No way to tell, considering Amazon has never really released sales numbers.
I'm going to be watching what the prices of kindle's do, and I bet we see a big drop off.
The Kindle as a hardware platform is DEAD.
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Now it's really over for Amazon's Kindle!!
- Thread starter mozartwon
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No way to tell, considering Amazon has never really released sales numbers.
I'm going to be watching what the prices of kindle's do, and I bet we see a big drop off.
The Kindle as a hardware platform is DEAD.
Really? Just wondering - not for real of course. Would you bet your life and/or your savings on that? I wouldn't. Not by a longshot. Why? Because no matter how many times people on MacRumors ring that death knell or type it out doesn't make it true. But you can live with your fantasy that you'll have the only e-Reader on the market. Dream away
Why as a hardware platform is it dead? It offers me as a reader eink. The iPad does not offer me this. I have many other uses for the iPad but reading is not one of them.
Don't you see that these devices can co-exist? I commute through out NYC and there has been an astounding increase in the amount of Kindles out there. The fact that it looks like paper but is not is simply incredible and really leaves a mark on people who've seen it. Not everyone wants to read their novels off of a computer screen that offers me at most only 10 hours of battery. Reading can be a time consuming hobby. Having a device that can hold a charge through a whole month of usage is quite important to me. Unlike music and film, people are used to reading books without having to charge the device upon which they are reading them, ie a leather bound book...The iPad just doesn't offer a long enough charge for a serious reader.
Exactly. And some people JUST want an eReader (they already commute with an iPhone). Not counting the DX. But I'd rather commute with my Kindle2 than with the iPad. And if something ever DID happen with my Kindle - I'd be upset - but I'd be less upset than if something happened with an iPad.
Some people don't realize how large the e-book community actually is. There are more than a dozen e-book readers out there with just as many different sites where you can buy or get free e-books. To that community, the iPad is just another e-reader and not even the best one. Look at sites like mobileread.com and you'll get a better understanding of what is actually out there. The Kindle is not dead, and e-ink is definitely not dead.
With that said, The Kindle and other e-readers may change, but there main focus will always be e-books.
With that said, The Kindle and other e-readers may change, but there main focus will always be e-books.
Any talk of the Kindle/Nook dying anytime soon is simply ignorance or extreme fanboyism. The reality is that the iPad and e-ink readers are two very different devices. The iPad is a media consumption device. Yes, it is an e-reader, but one that relies on a very different interface when it comes to the reading aspect in itself (lit LCD screen). No matter how impressive the iPad will be (and I believe it will be amazing) there will still be a ton of people who will either keep their Kindle/Nook or opt to go in that direction because they prefer reading on an e-ink screen.
I also feel that the Kindle/Nook is only going to get better with time. Remember the first ever iPod? And the models that were unveiled in the following years? That's where I see Kindle/Nook's heading. They are on to something awesome and designers will learn how to make these readers only better (touchscreen, color screen for browsing titles/shopping, etc).
The only element of the iPad that appeals to me is the e-reader aspect. I can do the rest (web, film, etc.) better on my MBP. Because I'll be reading novels exclusively, I don't need a color screen now (but would like one down the road, perhaps in a future Kindle/Nook).
Kindle/Nook is not going anywhere. If anything those devices will only get better. I think those e-reader plus the iPad will have healthy futures going forward.
I also feel that the Kindle/Nook is only going to get better with time. Remember the first ever iPod? And the models that were unveiled in the following years? That's where I see Kindle/Nook's heading. They are on to something awesome and designers will learn how to make these readers only better (touchscreen, color screen for browsing titles/shopping, etc).
The only element of the iPad that appeals to me is the e-reader aspect. I can do the rest (web, film, etc.) better on my MBP. Because I'll be reading novels exclusively, I don't need a color screen now (but would like one down the road, perhaps in a future Kindle/Nook).
Kindle/Nook is not going anywhere. If anything those devices will only get better. I think those e-reader plus the iPad will have healthy futures going forward.
Correction: the $630 iPad model has 3G and you have to pay a monthly fee in order to use it. The $490 Kindle has free 3G so you actually save more money each month. WiFi is great but what it's sure better to be able to access the Internet for free from everywhere.
People who say iPad slays Kindle just don't own a Kindle. I own a Kindle, and my iPad is on pre-order, but the thing that is great about the Kindle is that its 10.5 ounces. I have the 1st gen original Kindle and it's very light and easy to hold.
10.5 ounces, 2-3 week battery charge Kindle
24 ounces, 10 hour battery charge iPad
If you were on a long flight, which would you rather have? You have no power in that scenario usually. I took a 13.5 hour flight, no power port. While the iPad(in theory) would have lasted most of it, I knew I had no problems with the Kindle.
