By
David Rothman
“…we don’t know how many of those Kindles have been sold. This week’s conference call should have changed that.” - Rick Aristotle Munarriz—writing for the Motley Fool investment site.
The TeleRead take: Hey, Jeff, that’s not the best treatment of Amazon investors. I’m assuming that the Kindle is a success and will be a hit among more than earlier adopters—I certainly hope so. But if not, investors just might give your stock price a hit. Why are you so bleepin’ silent about the actual numbers of customer orders?
Related: The Fool’s Put Sony on Pause. Alyce Lomax notes the competition that the Sony Reader is facing from the Kindle. Not sure, Alyce. All kinds of e-book products could be basking in the Kindle’s glow.
And speaking of hardware: Comparison of the Kindle, the Sony Reader and the iLiad, in School Library Journal, which gives a thumbs-up to the Kindle but is harder on the iLiad.
While SLJ’s reviewer, Jeffrey Hastings, finds much to like in the iLiad’s hardware, he hates the machine’s complexities. Amen. Of course, in fairness to the iLiad, it’s a more flexible machine than the competition, and all these extra options could confuse typical users. Rx would be an almost full redo of the iLiad interface.
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The TeleRead take: Hey, Jeff, that’s not the best treatment of Amazon investors. I’m assuming that the Kindle is a success and will be a hit among more than earlier adopters—I certainly hope so. But if not, investors just might give your stock price a hit. Why are you so bleepin’ silent about the actual numbers of customer orders?
February 3rd, 2008 at 11:13 am
Question: Have Sony or Irex ever said how devices they’ve sold? I don’t believe they did.
I think Amazon made the right decision in not announcing the number of Kindles sold. If they had said that they’d sold 7k, how would we judge the relative size of the number when we have nothing to compare it to?
The Eink market is too new. If you compared that number to cellphones, it’s small; PDAs, quite good. But in reality there is no device to compare it against. Without any real yardstick, commentator could put any spin they want on the number.
I think it’s best to avoid the risk, and not release the number.
February 3rd, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Nate, many thanks for your comments. My reply:
1. Yes, disclosure would be wonderful for all three companies. Consumers, not just other groups, have an interest in this. Give them the facts in context to help them make their judgments as to which products are likely to survive and receive full support in the future.
2. In Amazon’s case, disclosure would be especially appropriate since it’s a publicly traded company. Sony, too, is public; but far more than Sony, Amazon might rely in the future on e-book-related income. I won’t get into the possible legal aspects–I’m not a lawyer–but morally I think Amazon has an obligation to disclose.
3. Heck, consumers and shareholders are no dummies–and can be educated that there’s an E Ink shortage and also warned against unfair comparisons. Notice my earlier reference to “context”? That’s an example of what I mean by it.
Believe me, journalists, too, will Get It. As one yourself, why not put yourself on the side of disclosure?
Thanks,
David