I have used the Kindle since the 1 and i am getting ready to upgrade my 2-3 year old devices to the latest that will get announced this month. I use Kindle on Android more often than the Kindle devices, but that may change with the new devices. I used to buy lots of kindle books. But, recently have switched to just checking out kindle books from the King County Library System for free. Well it is not free as my property taxes support the library. I don't have to pay per book to rent the Kindle e-books, and if I can't read it in 21 days, there is a good chance I wasn't going to read it.
Om Malik has a post on the success of the Kindle in Japan.
12 HOURS AGO
SUMMARY:
The future of hardware is a tight symbiosis of hardware, software and connectivity and content as a service. Whether it is apps, books, movies or anything else — the more you engage with a platform, the more likely it will beat rivals. Amazon is a good example.
Jeff Bezos had a vision to change book purchasing and he is succeeding.
Their ongoing battle, as highlighted by the New York Times story, reminded me of an essay I wrote in March 2011: Why the future of hardware is services.
Back then, I pointed that the future of hardware was a tight symbiosis of hardware, software and connectivity and content as a service. It was vital to ensure that we are constantly engaging with the devices. For instance, there’s Sonos, a wireless audio system that allows you to listen to Spotify and other music services and as a result finds constant usage. Without those services, the hardware becomes just dumb hardware and ends up in the back of the drawer.
The reason why Amazon wins is because it has coupled a service (books/content) to the device and made it dead simple to buy. There is a network connection built into the service as well and to purchase a book is simply a click because it has a pre-existing commercial relationship with customers. I for certain am not going to sign up for Kobo or Barnes & Noble — and I think this is the crucial difference. Amazon has a much deeper (and longer) relationship with consumers who use it to shop for more than just books.
Amazon has won the ebook reader battle. Microsoft threw in the towel in 2012 after 12 years of attempting to participate with its Reader Technology.
In August 2011, Microsoft announced they were discontinuing both Microsoft Reader and the use of the .lit format for ebooks at the end of August 2012, and ending sales of the format on November 8, 2011.[2]
Amazon won this battle vs. competition based on its integrated solution and its business model of giving away readers for other platforms and selling the Kindle hardware for as low as they could justify to gain market share. I have ordered the latest 2nd gen paper white device.
What is the next kindle device? They were smart enough to get in early enough with the Kindle Fire. Phones? You know there are dozens if not hundreds of people along with Bezos dreaming of what could be the next hardware. watches, phones, cars. What is the Amazon brand going after next?
