be able to compete with Amazon as ebook distributor either.
Amazon's position on the retail book market means it can squeeze and strongarm the publishers even more than Apple can with music publishers
You guys so don't get it.
Amazon will OWN the publishing business. All those hardback/paperback book publishers? History.
This is so obvious, I don't know how you guys can miss it.
I am very interested in Kindle, but am still waiting for these books to be DRM free. It's just so much easier and "thought-free" when I don't have to worry about DRM and how I use something. The higher the resolution, the better it is too. We are nowhere near true 300-dpi but that's a technical limitation at this point.
Speaking of DRM-free, Amazon does have an awesome MP3 store that is DRM-free with a large selection and often good prices. It would be nice if they had the same thing with books.
On the note about Amazon, I recently came across an interesting table that details the discounts on Amazon at http://www.uberi.com
Maybe someone will find it useful too.
Anyway, Amazon appears to be quite serious this time. We will probably see faster advancements in this area in the near future as competition heats up.
I love these comments, it's always good to see my basic faith in humans proven. (that's a bad thing for y'all playing along at home).
Honestly, I hope the Kindle does well, and it looks like an interesting device. It'll be nice to see if some competition will open the market up and get some even better devices out there.
Having said THAT, I'll stick with my iPhone, which I am, of course using to post this. 
Using eithe a Kindle OR an iPhone to read "books" is always going to be a "your mileage may vary" proposition. To those folks saying you can't on an iPhone, I simply say: balderdash.
In the past 3 weeks, I read the first 3 books in the "Song of Fire and Ice" series. Paperback pages, that's over 3,000 pages in toto, I believe. I finished about 2 weeks ago. You figure it out.
I've been taking a break and reading from the other 80-90 books/short stories I keep on my iPhone, not counting the access to Gutenberg.org, fictionwise, etc. So, really, stop mistaking your prejudices as reality.
As far as Jobs' "people don't read" quote? Yeah, he did say that. He also implied in a past quote that Apple wouldn't do video on the iPod. After I finish writing this, I'm gonna watch "Hellboy" on my iPhone. (hint, hint)
according to yahoo finance, Amazon has $3 billion of net cash, not $13 billion
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=AMZN
ex ped: Right you are. Typo. Fixed now. Thanks.
The Kindle is great for convenience (although I still think a lot of the downloadable media is overpriced), but I'm surprised more people aren't talking about the potential security/free speech implications of the digitization of books.
The bottom line is this. Neither the Kindle, nor any other e-reader has established there is a viable market for a dedicated device like this. Apple would be highly criticized for coming out with a device like this that only sells 500,000 per year. Yet, amazingly Amazon is praised for it. Go figure.
Now, if this market actually took off, why does anyone think Apple couldn't very easily jump in and steal the market. Imagine a device with a similar size screen, but without the clumsy external buttons. Imagine a device that not only was good for reading books, but also could surf the web, send e-mails, read PDFs, Word documents (and more), could play music and games, etc. Imagine a multitouch device much like the iPod touch, but geared for reading books primarily. That device would be very easy for Apple to create. Apple has already demonstrated it's distribution success through the iTunes music store and the iPhone app store. This would be a simple extension of that success. If there was a market, Apple would be all over it and would dominate it.
@Bob Grants Pass OR,
It's okay to hate Apple, just don't plan on not being challenged when you post BS.
[i]"Steve Jobs is contemptuous of his customers’ intelligence – always has been. The Apple 2 would not support daisy wheel printers – only Apple’s crummy and overpriced dot matrix printer."[/i]
Where do you come up with this nonsense? Back in the day, I used an Epson printer with the Apple 2. Further, Apple itself had a daisy wheel printer. It was called the Apple Letter Quality Printer. Try doing a little research before publicly displaying your own ignorance.
[i]"The Mac originally did not have a hard drive and was finally forced into using them when it was obvious how crippled the Mac was without."[/i]
Again, what's with the ignorance? Wind the clock back in time and tell me what the PC was doing back then. The original PC did not support a hard drive. The PC XT which had been out for only a few months before the Mac was the first with a hard drive controller. Hard drives were anything but common back then. I'm guessing you weren't around to know this.
