The Big-Screen Kindle: It's About Textbooks, Not Saving the Newspapers
According to a number of well-substantiated rumors, Amazon is set to debut a new, large-screen version of its Kindle eBook reader on Wednesday morning during a press conference at Pace University in New York City. A lot of the current discussion around this announcement has focused on how a new Kindle might or might not be able to save the ailing newspaper industry, but in many respects, it seems more likely that Amazon is simply planning to turn Kindle into a better platform for electronic textbooks.
Textbooks
In some respects, though, the new Kindle (which will, after all, see its debut at a college) is probably geared more towards the textbook market than the newspaper business. For textbook publishers, electronic (and DRMed) editions aren't so much about convenience for students, but about cutting out the used-book market where a lot of students get their books and where the publisher gets absolutely nothing. In 2005, the market for used textbooks in the U.S. was valued at about $1.6 billion which was about a third of the total market for educational and professional books.
As Larry Dignan points out in detail, if Amazon could sell electronic versions of these textbooks for cheaper than a college bookstore, it could cut the incentive for students to buy used books, even as it cuts out the option to sell new copies back to the bookstore at the end of the semester.
Newspaper
As for saving newspapers, hopefully, the papers that are said to be launch partners for the new Kindle, including the New York Times, will realize that they can't just recreate an electronic copy of their morning papers and hope that it will be successful. After all, the main reason why newspapers have lost their must-read status is that most of what's printed in the morning is already old news.
For a newspaper on Kindle to be successful, the Kindle version of the paper would have to be updated continuously throughout the day, just like the paper's web site. However, the fact that papers are clamoring for a larger version of Kindle so that it would be easier to replicate the feel and layout of their dead-tree editions makes it likely that the large-screen Kindle, if it turns out to be real, will see the same subscription model for newspapers where a new copy of the paper will be downloaded automatically once a day.
CC-licensed image used courtesy of Flickr user Amanda Munoz.
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I have a Kindle 2 and I like it. I even like the current newspaper format. I definitely would not pay more to get a larger, less portable Kindle, just so the newspapers will have room to include print style advertising. Are they serious?
It is amazing how rapidly amazon is launching new kindles. I haven't seen one till now, but looks like its doing great and beating all expectations.
A large screen kindle will open up a host of new opportunities, including what you mentioned... Textbooks. The newspapers do need to come up with a new business model even on kindle. Personally, I like catching up with all sorts of news on my phone on Google News & Yahoo news etc.
I wonder if in the future ( or with this product) amazon might consider interfacing with their video service..so people could actually download movies & tv shows on the device..I guess it wouldnt really be a Reader then, but still might be a great idea considering Kindle's screen has very good resolution!
You couldn't be more correct.
Will Kindle be a savior for newspapers? Maybe so. Kindle might be the product to finally get newspapers to realize they have to go digital. Read more at http://www.ThePhoenixPrinciple.com
An e-textbook ought to be better than the dead-tree iteration, so that means the new Kindle ought to enable user annotation that is searchable and integrated into a Web account.
hmmm, I don't think most students would want to have their textbooks on a Kindle...I know I wouldn't..
1) You can't highlight text
2) You would look kind of lame carrying it around..although I carried my "mini" kindle around until the screen started messing up..but this thing is huge..
3) I've found used textbooks that i needed for $3 .. and sold them back for more .. will amazon be able to drop the kindle version of a book down this significantly? so that the amount of money a student would get back after selling the text version of the book would be drastically less than the amount they paid for for the kindle version?
4) and would text book publishers really be willing to see their books in ebook format?? They would be all over the web..I know (people) who find the torrents of books that aren't even in ebook format..so just imagine .. actually .. maybe this issss a good idea!!
Very good definition of Kindle Ebook Reader. I have site for the kindle Ebook Reader which more informatics.
hmmm, I don't think most students would want to have their textbooks on a Kindle...I know I wouldn't..
1) You can't highlight text
2) You would look kind of lame carrying it around..although I carried my "mini" kindle around until the screen started messing up..but this thing is huge..
3) I've found used textbooks that i needed for $3 .. and sold them back for more .. will amazon be able to drop the kindle version of a book down this significantly? so that the amount of money a student would get back after selling the text version of the book would be drastically less than the amount they paid for for the kindle version?
4) and would text book publishers really be willing to see their books in ebook format?? They would be all over the web..I know (people) who find the torrents of books that aren't even in ebook format..so just imagine .. actually .. maybe this issss a good idea!!
I have a Kindle 2 and I like it. I even like the current newspaper format. I definitely would not pay more to get a larger, less portable Kindle, just so the newspapers will have room to include print style advertising. Are they serious?
This is looks like a desperate attempt to re-tweak the old media business models hoping to make them function again.
The answer will not be found trying to salvage the old business models through clever gadgets, new forms of paper, new laws, lawsuits or pay-walls.
A lesson worth remembering is that at the turn of the 20th century, people had a transportation problem...and the solution turned out not to be a faster horse...but a Ford. And one should note that the Ford didn't arise out of the "horse industry's" R&D efforts, nor the "Horse Industry Stabilization Act" nor the horse industry's attempts to experiment with new Business Models. I think the future of the media business will look as different as Ford and GM's operations look from horse traders and blacksmiths.
Very good definition of Kindle Ebook Reader. I have site for the kindle Ebook Reader which more informatics.