More on Kindle (and a little bit on Lord of the Rings)

[alanajoli]

Publishers Weekly Book Maven blogger Bethanne Patrick passed on this article about why, if Kindle fails, the e-book could be over. It's an interesting discussion: if the iPod model doesn't work for books, what would?

In other news, I finally watched the extended version of Return of the King last night, and it filled in all the blanks I expected. I've been telling friends lately that right before Return of the King came out in the theaters, I watched one disc of the extended versions per night for four nights running. It was a great movie experience, and it made my brain fill in the blanks as I was watching the third movie in the theater. But I'm really glad I've seen the third extended now, as well.

Comments

[holmes-iv.livejournal.com]

Dangit! Still haven't watched that! Maybe over this Christmas I'll get around to it...

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

I was talking about the Kindle situation with a friend yesterday. he says that he thinks Apple is probably designing the perfect thing.

My own feeling is that if they get the e-book right, and have a switch that will turn it to a broadcast, it will take off with no looking back.

[matt-m-mcelroy.livejournal.com]

I fail to see how we can get an unbiased opinion from anyone at Publishers Weekly regarding a product that Amazon is trying to push out.

Not only that, if Kindle does not work, that does not mean the end of eBooks. There are other pdf readers available now (with better features for less money) and several more in development for next year.

[alanajoli.livejournal.com]

Actually, a lot of their bloggers have been pretty critical (or, at least, have given the appearance of fairness in their assessments--they've all been very irritated that Amazon hasn't given out any Kindle to actual book bloggers, just tech blggers). And Bethanne was just linking to someone else's comment. I found the user comments on her page interesting, which is why I linked to her.

Do you know about a conspiracy between Publishers Weekly and Amazon that I'm unaware of? You're the first I've heard hint toward something like that! Ooooh, the industry gossip I've missed!

[waywardbound.livejournal.com]

"...ponders whether or not Amazon's Kindle will be the next big thing -- or not."
Make the redundancy stop!! (pet peeve)

The problem with the push for ebooks is that it's a push. There's just not a huge demand for it.

If they wanted to sell a lot of Kindles and make it a successful business, they'd use it to take on textbooks. That is the one area where people are already spending obscene amounts of money for books that are too heavy to carry with them.

If they could convince the textbook publishers to provide a $30 digital version beside the $80 hardcover edition (that most pay $60 for used), the student adoption would skyrocket. But the textbook industry is addicted to the inefficiencies of their current ecosystem, so it'd be a hard conversion to sell to them.

And even then, the Kidle wouldn't be the ideal display option until it can support full color.