Comments on: Facing Up to the Realities of the Kindle http://www.teleread.org/2009/03/22/facing-up-to-the-realities-of-the-kindle/ News & views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:01:59 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Windwalker http://www.teleread.org/2009/03/22/facing-up-to-the-realities-of-the-kindle/comment-page-1/#comment-1025634 Windwalker Tue, 24 Mar 2009 11:53:41 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/?p=19134#comment-1025634 Dose were da days, Dog. Dose were da days, Dog.

]]> By: Jim Wilson http://www.teleread.org/2009/03/22/facing-up-to-the-realities-of-the-kindle/comment-page-1/#comment-1025625 Jim Wilson Tue, 24 Mar 2009 11:27:05 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/?p=19134#comment-1025625 "Within months, I expect that Kindle books will be available on netbooks... Maybe even Osbornes and Kaypros." Osbornes and Kaypros? Ah, Stephen, you old dog. You carried me back 30+ years to the early Computer Faires in San Francisco, when personal computer technology was young, innovation was rampant, and reliability wasn't mentioned. It's been a wild ride. Thanks for the memories. “Within months, I expect that Kindle books will be available on netbooks… Maybe even Osbornes and Kaypros.”

Osbornes and Kaypros? Ah, Stephen, you old dog. You carried me back 30+ years to the early Computer Faires in San Francisco, when personal computer technology was young, innovation was rampant, and reliability wasn’t mentioned. It’s been a wild ride. Thanks for the memories.

]]> By: Bruno Di Giandomenico http://www.teleread.org/2009/03/22/facing-up-to-the-realities-of-the-kindle/comment-page-1/#comment-1024900 Bruno Di Giandomenico Mon, 23 Mar 2009 06:26:33 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/?p=19134#comment-1024900 Nothing to be forgiven, hope I was not taken as offensive. Amazon for the time being is only present in Europe in Germany and UK, it has to be remembered that we have a host of different languages which is difficult to cater for. Sony is moving, I read, in UK, Germany, Switzerland and Holland or Belgium and France. Nowhere else, and no plans announced. The big problem we have still is, as you say, and I do concur, content. In Italy, for example, numbers given by some manufacturers show just a few thousands of readers sold, but there is virtually no Italian content available, if you discount some RSS feeds you can use with some tools. I do not believe a nation-by nation balkanization will happen, numbers are too small yet and do not attract the biggest players. I believe that the big push will come when the schools will come into play, that could be the killer application. Then we shall see. Best regards Nothing to be forgiven, hope I was not taken as offensive. Amazon for the time being is only present in Europe in Germany and UK, it has to be remembered that we have a host of different languages which is difficult to cater for. Sony is moving, I read, in UK, Germany, Switzerland and Holland or Belgium and France. Nowhere else, and no plans announced.
The big problem we have still is, as you say, and I do concur, content.
In Italy, for example, numbers given by some manufacturers show just a few thousands of readers sold, but there is virtually no Italian content available, if you discount some RSS feeds you can use with some tools.
I do not believe a nation-by nation balkanization will happen, numbers are too small yet and do not attract the biggest players.
I believe that the big push will come when the schools will come into play, that could be the killer application. Then we shall see.
Best regards

]]> By: Windwalker http://www.teleread.org/2009/03/22/facing-up-to-the-realities-of-the-kindle/comment-page-1/#comment-1024629 Windwalker Sun, 22 Mar 2009 23:29:16 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/?p=19134#comment-1024629 Your underlying point is spot on, I think, Bruno. Forgive me for focusing on the US market as it is the area where I have greater expertise. Amazon is definitely moving globally, both with the Kindle and other ventures, but will certainly not achieve anything close to its US dominance in most non-US markets. Europe, as you suggest, will force even wider device compatibility. I am not sure that any device has anything close to critical mass on a global scale, but will be interesting to see how global trends play out what with book trades that tend to be rather balkanized on a nation-by-nation basis. Your underlying point is spot on, I think, Bruno. Forgive me for focusing on the US market as it is the area where I have greater expertise. Amazon is definitely moving globally, both with the Kindle and other ventures, but will certainly not achieve anything close to its US dominance in most non-US markets. Europe, as you suggest, will force even wider device compatibility. I am not sure that any device has anything close to critical mass on a global scale, but will be interesting to see how global trends play out what with book trades that tend to be rather balkanized on a nation-by-nation basis.

]]> By: Bruno Di Giandomenico http://www.teleread.org/2009/03/22/facing-up-to-the-realities-of-the-kindle/comment-page-1/#comment-1024521 Bruno Di Giandomenico Sun, 22 Mar 2009 18:07:10 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/?p=19134#comment-1024521 The opinion expressed by Mr. Windwalker would be more convincing if it were not totally biased toward the US market. If Amazon and Kindle will stay US-centric, what has been predicted will not happen easily, because the Kindle and Amazon, outside the US have a 0% of the market. The device may be splendid, the service may be a trojan horse, but only in the USA. The rest of the world is until now totally indifferent to the Kindle, and looking at the numbers, it is slightly shifting to Sony, instead. The same applies to Apple. In Europe, in France in particular, Apple is being forced, if I am not wrong, to supply music compatible with other devices. Otherwise it is a monopoly, which is a very bad word. The opinion expressed by Mr. Windwalker would be more convincing if it were not totally biased toward the US market. If Amazon and Kindle will stay US-centric, what has been predicted will not happen easily, because the Kindle and Amazon, outside the US have a 0% of the market. The device may be splendid, the service may be a trojan horse, but only in the USA.
The rest of the world is until now totally indifferent to the Kindle, and looking at the numbers, it is slightly shifting to Sony, instead.
The same applies to Apple. In Europe, in France in particular, Apple is being forced, if I am not wrong, to supply music compatible with other devices.
Otherwise it is a monopoly, which is a very bad word.

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