[i]"Same with CD drives."[/i]
Considering Apple was first to make them standard across their product line, I fail to see your point.
[i]"Even now, the stupid Mac Mouse is handicapped."[/i]
Yeah, that 4 button with both horizontal and vertical scrolling action mouse is a real handicap. 
[i]"and inefficient tools for people needing to get work done ineteadf of buying stupid songs."[/i]
Inefficient? How so? Please, do tell.
[i]"Jobs treats his customers as idiots. Maybe he has a point."[/i]
Based on your post, including all of the blatantly incorrect information you've posted, I think you might want to look in the mirror before assuming anyone else is an idiot.
Buying a Kindle book is a waste.
I can't read it anywhere else.
I can't read it on my iPhone.
I can't read it on my laptop.
It is stuck to the Kindle.
And if the Kindle dies, the Kindle book dies with it.
There are a ton of ebooks for the iPhone and iPod and any other laptop.
If Apple comes out with an ebook format using its own DRM or if Apple sells eBooks with the industry standard DRM in the iTunes store, then Amazon's Kindle is DEAD. All this can be done without creating a hardware eBook reader.
"Of course it’s not too late for Apple to get into the e-reader market": No no no, please! I was there first and I want an Apple fridge. Then Apple is expected to unveil plastic garden chairs. The company will announce its entry into the pharmaceutical industry, which is among the fastest growing markets across the globe, then Apple will have an excellent opportunity to move into the poultry industry.
On iPhone/iPod Touch you can actually read while listening to music. Of course, this requires a brain that is capable of multitasking, that's where 'Apple fanboys' have an advantage over Windows users.
Steve's mean remarks regarding the Kindle are his standard camouflage. At some point the iPod Touch will get bigger, become the iPod Tablet or something, and make the Kindle and Sony's device irrelevant.
I like the fact that the Kindle is just for reading. I think Amazon should continue to focus on reading, not get distracted by adding non book related features. Reading a book, unlike listening to music or even watching a DVD, is a dedicated activity. It should remain that way. That said – I think the biggest draw backs are the price and the lack of some kind of subscription (like a paid library service) service.
Jeff Bezos is simply ignoring the facts: the iPhone and iTouch are already the biggest e-book readers on the planet. (http://www.forbes.com/2008/10/02/stanza-kindle-iphone-tech-personal-cx_ag_ja_1002stanza.html)
Yes there are "issues" using the iPhone as an e-book, but there are also just as many "issues" with using a Kindle—who wants yet another device which doesn't fit in your pocket and costs over $300? If you're going to have a device that big, you might as well just use your laptop or netbook.
When Stanza and the other iPhone publishers get copyrighted books online, Kindle won't even have a chance. Apple is selling over 14 million iPhones per year. Add in the iPod touch and they will probably reach another 20 million units next year and I'm not even thinking about new models or markets. Now if you were a publisher, which market would you be bet on? The sub-one million Kindle market or the over 30 million iPhone, iPod touch market? The vast majority of those people will simply make do with iPhone e-books and not buy another $350 device.
That's not Apple Fanboyism, that's just the way it is.
Kindle may be a fine product and Amazon may continue to make a profit but the iPhone as well as other smartphones like Android or Toshiba's TG01 will dominate the e-book market.
If "40% of Americans make it through one book a year" doesn't that mean that 60% are doing more than that? It sounds like a viable market to me…
I pooh-poohed the Kindle in theory, but when I saw one displayed at a Barnes & Noble I was impressed with the way the text was displayed on the screen. It's very easy on the eye.
I love Apple products but can't imagine reading a book on even the Touch's small screen.
After seeing the Kindle, I was curious to try a ebook. I downloaded a book onto my new MacBook from the free online Gutenberg Project and just wasn't as happy with the experience – ended up checking out the physical book from the library.
First off, disparaging remarks at Apple users are really silly and low class. Making fun of us as readers? Have you seen the demographics of Apple users? Highest SES status, highest education level.