Where E-Ink always wins in my opinion is the fact that it takes no power to display the text, only to change the page. This is also it's greatest weakness because there is a lag on the page change. iPad does not have this lag.
I'd say for non-technical, mass market fiction and non-fiction, the Kindle is the way to go. Especially if you are a voracious reader. Now if you are just a casual reader like me who reads maybe 5 books a year, the iPad is perfect. There is a place for each device.
10.5 ounces, 2-3 week battery charge Kindle
24 ounces, 10 hour battery charge iPad
If you were on a long flight, which would you rather have? You have no power in that scenario usually. I took a 13.5 hour flight, no power port. While the iPad(in theory) would have lasted most of it, I knew I had no problems with the Kindle.
Where E-Ink always wins in my opinion is the fact that it takes no power to display the text, only to change the page. This is also it's greatest weakness because there is a lag on the page change. iPad does not have this lag.
I'd say for non-technical, mass market fiction and non-fiction, the Kindle is the way to go. Especially if you are a voracious reader. Now if you are just a casual reader like me who reads maybe 5 books a year, the iPad is perfect. There is a place for each device.
Comparing MacBooks with Mac Pros... or apple with asparagus
1. The Kindle is an e-reader with e-ink that's suitable for reading books without eye strain. Also, it is useable outdoors. The Kindle, as an e-reader beats the hell out of the iPad.
2. The iPad is better in its other functions - it has a nice and simple interface to read and compose emails, to play games, to browse the web (although, shame about the lack of Flash support, I think it is a big deal) and to use all those applications from Apple's cash cow, called iTunes App Store.
3. I f I wanted an e-reader, I would never consider anything else than e-ink or something similar in appearance (and matte). If other functions mattered, I wouldn't go for the Kindle.
4. But putting them alongside is not the most intelligent thing to do. Who is comparing MacBooks with Mac Pros?
1. The Kindle is an e-reader with e-ink that's suitable for reading books without eye strain. Also, it is useable outdoors. The Kindle, as an e-reader beats the hell out of the iPad.
2. The iPad is better in its other functions - it has a nice and simple interface to read and compose emails, to play games, to browse the web (although, shame about the lack of Flash support, I think it is a big deal) and to use all those applications from Apple's cash cow, called iTunes App Store.
3. I f I wanted an e-reader, I would never consider anything else than e-ink or something similar in appearance (and matte). If other functions mattered, I wouldn't go for the Kindle.
4. But putting them alongside is not the most intelligent thing to do. Who is comparing MacBooks with Mac Pros?
I have now read several novels on my iPhone. I have not ordered an iPad because the iPhone is good enough for me. I am considering an iPad or a Kindle. The Kindle slow response time to refresh the screen bothers me a lot; and the iPhone screen (no one can say anything about the iPad screen yet) doesn't bother me at all.
eInk is OK, but I'm not thrilled with it. But this is just my opinion, but I think that everyone needs to make up their own mind. We can't really do that until the iPad is available to the public.
I barely notice the page transition lag anymore. You just sort of get used to it. It was obvious when I got the thing originally (i bought a Kindle 1, and upgraded to the Kindle 2 and the Kindle 2 is a tad faster).
If you're using it for books, I'd suggest the Kindle over the iPad.
My comments earlier in the thread summarize how I'll be using mine.
Books->Kindle
Online Content->iPad
I'll be using both. But as pointed out by others. Kindle wins when it comes to reading books.
Part of the problem is that when predicting the future people have a bad habit of confusing Kindle hardware and Kindle software/apps.
Current Kindle hardware - K2 and DX (to say nothing of other e-ink readers - see Sony's recent price cuts) is dead. Dead dead dead in the water. Sales have ground all but to a halt and once the iPad ships it'll only get worse. The nook is effectively stillborn, the Alex missed the boat, etc.
Will color e-ink and faster refresh times help? Of course.
Will they ever collectively amount to more than a fraction of iPad sales alone? Nope.
From a software/app standpoint, I think the Kindle (and others) will continue to do just fine on the iPad so long as Apple continues to allow the apps.
Current Kindle hardware - K2 and DX (to say nothing of other e-ink readers - see Sony's recent price cuts) is dead. Dead dead dead in the water. Sales have ground all but to a halt and once the iPad ships it'll only get worse. The nook is effectively stillborn, the Alex missed the boat, etc.
Will color e-ink and faster refresh times help? Of course.
Will they ever collectively amount to more than a fraction of iPad sales alone? Nope.
