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Book Nook provides readers with insights into the world of books. Vick Mickunas takes you into the center of the publishing world with the latest book buzz, book reviews, and exclusive chats with authors..Home > Blogs > Book Nook > Archives > 2009 > July > 13 > Entry
Price slashing on the Amazon Kindle…
The Amazon Kindle is a wireless and paperless proprietary electronic reading device that was created by internet book selling behemoth Amazon.com.
Since Amazon rolled out the Kindle right before Christmas 2008, it has already gone through some changes. Initially the device was apparently is such high demand that Amazon had it on back order. It’s really hard to tell since sales figures for the Kindle are not made public.
We can assume that somebody is buying them, right? Do you know anybody who has one? A couple of months ago Amazon rolled out an upgraded version of the Kindle. One of the complaints that I kept hearing about this device was that it was too darned expensive at 359 dollars.
Well lo and behold, Amazon recently cut the price on the new upgraded Kindles by 60 dollars. Kindles are on sale now for 299 dollars.
That’s a smart move on Amazon’s part. One would suppose that the previous 359 dollar price tag was becoming a more difficult sale in this flagging economy. The price cut right after the device was upgraded seems to indicate that demand was dropping. Again, it is hard to make that determination because Amazon won’t release sales figures on the Kindle.
The more Kindles Amazon can get activated the more profitable the device will become. The real money will be generated by Kindle customers paying to download books, magazines, and newspapers.
I can’t imagine that transmitting these files through the ether to their customers costs Amazon very much. Kindle customers press down a key and their reading matter is transmitted in less than a minute. Amazon’s astoundingly efficient web presence performs the sale.
I’m a book lover. I cannot imagine ever wanting a Kindle. I can comprehend the attraction for others but for me the physical presence of real books with actual covers, pages and those distinctive book scents is just too attractive to give up.
In ten years I’ll still have a library filled with books that I need to read. I wonder if they will still be selling Kindles then?
I have a closet filled with 8-track tapes, VHS tapes, and 78 RPM records that speaks to me. Their message? In 10 years the Kindle will be like one of these forgotten formats; obsolete.
What do you think?
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (17) | Post your comment | Categories: in the Amazone
Comments
By Carla
July 19, 2009 9:39 AM | Link to this
I have had a Kindle since January. I received it as a gift because I am an avid reader, I have a degree in American literature. I was not sure how I would feel about losing the sensation of holding a book, turning pages, etc. Well, I absolutely love it and can’t live without it. It is so great to buy a book and have it appear within seconds. It’s so, so easy to use anyone can do it. And I have not had one single problem with it working. The battery lasts for days. I highly recommend it.By Mark from St Paul
July 14, 2009 10:00 PM | Link to this
Sadly the textbook publishers are fighting ebooks tooth and nail. The textbook industry has evolved into a money machine for textbook writing profs and their publishers. Even back in the ’80s they were already switching editions of Shakespeare every year to kill off the used book market to force new sales. Shakespeare is Shakespeare but if the prof tells you to turn to page 842, it’s a good idea to be reading from the same edition. Copyright is killing the benefits of technology. Can you think of any reason why medical students shouldn’t have access to .pdfs of every medical textbook out there? Scientists to every conceivable technical resource? We’re rationing knowledge because the folks with money haven’t figured out how to profit from virtual publishing and distribution. Instead we’re seeing games with Kindle that are all about copyright instead of profiting from the benefits of digital technology. Sell all the hard bound Harry Potter you like, but essential texts need to be digitalized and universally distributed. The current system won’t allow that to happen.By alaskanriley
July 14, 2009 9:19 PM | Link to this
Vic, we’re not idiots! All of her reviewed books still sit at her home, complete with reviews inside. We also separated out all the pre-1940 works. There were some real gems. We’re looking for a repository for this unusual collection(as you know, reviewers get both the gems and the dross) but I fear the worst. It’s just that unbeknownst to the readers of this blog, the rest of America is watching TV and could care less.By vick
July 14, 2009 5:50 PM | Link to this
You are breaking my heart. Your mom was a book reviewer for all those years. She must have had shelves of first editions. My heart is breaking here….By alaskanriley