That being said, the Kindle does look sort of Mac like in its design, but the biggest flaw is that it does ONE thing. I'm supposed to carry it around with me? My iPhone, which is HD video compliant, can do books, music, email, internet, serve as a remote control, GPS station, and probably a hundred things I haven't found out yet also fits onto my belt or in my pocket. Let's see a Kindle do that. And a whopping 500k of them in 14 months? Woo hoo. Break out the champagne boys. Apple sold 4.4 million in 3 months. Do that math. Which will you invest in? Will Apple do an e-Book device? Not a stand alone, that's for sure. The R&D team isn't hampered by tunnel vision.
There are some interesting aspects to the Kindle (most notably the included "lifetime" wireless connection)but the device is too limited to be worth approx. $400. I do a lot of reading now on my iPod Touch and welcome any new sources of books for it. But if Jeff Bezos thinks I'm going to buy a Kindle just so I can transfer books from it to my iPod — well, he's delusional. There are already many, many times more people reading on the iPhone/iPod Touch than there are on a Kindle. (Check out the popularity of the iPhone book reader apps…) Apple already has this market without half trying. Any time they want to dominate it utterly, they can do so — and I expect that is exactly what will eventually happen. If Bezos really wants to sell electronic books, he needs to create an iPhone app to sell them directly to iPhone/Touch owners, Kindle or no Kindle. Overnight, he'd more than triple his book sales.
Apple's product range is always clearly as clearly defined as they can make it. And they only enter a new market when they think they can: 1. substantially rework the existing UI and 2. make a whole load of money from it. There may well be a future for ereaders but until Apple can justify all that R&D, marketing and so on, they won't bother. Diversification for diversity's sake is not what they're about.
Why are people complaining about the price? $359 isn't very much to spend on something you'll use as much as a Kindle if you're a heavy reader, and is barely $100 more than I spent on my iPod touch, which I only use for listening to music. Personally, I think it's a steal with the quick access you get to books. Of course, that only counts if you read, which most Apple fanboys probably avoid as it requires thought.
I've been reading eBooks on PDAs and now my iPhone for nearly 10 years. It doesn't strain either my eyes or my battery.
I used to read in landscape mode, but I've determined that reading in portrait mode is easier as my eyes don't have to travel as far left and right. For this reason, I'm not sure that a larger screen would be that much better.
I haven't seen a Kindle in person, but I've looked at Sony's offerings several times. Aside from the fact that I'm simply not going to carry a dedicated device around, my biggest problem with it is that the page turns are simply way too slow.
Note that I still read paper books when I'm at home, but I read eBooks *all* the time. (Though I must confess that I read them less often since getting my iPhone as I end up watching video some of that time instead.)
Meeting someone and I arrive early? Read an eBook. Waiting at the dentist, doctor, mechanic, post office, etc.? Read an eBook. Finish the eBook I'm reading? I've probably already got others installed and if not, I can purchase and download one on the fly. With a real book I'd have to carry an extra book around whenever I starting getting close to the end of the current one.
It's possible that a device like the Kindle might someday replace the paper books I still read when I'm at home, but a dedicated device will never be what I carry around to read books on the go.
It's pretty obvious that Apple is missing something here that they already own the name to.
iBook
Think about it.
Do people really want DRMed, unloanable, books that may not work in 10 years? Is it that important to carry around multiple books on one device? I just as soon buy a real book, which I know will work, I can resell, and I can loan, and I could donate in the future.
Does anyone do any research? Back in October the iPhone, iPod Touch already surpassed the Kindle.
http://www.forbes.com/2008/10/02/stanza-kindle-iphone-tech-personal-cx_ag_ja_1002stanza.html
Looks like the Windows fanboys have come out for this one. As if anyone needs a Kindle. A kindle is a one trick pony. It would be OK for reading in bed, that is about it. My iPod touch? I always have it with me. It's trivial to whip it out and read whatever I want. If I were reading a book, I would either get one in print or read on my laptop.
I know one person with a Kindle. I know about 200 people with iPods or iPhones. Amazon is ludicrously overvalued. But I suppose I would cheer them on if I were a Windows fanboy (even if I didn't own a Kindle or have any experience with it).
