Will Amazon’s Kindle Software Kill the Kindle Hardware?
Yesterday, I took a look at Amazon’s Kindle for PC software on my netbook. The beta software is missing a few features just yet — search, note-taking and highlighting passages — but for reading Kindle content, it’s quite good. You gain the benefit of a color screen and the ability to tweak fonts and line spacing to a greater degree. All in all, the experience is enjoyable. But will it be so good that it actually kills off Amazon’s Kindle hardware products? I don’t think so.
Steve Paine at UMPCPortal installed the software on a Viliv X70 UMPC and found the experience to be just as positive as I did on my netbook, if not more so. He took it a step further however, with this tweet: “Now all that is needed to kill the Kindle hardware is Kindle for Android.” Sascha at NetbookNews agrees: “This is the beginning of the end 4 kindle hardware.” I disagreed at the time for two key reasons. One, the Kindle has stellar battery life — I use mine daily and charge it once every three to four weeks. Secondly, I find that the e-Ink display is much easier on my four eyes than an LCD screen. Steve’s response was: “Think Kindle batt/better screen with os that provides more. Android kindle app would stimulate the right hardware if mkt there.”
I suspect that Amazon will indeed lose some potential Kindle hardware sales by offering their software for PC and Mac. After all, folks new to the e-book scene get a chance to take a content test drive for little to no money down. But the ability to read content on a computer screen really isn’t the full experience, nor is it something new. People read content on their computers every day, don’t they? The difference is that the Kindle hardware is pretty much an instant on experience. You can’t say the same thing with a computer — you have to either boot up, wake up or resume from hibernation to get going. And you need a place to put the computer, be it on your lap or a desk. It’s just not as mobile of an experience as it is with the lightweight Kindle hardware. With a Kindle, you can pick up your reading pretty much anywhere and with no additional room required.
But Steve’s also talking about smaller devices than a computer, so let’s look at that for a second. E-books on a handheld aren’t a new idea — I started reading e-books on a 3″ PDA about six or seven years ago. The experience wasn’t nearly as good as today’s Kindle is, but it worked and there weren’t many alternatives. I didn’t need an Android device for e-books then, so what’s the compelling reason to have one now? It’s really no different than using Kindle for iPhone software on my iPhone like I do today. In fact, the main reason I bought the Kindle hardware was because Kindle for iPhone software became available. It offered me the flexibility to have a great reading experience on the larger Kindle for long reads or a good enough experience on the smaller iPhone for bite-sized reading sessions. If anything, Kindle software pushed me to buy Kindle hardware — it didn’t diminish the demand, it increased it.
I suspect Steve is envisioning an Android tablet with a 5″ display for reading e-books. And it would function as a traditional Android device with web, email, and all of the other good stuff that Android brings. But at that size or bigger, it’s too large to fit in a pocket or be a phone. If the vision is a smaller device, then I say “We already have pocketable phones that can read Kindle content.” And in either case, there’s simply no way in hell such a device will go weeks on a single charge. And that’s a huge plus to me personally. For all intents and purposes, I *never* have to worry if my Kindle has enough juice in it, which is something I can’t say about any other device I own. In a worst case, the Kindle recharges fully in a few short hours, so if I have to wait three hours to be able to read for three or four weeks, that’s a concession I’m more than willing to make.
Is the Kindle hardware for everyone? No. That’s not my point. But does adding e-book functionality to a multi-functional Android device mean death to the Kindle hardware? Not by a long shot. There’s no reason in the world that Kindle hardware and Kindle software on various platforms can’t co-exist in the world. Thoughts?
But we will be getting Kindle-like functionality on the Android platform– its called the Barnes and Noble nook, as long as the lawsuit doesn’t cause issue with the device coming out on time. And, I have read somewhere, that B&N’s software will also be available on PC and Mac. So, its a win for all, depending on who you like better– Amazon or B&N.
“B&N’s software will also be available on PC” – It is already available!
With all this talk about Kindle this and nook that and what kind of hardware that we can put it on…we are forgetting one very critical fact…you are STUCK with Amazon or B&N or Sony books…unlike paperbased books that you can buy anywhere and read anywhere or CDs or DVDs that you can play anywhere in almost any kind of hardware…with ebook readers you are forced to buy ebooks from one retailer and stay there. This removes any reason the retailer might have to make sure you have good customer service and/or offer a better price to attract you. Right now we pay $4 or $5 each for razor blade because they only fit one type of handle. I don’t know about you but it sounds like this is the real issue we should be discussing.