July 14, 2009 4:23 PM | Link to this
Vic, I hope you’re right but every PC in the world makes me think you are wrong. These large corporations manage to insinuate themselves into every corner of the American way and they are hard to get rid of. As someone who just took over 1,200 books to the local charity from my mother’s library, with another 1,000 or so to go, no matter how much we love the smell of a new book or the ink off a fresh paper, we are looking at the end of literature as we know it. I think the closet will have the books joining the 8 tracks and 78’s soon, sad as we may think that is. While I am a big fan of books, after I read them, I have too many to go back and revisit. So there they sit, as fond memories that no one else sees. I just think the whole one off lifestyle is unsustainable in the long run. We have to support our libraries and learn how to share.By lmj
July 14, 2009 11:54 AM | Link to this
Kim has an excellent point. My routine with book starts with reading the cover (back, front flap, back flap, the praise blurbs, then seeing how many pages are in the book). I did just think about a place where the Kindle would be ideal is with textbooks. I’ve long thought that schools and students could save tons of money if textbooks (especially college ones) and save the trees and aching backs at the same time.By TRS
July 13, 2009 8:18 PM | Link to this
I can understand the love for books but the question I’ve faced recently is where do they go after we’re done? I tend to agree we’re the dinosaurs. In the past several years we have moved as well as had to downsize our parents and in-laws. We all had “stuff” which bore great meaning to us and them, but the youngins’ didn’t fee the same. We ended up donating some things I hated to part with, ie a weeks worth of original Troy Daily News reporting on the 1913 flood (gave it to the Miami County Historical Society) because no one in the family wanted it or had a place to store it. We live in a “text and twittr” world and Kindle would fit well into that world. I agree that if it would get the youth to read more and get less from soundbites, that would be a good thing. As for Kindle, I imagine once Amazon gets some initial costs covered, they will dramatically lower the price so they can get them out there for the reasons you stated. Wouldn’t doubt if some other similar devices came along as well and unless Amazon agrees to download to other devices someone else will. Ain’t the free enterprise system great?By Dave
July 13, 2009 6:27 PM | Link to this
Vick, I have a much different reaction to those copies of the “Neighbors” section lying on properties where the owners don’t subscribe to the paper. I wonder why the DDN continues to litter, dumping these papers on lawns of folks who clearly don’t want it, week after week after week.By irishguy
July 13, 2009 4:45 PM | Link to this
I got out of the newspaper habit back in the early 90’s, but I can’t imagine ever giving up my books. The Kindle does sound intriguing, the idea of dozens of books taking up little or now space would make my wife happy (I’ve just filled up another bookshelf). But what would happen to my pals at Half Price Books? Just picked up a couple there today, they’ve got a 30% off coupon out. Mark is correct, the Kindle would leave him more trees to hug. Mike may be right as well, we’re the dinosaurs.By Kim
July 13, 2009 4:04 PM | Link to this
I am intrigued by Kindle - but I too am a die-hard for the tactile experience of reading a book. I have a friend who has one because she constantly travels and is an avid reader, so for her it’s nice not to have to lug the books around. Plus if she finishes one - another is just a minute away - she never has to worry about it. And she has it in a cover that makes it seem like a slim book. The part I would hate is that you have no idea how many pages are in the book - you don’t know when the end is coming! That would make me crazy! And yes - you can own the book for “life” - Amazon will even store the books you’ve purchased in their own “library” so access them that way too. I would like to try one out - but it would never totally replace books for me - and it’s not worth that much money to me either! Maybe if it were $100…By Mark from St Paul
July 13, 2009 2:44 PM | Link to this
The problem is that the Kindle is being sold as a proprietary reading device, and as such its value is considerably less than it would be if it were simply a .pdf reader. Amazon went Microsoft on this one, and we’re all the losers for it. I do not want to read books if it means killing trees, not when the same book could be reproduced digitally an infinite number of times with almost no energy expenditure. Amazon can also deactive your Kindle if they don’t like how you’re using it. Incredible. American corporations can and do screw up everything they touch, even something as simple as a digital content reader.By Mike
July 13, 2009 1:38 PM | Link to this