From a software/app standpoint, I think the Kindle (and others) will continue to do just fine on the iPad so long as Apple continues to allow the apps.
I don't think the iPad will kill off eReaders. There are a lot of people out there who only want an eReader or don't want an iPad/Apple product. Amazon, B&N, Sony, etc. can go after those people. There will also be others who will own both an eReader and an iPad simply because eInk is their preference (I'm in this group, I own a nook).
The iPad will simply just open the market up to more people.
The iPad will simply just open the market up to more people.
I agree...alot of people said the Playstation platform would die off because of the Xbox...NOT
Where exactly are you reading that sales of current e-readers have "ground all but to a halt"? Is this your assumption because you think people are simply tossing aside the notion of an e-reader because the iPad will soon be released? If this is the case, you are dead wrong. For starters, the iPad is roughly twice the price of the Kindle/Nook. People looking for an e-reader (and only an e-reader) are not about to thrown down $500 (unless they want the other things that the iPad offers or have disposable income). Also you simply cannot overlook how different the iPad is vs e-ink. Like I said in my last post, we are comparing a backlit screen vs e-ink. Apples and oranges. It will be up to the consumer to decide which they prefer.
While I agree that the current Kindle hardware is rather ugly compared to the iPad, I do feel the Nook is still quite nice. By this fall I predict both the Kindle and Nook will unveil new devices that are fully touchscreen and color (with smoother refresh rates when changing pages). The iPad is not going to be the end of e-ink readers, it is instead joining the e-reader club.
@Yoppie: How long have you owned your Nook? Do you find the transitions between pages to be somewhat awkward? Are you worried that you will be tempted to purchase the next Kindle model, and therefore will lose out on your Nook purchases? Or would you simply wait for the next Nook model instead? (Like I said in an earlier paragraph, I see a fully touchscreen e-ink device with color coming towards the end of 2010).
And how long have you owned your iPad before making this informed decision?
In YOUR opinion, you GUESS that this might be true. But wouldn't it make sense to clearly state that when posting things to not confuse others?
Reviews, opinions and thoughts of the iPad, at this time, are useless. No one knows for sure! Wait for it to come out, give it a few weeks of play time, and THEN the reviews and opinions will make sense. Your guesses may be right, but doesn't mean that they can't be wrong.
I have no problems with the Kindle, I'm still considering it, but it seems to be a lot of money for something that only does books. But, again, my opinion.
Don't care either way
I'll bet getting an iPad and using that as my ebooks reader. I won't necessarily be reading hours on end all the time so I'm not too worried about eye strain.
Now as far as other ebook readers go I really don't care either way if they do well or not. My interest is in the iPad as a multi function device, with ebook reading, being of the functions. That's what I'm looking for and that's what I'm going to buy.
So for the people that are going to buy the iPad why do you care how well the Kindle sells or how well the Nook sells. Just worry about how well the iPad sells. I agree with some of the other posts here that there is room for competition and if the iPad sells millions and millions of units that does not mean that the other readers need to die out.
This whole thread really, in my opinion, is irrelevant to the iPad discussion. So let's stop all the nonsense about the Kindle or Nook or whatever ebook reader suppposedly "dying" off because of the iPad.
I'll bet getting an iPad and using that as my ebooks reader. I won't necessarily be reading hours on end all the time so I'm not too worried about eye strain.
Now as far as other ebook readers go I really don't care either way if they do well or not. My interest is in the iPad as a multi function device, with ebook reading, being of the functions. That's what I'm looking for and that's what I'm going to buy.
So for the people that are going to buy the iPad why do you care how well the Kindle sells or how well the Nook sells. Just worry about how well the iPad sells. I agree with some of the other posts here that there is room for competition and if the iPad sells millions and millions of units that does not mean that the other readers need to die out.
This whole thread really, in my opinion, is irrelevant to the iPad discussion. So let's stop all the nonsense about the Kindle or Nook or whatever ebook reader suppposedly "dying" off because of the iPad.
I purchased the nook exactly one month ago (Feb. 25) and I have been enjoying it a lot. I don't find the page transitions to be awkward at all. My nook came with the latest update so I didn't experience the slowness everyone referred to in the early reviews. I do notice the flash/blink when a page turn is occurring but it doesn't bother me since it's pretty quick.
As for the Kindle, I don't think I will be purchasing one in the future unless Amazon switches over to ePub. I chose the nook over the Kindle because I wasn't locked into B&N book purchases. I'm able to purchase eBooks from other online book stores. I'm also able to borrow books from friends (if the book has the "lend me" feature) and can check out books from both my public and university libraries. I'll probably end up staying with the nook in the future or some other reader that can purchase from B&N just to protect my DRMed purchases but honestly it's too early to say. I don't have too many DRMed books right now.
