Mark Kolier’s Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Amazon Kindle’

When I travel with my original Amazon Kindle I am content to know that I have more ‘content’ than I could ever read if I did nothing but read for two weeks straight. It’s still a bit aggravating that during takeoff and landing (or below 10,000 feet altitude) Kindles have to be put in the ‘off’ position. That’s when non-digital magazines/newspapers and non-digital books elbow their way back into play. There can only be a problem if the Kindle (or any e-reader or tablet) doesn’t work for whatever reason.

So there I was on my way to Asia, fully loaded up with books on my Kindle that I wanted to read on the 15+ hour flight. I opened the cover only to see an unwelcome image – the Kindle works no more. The current Kindle I have is my third one as the first two I had shortly after the launch in November 2007 (oh yes – Happy Birthday Amazon Kindle) did not work and the third time was the charm. Until now that is.

I haven’t tried as yet but it’s hard for me to believe Amazon is going to replace the now nearly four-year old Kindle with one that works. In fact I have posited that Amazon missed opportunities to re-market to me when ‘newer’ versions of the Kindle arrived. Perhaps a discount for a newer model might have motivated me to upgrade to a newer and supposedly better model.

I was already going to order a new Amazon Kindle Fire; I just did not think that it would be requirement for me to read the books I had already purchased on the Amazon platform. Amazon has done a good job of vertically integrating the new offerings with a Kindle tablet at as little as $80. Apparently Amazon loses money on each Kindle it sells as well as it loses $ 11/subscriber to the Amazon Prime $79 shipping service. It’s mildly interesting that Amazon has been able to leverage the idea of ‘Lose money but make it up in volume’ idea.

David Pogue of the New York Times writes in Monday November 14th’s paper http://nyti.ms/tuhYMT about the benefits of the Kindle platform. I agree with much of Mr. Pogue’s feeling on the entire Kindle platform – but he neglects to mention what happens when one’s Kindle or Kindle Fire is extinguished.

Kindle’s breaking down has to happen to other people doesn’t it? Can I be the only unlucky one – three times?

I don’t consider myself a technology nut although there are those that might disagree. For instance I do not own an iPhone (although I am moving closer to breaking down each and every day), nor an iPad. Actually I don’t even own a tablet computer at all. My now ancient Blackberry Storm 2 (no longer produced by Research in Motion) has slow and at best adequate internet access and I primarily use it as an email platform since there are so few apps made for the BB Storm.

But Amazon’s impending release of its 7 inch tablet has me intrigued. First the suggested retail price is more compelling than an iPad – $ 250 for Amazon’s yet-to-be-named tablet (although rumor has it they are going to name it – the Kindle) vs. $ 400 or more for an iPad 2. Second the 7 inch color screen is attractive to me since I have always found the iPad’s larger size (10 inch touch screen) be a detriment and not an asset. Don’t get me wrong – the iPad is an amazing piece of technology but if I really want something to supplement and not yet replace my laptop it should be smaller and more portable. Eweek.com wrote about this last week – http://bit.ly/nW95Fq

I still own and use an original Amazon Kindle – actually that’s not exactly true. It took three times for Amazon to get me a Kindle that worked correctly but they did that and at Amazon’s cost each time. I’ve been using my current (or re-furbished I assume) Kindle since 2008. While many new e-Readers have come into the market the original Amazon Kindle remains a useful and good working piece of technology.

For that reason I am likely to give the new Amazon tablet (er..Kindle?), a chance. I also like the ideas being tossed around regarding an annual subscription-based (think Netflix for books) library to ‘rent’ certain e-books on Amazon.

There’s no word yet on what the connection charges might be. The current Amazon Kindle’s internet access operates on the Amazon ‘Whispernet’, which is free, but I have serious doubts that the new tablet will handle internet access in the same fashion.

I’ve waited a long time to get a tablet. The iPad did not seem to be right for my needs. But perhaps the waiting is going to have been worthwhile. Here’s hoping.

Do you have a tablet computer? Did it replace your laptop such that you will never use a laptop again?

When I travel one of the things I look forward to is the opportunity to read novels – both fiction and non-fiction. This is in contrast to what I read when I am not traveling. Three newspapers a day, countless emails, magazines and newsletters are more than enough ‘content’ for me to try to keep up with.
I don’t know about you but after a ten or twelve hour work day, reading a novel most often has my eyes closing within fifteen minutes. It’s not that I don’t enjoy what I read; I simply am most often unable to stay awake. While I don’t watch all that much television, it’s much easier for me to remain awake watching television than it is to read (unless I am watching a movie at home which to me is great sleeping time).

We’ve heard all the statistics on how much television Americans watch. Some statistics from a 2007 article are below:

From a website www.parapub.com – Each day in the U.S., people spend 4 hours watching TV, 3 hours listening to the radio and 14 minutes reading magazines.

And from www.JenkinsGroup.com
1/3 of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives.
42 percent of college graduates never read another book after college.
80 percent of U.S. families did not buy or read a book last year.
70 percent of U.S. adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.
57 percent of new books are not read to completion.
70 percent of books published do not earn back their advance.
70 percent of the books published do not make a profit.

