Mark Kolier’s Blog

Posts Tagged ‘E-readers’

As a sometime frustrated original Kindle owner (mainly due to the fact that they have never reached out to me since I paid the $ 399 for the now dinosaur-like 1st edition) ,the news this week http://on.wsj.com/i9NHe2 that Amazon has come up with an even less expensive option by offering an advertising-supported Kindle made me even more annoyed. The same exact Kindle currently on sale for $ 139 will now be available for $ 114 with ads popping up on the home page but not during the ‘reading’ experience.

The idea itself is both interesting and perhaps even overdue. What surprised me is the small difference between the price for a Kindle with and without ads. Keep in mind that the Kindle owner can turn off the Wi-Fi so that ads will not be served and you can read on your Kindle without ads except when you go the Kindle store to buy something.

I take it as some type of return salvo against Apple’s iPad 2 which still has A T & T Wireless customers still lining up in the streets in order to try to get one. From the article in the Wall Street Journal from April 12th by Stu Wood – ‘Some in publishing suggested that the new lower price is a savvy move.’ “People won’t hesitate to buy the cheaper device because advertising is everywhere we look,” said Richard Curtis, a New York literary agent and digital book publisher. “People will think it’s a good trade-off.” And if they actually look at the ads, so much the better for the advertisers and Amazon”.

But only a $ 25 discount? Amazon is said to have sold more than 5 million Kindles in 2010 alone. If half that universe purchased an ad supported Kindle in 2011 that would mean a universe of 2,500,000 for which ads could be served. It seems to me that even with modest projections the lifetime value of the purchasing consumer would be worth far more than a measly $ 25 discount.

If Amazon truly wants to make makers of other E-readers and tablets take notice, the price of an advertising-supported Kindle should come down even more – how about $ 49? How about free with the purchase of 10 or more books from the Kindle Store?

Or how about a free Kindle if the customer buys an advertising-supported Kindle and also agrees to purchase 10 books from the Kindle store over a defined time period? That’s how Columbia House Record Clubs, BMG Records and Book of the Month did it for years. Only this time the books are delivered electronically so there is no cost for shipping and handling.

How about it – would you like a free Amazon Kindle with ads and a promise to buy a certain number of books over a certain period of time?

As I posted recently I have reconsidered my relationship with the Amazon’s Kindle. Having read the limited warranty that came with the device as well as what is posted on the website it seemed clear to me that after one year there was no guarantee. At the time I was aggravated, unhappy and perplexed. I was wrong too. Sometimes you have to make that phone call.

Of course I did not make it. My wife did since she had originally bought me the Kindle and had worked out the (now) 3 replacement Kindles. She spoke with them (although finding the right customer service number was a little bit tough) about the fact that my Kindle had simply died. They said no problem and sent a replacement Kindle to arrive THE NEXT DAY at Amazon’s expense. It was already loaded with my contact information such that as soon as I charged it up and turned it on it was easy to download the books that I had previously purchased into the replacement device from the content manager.

I am pleased, impressed and yes still a little perplexed. While I still hold that Amazon should send a replacement Kindle to any customer that complains their Kindle has stopped working (which they have done) as long as the customer sends back the old one (still at Amazon’s expense which is the case). But I have two questions.

1) Why don’t they publicize this feature? Possible answer – Amazon does not want to advertise that the device is somewhat fragile since that could undermine overall customer perception particularly in view of the new e-reader devices on the market. Anyone that calls will receive a replacement Kindle but one HAS to call.

2) Did anyone from Amazon actually read my blog post such that they decided to send me a replacement Kindle? I’m hardly one to be over-impressed with my own impact or self-importance so I highly doubt that.
Sales of e-books had reached just shy of $ 100 million as of August 2009 according to the Association of American Publishers. Additionally analysts are calling for sales to triple again over the next 13 months. And the Kindle is Amazon’s best selling item across ALL of its markets.

The Kindle aims to be the I-pod of e-readers. I think Amazon has a good shot there. However I do think they missed an opportunity with me to ‘buy’ up to the newer device the Kindle 2 or large screen tablet. I would have paid 50% (or less) of the purchase price of one of those newer devices. Instead I have a refurbished original Kindle – which I am grateful for but it was an opportunity lost as far as I am concerned.
Of course I could just be being greedy. Amazon continues to prove to be one of the leaders in customer service and satisfaction. And that’s high ground to hold.

As an early adopter (November 2007) of the Kindle I have been a rather ardent fan of what could now be considered the forerunner of e-readers. I recently downloaded several titles that I wanted to read. I opened my Kindle the other night to see some odd horizontal lines across the entire screen yet the device was in the off position. After charging and recharging with no change in the display it was obvious that the flame had gone out on my Kindle.

Out of warranty (this one was more than a year old) apparently I am out of luck. So now I have several titles in my account that I cannot view unless I purchase a new Kindle or I guess return my Kindle to Amazon (at my cost) and hope that they can somehow repair it for less than the cost of the now reduced price of $ 259. I paid $ 399 for mine and it does thrill me that not once did Amazon offer me some sort of discount on purchasing the latest version which apparently is superior to the one that I have. Of course mine now does not work at all so a book with no printing is on a par.

A little history – the first one I received did not work and I had to send it back. Amazon had me check a bunch of things prior to agreeing to replace it which they did with no questions asked. Then I had another one which after several months also went dead. Again through the checklist that Amazon has you do on the phone (a half hour or so) with their tech person before they assented to my sending it back for yet a third which I received and has been working fine for more than a year.

I have been (and remain) a fan of Amazon in general. Jeff Bezos is a smart guy and has defied his critics in managing a company that has a stellar reputation for customer service and intuitive product offerings. But I really don’t understand the idea of not offering a replacement for a broken Kindle ANY TIME a customer asks. After all aren’t I going to use that platform to purchase e-books for the foreseeable future? And I buy a fair amount of books. I can ‘return’ those titles that I downloaded but have not read for some sort of rebate but that really does not solve my problem. I love e-readers (as well as traditional books) and think they will only get better (how about color folks and a back-lighted screen option?).

So now I have to reconsider my entire relationship with Amazon’s Kindle. Maybe the Sony Reader, or the new device from Plastic Logic, or maybe even the new Barnes & Noble device. What a shame, the Kindle had me at hello.