The Amazon Kindle seems to be the current hot “must have” gadget on the market at the moment. It seems very much as if the ebook reader is an idea whose moment has arrived – and the kindle ebook reader is undoubtedly the finest example of such a device on the market right now. It is also, and let’s make no bones about it here, cool.
The Kindle has often been compared to the Apple iPod – which, incidentally, now has a kindle application that permits you to read kindle books on it – by a number of industry analysts. In fact, going right back to the launch of the original Kindle in November of 2007, Steven Levy’s Newsweek cover article proposed that the Kindle was the “… iPod of reading”. Two and a half years later it seems that drawing parallels between the two devices might go some way towards explaining the current phenomenal success of the Kindle – and perhaps even allow some insight into what may happen in the near future.
Amazon supremo Jeff Bezos is quoted as saying, again way back in 2007, that “This [the Kindle] isn’t a device, it’s a service.” – and that is absolutely fundamental to understanding why the Kindle fits so perfectly in Amazon’s business model.
Some criticisms have been aimed at the Kindle’s high price – it currently retails at $359 for the Kindle 2, slightly lower than the original Kindle price of $399. The original iPod was priced at $399 when it was launched – prices have reduced as the product was first accepted, and then passed through mainstream to virtually ubiquitous. At the same time functionality has increased.
Apple is, and has been for some time now, synonymous with music downloads and has increased the available portfolio of products to incorporate videos, games and a host of ”apps” for the iPod. In a similar manner, Amazon is strongly linked with books, making the kindle an ideal choice of product for them. The recent pre-launch of the larger Kindle DX is important, not simply because of the various technical improvements that it boasts, but because it improves Amazon’s capability to deliver newspapers, magazines and also educational textbooks to its customers.
It would be unwise to discount the technical advantages of the Kindle series of readers completely of course, but it seems that, for Amazon, the technology is a means to an end rather than the end itself. In fact, as far as e-book reader technology goes, Amazon are rather late to the party when you consider that there have been previous contenders – for example; the Franklin ebook (no longer in development but still available from some sources) kicking around since 1999, and Sony have had ebook readers for quite a time. There are several others, some have already vanished, others are soldiering on without, currently at least, attracting anything like the level of interest generated by the Kindle.
Another significant advantage enjoyed by Amazon at this time is the 3G wireless technology employed to allow Kindle users to download their ebooks in less than sixty seconds without the need for a computer or a wifi connection – and without being tied in to a monthly contract or requiring to pay a download fee. It’s a great example of the way Amazon have [employed the technology to furnish a perceived benefit for their customers.
No monthly connection fee plus no download charges means that customers do not feel tied in or committed to the Amazon service, a significant factor considering the relatively high selling price and the current economic climate. Of course, whilst customers will be able to buy ebooks elsewhere for use with their Kindle, it is still going to be a lot easier for them to purchase from Amazon’s large, and ever growing, selection of Kindle friendly books. Amazon are going tolot of repeat business – exactly as Apple do with their iTunes store.
Using the iPod experience to predict the Kindle’s possible future, it seems improbable that the Kindle will have it all its own way. As previously mentioned, there are already a number of existing alternative ebook devices on the market – the Sony PRS is probably the most significant player aside from the Kindle at the moment, but there are others. These will either improve and provide strong competition for the Kindle or disappear from the marketplace.
Also worth considering is the fact that there are a number of new readers in development. Plastic Logic, has a Kindle DX sized reader in the pipeline which has been scheduled for release in 2010. Rumours abound relating to the release of an Apple tablet based computer, thought to be aimed at the gap between an iPod Touch and a full blown MacBook. It would not be too fanciful to imagine that Apple might grow their iStore to include ebooks just as they expanded it to incorporate videos after the release of the iPhone and iPod Touch.
And it’s not just fiercer competition based on improved reader technology that Amazon might have to face. In March of 2009 Google and Sony announced that Google’s giant library of public domain e-books would be made available at no charge for Sony’s reader. That’s a total of 600,000 titles and is a definite signal that the ebook reader marketplace going to be strongly contested in future.
At the moment Amazon is in the driving seat. It has a downloads and, most important of all – the Amazon Kindle is cool. Whether or not it grows into a ubiquitous iPod type product or not in the face of what will likely be fierce competition only time will tell. Amazon have been more than smart thus far, so it seems likely that they will be a big player in this emerging market for a long time to come.
One thing seems guaranteed, we will all have the option to read books, magazines, newspapers and even academic textbooks using portable digital devices in the immediate future. As competition, economies of scale and advancements in technology combine to drive prices lower this will become an increasingly common choice for many, possibly even the majority of, readers. The way we read is poised to change, perhaps more quickly than you might imagine.