Emarketer has some figures on average time spend on line 2008-2010 although no mention of time spent reading.
http://www.emarketer.com/blog/index.php/time-spent-watching-tv-tops-internet

Maybe the numbers have changed a bit since 2007. But if I had to guess the data might show that some of the television time has been replaced by time spent on Facebook and other web-based activity.

Shortly after the statistics I have cited were released the Amazon Kindle came on the market. Today we have the Barnes & Noble Nook, and the iPad, along with other tablets that are ideal (or so it is said) for reading. I am impressed when I see commuters on the train reading books in the morning and I think they have the right idea. I am at my most-alert in the morning and yet I spend that time reading news stories, emails and whatever else comes my way via email.

Yet when I read a book (right now I am reading Bill Bryson’s – ‘A short history of private life’ and it is terrific), it is not quite a guilty pleasure but far more fulfilling that reading another news story about how the world financial crisis might turn out.

My wife is a dedicated reader of novels as is my eighteen year old daughter. My twenty-two year old son was a voracious reader but I suspect he has little time or interest in reading novels. I wish that were not the case.

How about you – do you read books, newspapers or magazines? All of them? None of them?

I received a nice gift from a good friend and associate last week. It was a signed copy of restaurateur Danny Meyer’s 2006 book ‘Setting the Table’ (very good book too). I didn’t know it was signed until I opened the cover and saw the signature. It made me smile and it made me think about e-books and the constant drone that e-readers and e-books are going to eliminate the need for the printed book.

Having spent a good part of my career helping clients put ink on paper – a business that has changed (ok been reduced) dramatically I can relate to new technologies sweeping out the status quo. And while I still enjoy my 1st generation Amazon Kindle, I find that I carry it around mostly when I am traveling as a hedge to be sure I always have more than enough to read. I still enjoy a good old-fashioned printed book –hardcover or soft cover.

Now there are color e-readers and they come with even more features. This morning I read in the New York Times http://nyti.ms/dPXmMI about e-readers that can display picture books in spread form such that you can see the spread page as the author intended in the actual book. I think that is a good and useful feature. And yet I wonder if Mom or Dad and their young child would ‘curl up’ to read a picture e-book?
If you are out at a book signing would you ever hand over your Nook to the author to sign the latest copy of their hot new book? I am sure there will be a way (if there isn’t already) for authors to sign e-versions of their books. But to me it will never be or feel the same.

The point is that there is ample room for both e-readers and printed books to compatibly co-exist. I don’t want to give up my printed newspaper (although when I travel I am happy to read the e-version of my favored publications), or magazines. And I’ll say it –I am willing to pay more for the expense to put actual ink on paper.

I’m not sure it’s a luxury to have a printed book but if I were to have a signed copy of a book from any author, an e-signed book would leave me cold.

How about you?

My first thought when I read it Tuesday morning in the New York Times http://nyti.ms/dEthVh was – what took so long? The bookstore market has been shrinking for years and to have these two companies beat each other up for a declining market share just seemed stupid. While the idea is not new it took William A. Ackman’s track record to get people’s attention and interest.

What’s also interesting is that Google recently announced http://nyti.ms/hNVvqO that it is set to open an E-book Marketplace. The timing of both of these news items is probably not a simple coincidence.
I like going into bookstores (either Borders or B & N as the customer experience in both places seems similar to me) but don’t go all that often. And bookstores continue to offer a very different feel from libraries although if libraries start serving coffee and food I wonder if they will further their growing usage across the United States. (Some libraries do and many university libraries already do…)

My son likes to go to Borders and check out the latest Manga which he can read in the store – without purchasing – sort of like a library. The bookstore employees expect this as you can find many people reading books in the store that don’t necessarily purchase anything. This might seem a bit odd but the overall atmosphere is good in both Borders and B & N and that laissez-faire attitude is appealing to people and contributes to why people like to go there to browse.

Another thing I like about those mega-bookstores is the ability to get a free wireless connection. Again something that is very appealing and makes people want to go there and spend some time reading, working, maybe drinking coffee. And sometimes they might even buy a book.

The news had both company’s stock prices on the rise and that’s also no surprise. Calling off a war will surely offer opportunities for cost savings as a shared effort to offer a vastly different experience as opposed to that of Amazon’s Kindle and other e-reader companies (Barnes & Noble has its own e-reader called the ‘Nook’) should offer some protection from new competition in the bookstore marketplace. I’ve wondered for a while why libraries also do not offer books for sale. Think about it – why not?

E-books are great and here to stay and that market will continue to grow but printed books are also here to stay. I don’t think consumers are ready yet for a world without bookstores where books could only be purchased online or taken out at the library. So I hope that the union of Borders and B & N is a long and successful one.

One last question – with all the business reading I do and all the content available to read online I find it so difficult to take time to read as many books as I’d like, so I ask how many books do you read per year?