Don't get me wrong, it's a nice device, but it's a 'one trick pony' and, as some other rational commenter pointed out, if Apple made it, it would be labeled a 'dismal failure' by every Windows fanboy or Microsoft investor on the internet. Apple is a far better investment than Amazon.
It's amazing that if you reference Apple, but neglect to shower them with praise, the Apple fanboys get all riled up. But like Steve Jobs, they still don't get it. There is a significant portion of the population that still *reads*. Reading is a different experience than *listening*. It requires more of your attention, engages you more fully, and exercises the brain in ways that listening cannot. Audio books are fine for those times you're in the car or in some other setting where you can't direct your full attention towards reading, but don't kid yourself. It's not nearly as cerebral or rewarding an exercise as actually reading. The very nature of audio books is that you wish to listen to one *because* your attention cannot be fully devoted to it. Also, the iPhones and iPods may be fine for doing casual reading, but their smaller color screens will most definitely strain the eyes more than a larger electronic reader, and the batteries will not last as long.
When Apple redefined the music industry with the iPod, they rightfully were praised for their vision. Amazon is now redefining the book market with their Kindle, they deserve no less praise than Apple got. It took Apple some time to get to its current position. They didn't release the first iPod and suddenly became number one, it took years. Criticizing Amazon for not being in the same position as Apple after just a year of entering the electronic reader market is simply sour grapes coming from Apple fans who don't see anything good from an item unless it has an Apple logo. If the Kindle had an Apple logo on it, these same critics would be extolling the virtue of the device.
One important fact that needs to be considered is file format. While the Kindle may not be the be-all-and-end-all eBook reader it is the first dedicated device. With that comes the mantle of defining the file format many devices will be required to use.
Sure, the iPhone has the ability to be used as an eBook reader. Sure, there are fanboys and fangirls that will use it simply because of the illusion that Apple is the best. That doesn't make it so. Having a dedicated device which serves a purpose far better than a Swiss Army Knife-type device will always have a market.
With Apple being behind the curve on this one they will not only have to figure out how to incorporate the file format set by Amazon but also how to convince people that a device not suited for this is a better device.
The kindle killer is on its way.
A large format apple netbook sort of like a big ipod touch, will be released this year. It will do everything as well as a kindle, plus infinite other functions. (see the apple app store)
Battery life will not be as good. The backlit display may not be as good. These facts are minor. The ipod netbook will be a kindle killer.
Apple will charge only 30% for distribution of the book, not 70% like amazon.
The kindle is in big trouble. Does this make amazon a short candidate?
D
hermit, what monopoly are you talking about? Amazon isn't a monopoly. There are plenty of online retailers with whom they compete. The fact that they were one of the first and one of the most successful doesn't make them a monopoly.
Agreed, I don't see any *rational* Apple investor wringing his/her hands over 500,000 Kindle sales in over a year. As previous commenters have pointed out, such a result for an Apple product would have been deemed a horrific failure, not "strong sales" by any stretch of the imagination. But then, Apple's Reality Distortion Field effects journalists too – but in the opposite way. They're hypercritical about everything Apple does and relish in conjuring up gloom and doom scenarios for Jobs and Company.
The iPhone/iPod touch App Store ecosystem is where the *real* money is going to be – not selling black & white text on a non-pocketable device that does nothing else but display black & white text.
And yes AMZN is ludicrously overvalued and AAPL is seriously undervalued. My money is on AAPL.
Steve Jobs is contemptuous of his customers' intelligence – always has been. The Apple 2 would not support daisy wheel printers – only Apple's crummy and overpriced dot matrix printer. Ever try submitting an important document or manuscript from a dot matrix printer?
The Mac originally did not have a hard drive and was finally forced into using them when it was obvious how crippled the Mac was without.
Same with CD drives. Even now, the stupid Mac Mouse is handicapped.
Sure, Mac products are beautifully styled – and inefficient tools for people needing to get work done ineteadf of buying stupid songs.
Jobs treats his customers as idiots. Maybe he has a point.
Looks like the Apple fanboys have come out for this one. Ok, try it: read a book on that tiny, back-lit iPhone display and tell me it was enjoyable or convenient, especially afrer your eyes implode and you recharge it for the 20th time.
