I am a big fan of Kindle. I own a couple of Kindles. I have also tried to give other e-book readers a shot. Sony Reader was my first e-book reader before I made the switch to Kindle. To be fair, a lot of time has passed, and many new competitors have shown up to challenge Kindle’s supremacy in the e-book market. Just in the past week, we have heard about Sony stepping up its game by partnering with Google and other content networks to create a richer reading experience for its fans. We also know that Irex is also working on an e-book reader that can compete with the Kindle more effectively.
There is no doubt that Sony, Plastic Logic, and Irex will get their shot at Kindle. It’s hard to tell how they fare, but I doubt any of these devices will actually kill Amazon Kindle. You don’t have to look too hard to figure out why. The new Sony Reader is getting a lot of coverage on blogs, forums, and industry websites. Sony has worked hard to set itself apart from Amazon. Adopting open document format is certainly a good move by the company. While its nice that Kindle competitors are picking up Kindle’s strength to challenge Amazon, it’d be even more beneficial if there was a company that was coming out with revolutionary innovations in the e-book market. Apple has successfully done that job in the mp3 market, but there are no such companies in sight in the e-book market.
Plastic Logic has yet to release its reader, and it is not expected to be more than a niche player for the foreseeable future. Sony is making its move, but it’s acting in a reactive manner rather than taking a proactive approach. So we are missing the players which will truly challenge the Kindle by changing the game and putting the ball back in Amazon’s court. So far, we have seen companies jumping on the wireless bandwagon but Amazon has been offering that for a couple of years now. No company has come up with a major development to put Amazon on the back-foot. Apple hasn’t be involved in the e-book market so far, but it poses the biggest challenge to Amazon when it releases its iPad. Sony’s adoption of open doc formats such as ePub is a nice move but that doesn’t make Sony into a Kindle beater all of a sudden. What the e-book market needs is a revolutionary innovator. Sony, Plastic Logic, and Samsung are not that. Apple may be, but we will have to wait to see what Apple’s overall e-book strategy will be. For now, the search goes on.
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I think we have already seen Apple’s e-book strategy with the iPhone.
It is to let 3rd parties deal with it and take a slice of the profits. Right now Apple is getting 30% off each ebook sale from the app store. That is probably as good, if not better, then what they would be able to do if they had made a deal with the publishers themselves.
This way apple gets the same money they would have gotten through selling it themselves, without doing anything.
What everyone needs to remember is that Apple is a hardware company. They use software and media to help them sell hardware. Building an apple ebook store would not help sell more iphones, macs, or iPad’s, any more then the current 3rd party ebook stores do.
Now i would love to have Apple get into the ebook market because i do not feel anyone has made an ebook experience as great as it could be. But i doubt the books would be cheaper then what amazon sells. I doubt apple is interested in a device that is built for just reading documents. I see why apple fans (like me) want apple to take on this market. I just don’t see why apple and it’s shareholders would want to.
@Cameron.
I guess the wording could be better but what I meant by Apple was a company such as Apple that would come in and revolutionize it again and put the ball back in Amazon’s court to see how it responds. It’s not about iPad or other shiny devices but rather a company that comes up with something outside-the-box. I’d say it’s been almost too easy for Amazon going through its competitors. Now Sony is trying to catch up but it’s all based on a reactive strategy than proactive. I still can’t imagine why Sony sat on its reader without making an effort to capture the e-book market. Sure. Sony is not in Amazon’s position and didn’t have the content bank to count on but still it’s a shame Sony is a follower in this industry and not a leader. Not at this point of time anyway.
Apple might come up with something outside the box, but it will have nothing to do with ebooks. If it is good at ebooks, it will be totally by chance.
I actually don’t think Sony is that far behind Amazon in the ebook market (in terms of technology). They are just following a different model. Honestly a more ipod model.
Sony cares about selling hardware in the ebook market. Amazon cares about selling books. This leads you down two very different paths.
I have actually liked the sony hardware, but it is way easier to buy books on a Kindle.
Also Sony has not been doing that well in the last few years. I would imagine the team that was working on ereaders has been cut to the bone and only recently (after it was clear the kindle was a success) given any real resources.
Sony’s woes are more fundamental than just their reader team. You don’t have to look far to see what’s wrong with Sony. Take Sony PS3. A great device. PS used to dominate the gaming market. Now, Sony is losing money on each device or so it seems. I just have not seen enough from Sony to suggest it has any clue how to drive its reader home. PS3, Walkman, and even the Blu-Ray all show why Sony is fundamentally wrong about its approach.
Don’t get me wrong. I want Sony to succeed. The more legitimate competitors, the better off we all are. But Sony seems to be making bad decisions, one after another. Even their latest netbook shows the company has no clue in more ways than one. So I am a bit skeptical about Sony.
I still think Sony makes great hardware. They are just a total mess as a company.
@Cameron. Exactly. If you look at their history, they have been first to do a lot of things but they don’t have a clear strategy how to move things forward. Playstation, Walkman, Blu-ray, Sony Reader. Just too many blunders. But there is no doubt they are a top company. Their problem is 1. culture 2. lack of vision 3. bad management