Kindle To Target: Did Amazon Blunder?
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If you are sick and tired of e-book readers, you are going to have to get used to the idea of seeing e-readers every place you go. Not only more people are adopting e-book readers and going digital for their reading needs, e-reader companies are bringing their devices to popular stores such as BestBuy and Target. We have known for a while that Amazon is looking for ways to expand its market-share and reach more people with Amazon Kindle. Bringing global wireless coverage was only a small part of the plan. The company is now in the process of implementing the second phase of its strategy, bringing Amazon Kindle to Target as a starting point. In the meantime, Amazon is developing Kindle software for all kinds of platforms to draw more people into its ecosystem.
Amazon should not focus only on hardware if it is serious about its e-reader business. In some markets, companies can get too attached to their hardware business and forget about innovating and thinking outside the box (e.g. Garmin in GPS market). At the same time, Amazon needs to innovate and do it fast to keep its momentum in the e-book reader market. The company has still not introduced a Kindle app for Android platform. Kindle hardware leaves a lot to be desired. Let’s not forget that the OS which runs our Kindles is not too perfect either.
Bringing Kindle to Target makes a lot of sense for Amazon. More people are going to see the device and want to get their hands on it. But did the company miss the opportunity to make an even bigger offline impression by not releasing Kindle 3 at the same time? On the one hand, one could argue that Amazon is managing the news cycle and staying relevant while working on the next generation Kindle. On the other hand, the company has not given us even a hint about when the next Kindle will be released. Considering that Apple and HP plan to conquer the e-reader market with their tablets, it is not a good move by Amazon to keep its Kindle fans in limbo. If Apple were in Amazon’s shoes, a leak would have been already manufactured to spread the word and create buzz around Kindle 3. Unfortunately, Amazon is being too passive with its Kindle strategy at this point.