I don't own a Kindle (or any e-reader) because they are far too expensive, but I would if/when the price comes down significantly because I enjoy reading and that will make it even more convenient and enjoyable. You can have your expensive smudgy-screened toy (I mean "smartphone"), just don't claim it is a good way to read a book.
Reading device is useless without e-books to read. I guess the Amazon's Kindle success is linked with its ability to offer e-books on sale together with printed copies. So far publishers have been cautious to sell e-books despite the customers begging for them. Amazon has enough muscle to bring e-books to the marked and are using their monopoly to promote their reader.
I find 100% of all of these comments useless which is why I am going to stop reading them… Simple opinions like the back-side of the human anatomy…
Reading books on a mobile device is going to get much easier once someone makes a useful RSVP reader. (google RSVP and speed reeading.).
The way it is now, printed books have the advantage. Throw in RSVP and paper books would actually be more difficult to read than their electronic counterparts.
Some things to think about:
In the past few months, I have read five books on my iphone and listened to eight audiobooks.
I can, and have, spent hours reading books on my iphone, and have no problem with it (eye strain, battery life, etc.)
I would prefer a Kindle to read from, but not at the current price.
If Apple released a dedicated reader for the same price with the same features, I would NOT purchase it.
If Apple released a larger iPod Touch, which doubled as a book reader, I would be tempted to buy.
I read a lot. And I mean a lot. I would just love to have an ebook reader except that they are all too expensive and only in monochrome. When they come up with a reasonably priced unit, ie. less that $100, I'l consider it. Until then, I'll stick close to my library and carry my books with me. It has worked for me for 25 years, I can make it work a few more.
Love how folks talk about iphone getting larger and longer battery life and it will be the holly grail of reading…. In fact, the thing that makes kindle "work" is that it's not an LCD screen, the text is easier to read than LCD screen and the e-ink technology doesn't require battery life…
according to articles elsewhere on the net, apple sold less than 400k ipods in its first year. by that measure the kindle is more successful. those who think the iphone is even close to an adequate substitute for either a book or the kindle obviously have short attention spans.
Obviously, you won't sell as many Kindles as you would iPods.
What Steve Jobs doesn't understand, however, is that the money isn't in the device. Amazon is quietly cornering the market on publishing. One day, hardbacks and paperbacks will largely be history. Textbooks? Get it on your Kindle.
Publishers are CUT OUT of the deal. Totally. Today, ANYONE can publish his book for a Kindle in 15 minutes. The author gets 30%. Amazon gets 70%.
Jobs is being very short-sighted in his remarks. As a Kindle owner, I wouldn't buy a book any other way. I've owned iPods for years and have yet to purchase a single track on iTunes.
If Amazon can put the Kindle 2 to market for $359 including the dedicated network access to their store – how much do you think Apple would charge? Steve Jobs dismisal wasn't as much because he didn't like the ereader, but because their isn't a market for the e-reader with the kind of margins that Apple prefers. Apple would want to sell this product for some crazy $599, $699 or $799 amount – and that turns folks like me off for this product. We have many many Macs at our home, multiple iPods, iPhones, Apple TV – if Apple builds it, we have bought it. But this is a market left to another model – and Amazon is the perfect fit. I agree, I don't want to use my iPhone or latop to read, I value and use the life out of my Kindle 1 and expect to love my Kindle 2 when it ships on 3/24.
I have an iPod.
I have a Kindle.
I value them both highly.
But, the notion of reading an entire book or even a long article on my iPod is silly.
Well, this show ain't over yet. A larger form factor iPod Touch or iPhone would have longer battery life and the screen space required for extended eBook reading. One thing you can count on Apple for is some innovative new products that will surprise you, the only challenge is guessing what they'll be and when they'll be released.
Great side by side chart, I'm going to sell a portion of my Amazon and put the proceeds into the obviously undervalued Apple.
I already have this 'purpose built device', its called an iPhone. You
can download all sorts of audiobooks at very competitive prices from iTunes and Audible.com and listen to them while doing other activities. The battery life is excellent because you aren't driving a power hungry screen.
This has already increased the number of books I get through a year by
20x.
People should think about that before questioning Steve & Co's ability to address this market.