That’s not quite true. Most readers will use epub format which can be bought a many different retailers.
There are many websites offering thousands of free public domain books, such as Feedbooks.com, to name one you can wirelessly download from. Some libraries are now set-up to download e-books (current best-sellers and other copyrighted books) to your e-book reader for a 3-week checkout. The advantage of an e-book reader is the battery, the ease on your eyes, the ability to look up a word as you read it in the built-in dictionary, and the ease of transporting the reader compared to a netbook. Compared to a cell phone, it’s easier to read on a 6″ screen (and soon 7 to 10″).
The value of my old 5″ Sony U750P (a button push for portrait mode) just doubled. I use the Calibre (free/donationware) PC viewer now, but it doesn’t read Amazon’s .azw.
Skimming magazines and newspapers on the fast PC is so much better than stepping through those agonizingly slow page turns of today’s e-book readers. But you’re right about the battery life, often making me rush to finish up my reading before losing power.
@DJ: It’s getting more open. The Sony Reader supports ePub, Microsoft LIT (with easy de-DRM’ing and conversion with Calibre), etc. On mobileread.com forums, when they have the new book-of-the-month club selection, someone links about 10 e-book stores to purchase it from, most all offering formats that are readable (or can be made so) on the Sony. Now that Calibre converts to .mobi, even the Kindle has gotten more open. And the Sony store is going ePub.
I am definately open to that
. The ability to read multiple formats is so much better now that even last year. BTW, Mobleread.com is definately one of my top blogs that I read…sometimes multiple times a day…
There are a lot of free and multi-use Websites that offer non-DRM ebooks (notibly Baen Books with SciFi and Fantasy) and if an ereader can do Adobe DRM they can access free library books which is still sorta limited but is growing.
I’d just like Amazon, B&E, and Sony to read the DRM books from each other. An impossible task? Maybe. But the ereader manufacturer that bends to the wind and figures this out will probably end up with the most sales in the long run. Or we will have another BlueRay-Toshiba HD-DVD dustup which will stunt yet another technology rollout.
I installed Kindle for PC on my viliv S5. I think the B&N eReader is far better. I mean, where’s the full screen mode???
Regardless of whether they sell more hardware or not, we need to consider whether they will sell the more profitable books.
For me the answer is YES, YES, YES. I used to try and buy ebooks from B&N because you could read the books on any device. But now with Kindle for PC you can with Amazon and they have a better selection.
So at least for me they’ve already got 3 book sales and many more to come. Unless of course they don’t improve the reader software and refuse to have full screen mode.
Kevin, I must agree. Using the Kindle software on my I phone and now on my tablet has be leaning very strongly towards buying Kindle instead of a Nook.
The iphone allows the reading in “small chuncks” as you and James have pointed out. I’ve been using the tablet in a very similar way. My tablet is on all day. If I happen to have it in hand when a bit a free time pops up, I open the kindle software and read. I doubt that I would ever boot up my tablet just to read a book.
Besides, if I am early for a meeting, sitting in the meeting room, reading from my tablet looks a whole lot better than reading from my personal iphone
Thanks for your detailed article Kevin. The tweet was made pretty much off the cuff but it’s worth discussing.
First off, I doubt we’ll see Kindle for Android for political and security reasons but if those issues were solved, there’s no barrier to anyone knocking up a $200 5″-7″ reader that provides so much more than the Kindle hardware with a battery life of over 24 hours (daily charging is accepted by most people IMO.)A device like that would limit sales of the Kindle outside its current niche of hardcore readers.
I guess though, it’s a null argument. The Kindle hardware is not there to make Amazon a profit on sales, it’s there to sell books so Amazon won’t really care if more devices appear and I guess consumers won’t either. As long as there’s a range of good devices to choose from, thats the best that anyone could wish for.
Steve, I realize it was an “off the cuff” comment, but the idea merits discussion, hence the post and good commentary.
You are forgetting about trans-reflective screens and ARM processors, Amazon won’t loos from PC or Nook or whatever other platform. It will just be drowned by the sheer number of publishers that will have access to the sub 300 gram computers with trans-reflective screens and open e-pub readers. You still don’t see the forest from the trees.