Vick, it is probably not a stretch for one to surmise that our country’s seeming collective embrace and celebration of ignorance, which has enjoyed widespread acceptance in many quarters, can be tied, in no small measure, to our slow voluntary immersion into a world full of only information snippets and like-minded news “infotainment”. The ability to listen to, digest and process opposing sources of information is almost non-existent among large swaths of the general population. And I think our lack of doing something as simple as reading on a regular basis can account for a large share of the blame.By beastmomma
July 13, 2009 1:36 PM | Link to this
I am not a newspaper reader, but I love the feel and smell of books. It broke my heart to part with some of my books when I moved out of my place in Seattle. I think that any home I have will have lots of books. I hope that books are not one of the things which disappear as Kindles get more popular.By vick
July 13, 2009 1:11 PM | Link to this
Mike, I conduct my own informal survey on newspaper use along my rural road. Whenever I see a copy of the “Neighbors” section that is delivered free each week to non-subscribers I know that they don’t get the paper and the sight of multiple copies of the “Neighbors” section decaying in their plastic wrappers is always a depressing thing for me. One might draw the conclusion that those who don’t subscribe for newspaper delivery also don’t care about the appearance of their yards but I won’t go that far. The Who’s classic song “My Generation” comes to mind. It had the lyric: “I hope I die before I get old…” The Who’s rhythm section; drummer Keith Moon and bassist John Entwhistle have fulfilled that wish. They died before they got old. I cannot imagine a world without any newspapers….you can’t get the newsprint on your fingertips from reading the news on a computer screen or on an Amazon Kindle….(sigh).By Mike
July 13, 2009 12:42 PM | Link to this
I am also one of those whose day would not be complete without a slow perusal of the daily newspaper, front to back, usually several times. And for me personally, I can see nothing which will ever substitute for me these moments spent with my nose between the folds. But we have to be realistic here Vick. We will likely be the last generation who will find pleasure in reading a hard copy newspaper on a daily basis. We are the dinosaurs who will be left, in the coming years, to scrambling around trying to find that elusive place that still sells the daily paper. All in a desperate attempt to have our “fix” sated. For in our lifetimes it is highly likely that the daily print newspaper as we now know it will be relegated to the back of the historical closet with those quaint 8 track tapes, vinyl albums, VHS video players and monster stereos with huge floor speakers. My wife and I walk our road most every Saturday and Sunday morning. We usually do a three mile round trip with the dog. And I can count on one hand the number of driveways that have a newspaper lying in them in those early morning hours. So, I’m afraid, the end is inevitable. It will certainly continue in some format. But I fear the end is looming when I can pick up the daily paper from the driveway as I head out at 6:30 every morning. It will be a sad day when I receive the notice telling me that delivery in my area will be discontinued due to lack of adequate numbers of subscribers. The local weekly county paper has already done it. But it is also coming with the larger city newspapers. And I fear it will come much sooner than later. It is sad to watch such an important and historical institution die this slow and lingering death.By vick
July 13, 2009 12:13 PM | Link to this
Well put, LMJ. There are certain morning routines that define my days: wake up and feed the critters then go out to the end of the driveway and pick up the newspaper. On the occasions when my paper is AWOL or soaked with rain it throws off my entire day. The only thing worse? Having forgotten to replenish the coffee bean supply….for that first morning cup. Now that is a disaster…I never let that happen because that is within my control. Newspaper delivery is not and reading my daily newspaper is one of those incredible pleasures…that, and finding great used books at yard sales, etc.By lmj
July 13, 2009 11:50 AM | Link to this
I’m with you, Vick, and let’s not forget newspapers, too. Sunday morning just wouldn’t be the same without a morning paper. I know that if I have something long to read on my computer screen, even though I’m now up to a 15” laptop, I don’t like reading lengthy articles or, generally, books on the computer. There’s even something about having a pile of books that shows me, “I’ve read those. I have to read these, yet.” Once someone buys a book for Kindle (or any other electronic device) does the purchaser have access to it for eternity? Would I be able to re-read “Little Women” or “Tuesday’s with Morrie?” What would the libraries and thrift shops do for used book sales? (My bailiwick.)