A more valuable analysis would be to see how audio books sales have increased with the prevalence of iPods.
14 Months, almost 500,000 units.
apple sold 22 million ipods LAST QUARTER..you know, ipods, those things that YOU HAVE STATED NUMEROUS TIMES were past their peak, the market was saturated.
And how many iphones were sold in past 14 months?
of course, the headline has to include Steve Jobs, otherwise no one would read your crap, Elmer…Fudd.
It comes down to whether or not you want to carry around a netbook-sized device to read books, or have an all-in-one device, the iphone or touch, that has an e-reader or stanza app. If you want a netbook size device, then spend less money on a netbook, get a program to read the books on it, and still have the ability to surf the net in color, listen to music and stream a movie from time-to-time.
Amazon has sold over 500,000 of these because they have the ability to put it front and center on their website, which is the online shopping mecca. I would be interested to know how many of those people who have purchased the device download more than one book per month. Probably an extremely small percentage.
At some point, Apple will have a netbook sized ipod Touch that does all of those things and more at a price point around $500 (only $140 more than the kindle), and the Kindle will go the way of the Palm Pilot.
"The launch Monday of the Kindle 2 after 14 months of strong sales — as many as 500,000 units"
If Apple made something that sold as little as 500,000 units in more than a year, it would be declared a total failure. Even their "hobby" is probably selling more than that.
Reflect on the last paragraph and you will know why Apple has not pursued Books on the ipod any more than it has. Most of the time being everything to everyone comes at a great expense to profits. Hats off to Apple for maintaining the reality of a profit, and not just a perception of success.
The Kindle isn't all that important. The ballyhoo with the launch of version 2 of the product is all well and good but despite what Jeff Bezos said yesterday this will become a generic device someday – it certainly doesn't need a purpose-built device. That is covered in buttons. And switches. And a monochrome display. And software design cues from the iPhone. And dialogue boxes from system 7. This will fade when slightly larger format iPod touches appear or products from other companies hit the market.
The only thing that Amazon has going for it with this is the lock-in they are building with the content providers.
Why are we even comparing Amazon to Apple? If Apple wants to get in the electronic book competition, all it has to do is create an app, and tell all the major publishers "every kid and adult in the U.S. has an ipod. Do you want a piece of the action???" I don't know a single person that owns a Kindle and I don't know why you would spend so much money on something that does nothing but carry books for you on a black and white screen (sorry, gray). Useless.
The reading device space is actually going to become very competitive as new technologies are already in development to displace current technologies (i.e. Kindle 2.0) There are multiple R&D endeavors underway to create much cheaper and easier to manufacture screens. Even color screens are in development. At 500,000 units, the Kindle may be the shoe in for the moment, but the barriers to entry will plummet with the new technology. What may be fairly certain is that that the screen technologies in Apple devices and those in reading devices such as the Kindle and Sony's reading devices (couldn't think of the name….now that is brand advantage that will help Amazon) will be based on different screen technologies. How that will play out in the market, at this time I am not sure. But I do know that keeping track of the R&D and new screen manufacturing will be the telling points of what happens in this reading device market
Are we in backwards-land? you compare a company with a really excessive stock valuation (AMZN) and a highly limited black and white device that does one and ONLY one thing, to a company that has an unfairly LOW valuation that makes a device that 1) is color 2) does text, 3) does audio/music 4) does movies 5) does games 6) does applications 7) communicates and, on top of all of that, costs LESS.
It's estimated that Amazon sold 500,000 Kindles last year. Therefore, as of yet Apple hasn't missed a thing. This game is far from over. Apple makes the best electronic devices because they know how to do software and hardware better than any other company in the world.
Apple is in a good position to come up with a product that will consign Kindle to the ages. The question is not if but when. The Kindle killer IMO will not be the iPod touch. I think it might be tablet Macbook that has a touch screen, that might have the form factor of a Macbook Air. It might be smaller than the MBA. Think about it. A screen that folds over like a touchscreen tablet and you have your e-book reader. Or you can use it as a conventional laptop that you can use to download/upload content to your iPhone or iPod touch. All they now need is an iTunes like store for Books.