As for color eInk, I'm going to take the wait and see approach. I'm not sure I want color just to read a novel.
@YOPPIE,
Thanks for the response. That is really interesting about being able to purchase from other online bookstores for your Nook. May I ask what other sites allow you to do so? Last night I was searching the B&N and Amazon ebook selection and I found at times a split where one store had a book I wanted and the other did not. I feel this will be a non-issue in the future as more ebooks are made available, but for now neither store could replicate my collection entirely.
Follow up question: Do you ever use the dictionary function on your Nook? I read it was quite bad (takes a long time to scroll down to a word, etc). One of the cool things about the iPad is that you can simply touch a word and the definition appears (see pic below). I would love that option and I believe something similar will be available in future Nook's/Kindle's.
My desire for color really comes from my envy of the iBookstore and that virtual shelf. It's a small thing I know, but it's very cool to see all your books and their color covers on the shelf. The Nook as you know has something similar on their LCD screen.
Thanks for the response. That is really interesting about being able to purchase from other online bookstores for your Nook. May I ask what other sites allow you to do so? Last night I was searching the B&N and Amazon ebook selection and I found at times a split where one store had a book I wanted and the other did not. I feel this will be a non-issue in the future as more ebooks are made available, but for now neither store could replicate my collection entirely.
Follow up question: Do you ever use the dictionary function on your Nook? I read it was quite bad (takes a long time to scroll down to a word, etc). One of the cool things about the iPad is that you can simply touch a word and the definition appears (see pic below). I would love that option and I believe something similar will be available in future Nook's/Kindle's.
My desire for color really comes from my envy of the iBookstore and that virtual shelf. It's a small thing I know, but it's very cool to see all your books and their color covers on the shelf. The Nook as you know has something similar on their LCD screen.
Attachments
Here are the sites that will let you purchase ePub books for the nook: Kobobooks, Smashwords, Sony eBook store, Powell's, Fictionwise, eReader.com, eBooks.com, Baen Books. There may be more out there but so far these are the ones that I'm aware of. Some free (public domain) sites include Feedbooks, Manybooks.net and the Gutenberg Project. The pay sites are great about offering discounts. I receive promo codes in my inbox all the time.
As for the dictionary, I tested it out once or twice. It's not that bad but it's not great. You have to choose the look up word option on the touchscreen and then use the buttons to select the word, at which point the nook will blink and then bring up the definition. It's not a hard thing to do but it's definitely too many steps. I'm hoping B&N will improve this in a future software update if possible.
Lastly, the color on the iPad does look great.
Blair I'm getting my info from the third original hire at Amazon, my college roommate, who was Bezos' right hand at D.E. Shaw before they left for the coast. That's all I'll say about that.
Oh, for the record, I'm a K2 owner, and am well aware of the community surrounding e-readers. Also for the record, that community is relatively small due to the relatively small total number of ereaders that have been sold by Amazon, Sony, and all others combined.
I've installed the font hack, and skinned it with a black skin, both in an effort to improve the contrast ratio. I've gotten it to "barely acceptable" and will happily retire it - along with my MBP - when my iPad arrives.
This is a popular misconception of the Kindle. You are not locked to Amazon for all your book purchases. The Kindle supports most major e-book formats with the exception of ePub. The first 4 books on my Kindle were actually purchased/downloaded elsewhere.
I have no idea if this is true or not, but I'll go ahead and assume you are not lying. I wish you had stated that in your previous post instead of just coming out with your original statement which was based on nothing at that time.
I do however disagree with your statement that a "small" amount of e-readers have been sold. I've seen Kindle's everywhere in subways, coffee shops, friend's bedrooms, etc.
Not really sure what you meant by your "barely acceptable" statement. If by that you are referring to the e-ink screen of your Kindle, well, I'm sorry to learn that. But personally I find e-ink screens to be very conducive to reading.
I know this is a matter of personal preference, but I could never substitute my MBP with an iPad.
I think seeing them in subways and coffee shops is anecdotal rather than conclusive, particularly as it reflects the demographics of where you live and roll and not necessarily any broader trends.
It's not like when you go to middle america and see white ear buds everywhere that you know, you know?
What I said about Bezos is the truth. I revealed this because you asked
But I needn't have - even the rosiest of rosy analyst estimates for Kindle sales - all models, all time, are "a few million." 3? 4? Fine if you want to accept that I'll grant it. I believe Apple will sell more iPads than that in Year 1, while the current gen of e-readers are slowing down.On going with the iPad, yup for me it's a full time, primary computing endeavor. I'm blogging about it fwiw...