The Kindle is TOO BIG!
I read e-books on my Archos PMA400. I can make the fonts quite large and it fits in my pocket. My complaint is that the JustReader program doesn’t automatically scroll. My battery life is only about 6 hours but why is that is big deal since I can recharge every night.
I figure netbooks and smartbooks would kill the Kindle.
IMO – The Kindle 2 is close to the right size/weight. Nice sunlight readable screen that meets alot of needs for the voracious reader and occasional reader alike.
I think the Kindle for PC software is a nice addition, proprietary format or not. Although I think it won’t be long before Amazon is handling epub format as well. I just loaded it on my TabletPC and when the Viliv S10 is available, it may become my preferred non Kindle reader.
It is all about selling more books and that is a good thing. Perhaps just like Amazon has provided more options. when it comes to music downloads regardless of the player, they have created more options for buying and reading ebooks.
Thanks to Kevin for a great article.
I admit I’m skipping over all the comments here, so at the risk of sounding redundant. This is no different than the video game industry… consoles don’t make money, games do. By extension, the Kindle probably doesn’t make Amazon money… but your book purchases definitely do.
That said, all the reviews I’ve read of the software says it’s incredibly limited right now, so I don’t see it having much impact other than just being able to read on a laptop screen.
Who cares? Amazon is about selling books, not hardware. If they sell more books by having PC software (which I suspect will be the case), then who cares if Kindle hardware sales decrease.
I still hope for the day when I can read ebooks purchased from Amazon on a Sony Reader, Nook, or whatnot.
I would agree with some of the earlier comments: the Android eBook reader already on the way is teh B&N Nook.
As to cannibalization of sales, due to the software release. Yes, it will happen. To a large detriment? I am thinking not. IF we look at the Apple model, it seems like lots of people own more than on iPod variant, and have multiple instances of iTunes installed across more than one machine.
While I have yet to buy an eReader, this is the same ecosystem I am looking to have set up. A store front where I can buy books and have a catalogued library, with the store accessible from multiuple devices and my library synced or in the cloud so it looks the same everywhere.
Content readable on multiple devices. Right now that will be my TabletPC, UMPC, and whatever eBook reader I buy (right now the Nook is the strong lead). I transit through various situations where any one of these devices might be the right device to read an eBook on at any point in time, and I don’t want to be limited. Amazon is going the right way by making the Kindle app available both in Windows in OS X, and hopefully soon they or B&N will realize that a LINUX-based app also makes sense.
Amazon’s move to me makes sense, and I think it will get more people to buy into the Kindle HW-Kindle SW-Kindle Storefront as a digital package moreso than their first model of only deploying the software.
– Vr/Zeuxidamas..>>
Those who read a book and then pass it on to a friend may not find the Kindle as attractive; it doesn’t offer many benefits to those who treat books as disposable items. But anyone whose house is filled with books should look at Kindle. The Kindle books we’ve purchased and read in the past few months would fill a standard file box in their hardcopy forms; the Kindle is a remarkable de-cluttering device.
Kindle excels in part because Amazon has designed the entire user experience (like Apple’s iPod and iPhone), in part because of Amazon’s partnership with content publishers, in part because of its connectivity… but mostly because when you read a Kindle, you forget you’re using an electronic device.
The major problem I see with the PC software is that some publisher’s only let you download your Kindle content X times. And of course what really sucks is you don’t know which content this is being enforced on nor how many of your X times you’ve already used up until the nasty jack in the box pops up and tells you you can’t download the ebook again.
I think about the constant hell I’ve had the last couple years with getting Microsoft to let me keep dragging my LIT’s around from new PC to new PC. Then I think about the lack of an appeal process with Amazon to download ebooks one-more-time and no happy thoughts come from it.
So I haven’t downloaded the PC app and I’m being very selective about what I download onto my iPhone.
@Scotty,
Microsoft’s LIT format is easy to de-DRM and convert (you may not need step 2 if you’re happy with de-DRM’d LIT), with these two steps:
1. ConvertLit GUI (“downconvert”) removes DRM:
http://dukelupus.pri.ee/convertlit.php
2, Calibre converts from the de-DRM’d LIT (and other formats) to epub or mobi or lrf (or other formats):
http://calibre.kovidgoyal.net/download