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Some see Amazon's response as a sign of its trepidation over the prospect of competing with Apple. "The way in which Amazon was willing to engage with the nuclear option to lock in what it has right now indicates that it thinks the iPad is an extraordinarily serious threat," says Tobias Buckell, a science fiction author whose books were temporarily removed from Amazon.com in the dispute. Buckell notes that e-books don't typically sell in high volumes, so it makes sense to publishers to start with a higher price and lower it over time.
Venting obvious frustration, Amazon issued a statement on Sunday that said "we will have to capitulate and accept Macmillan's terms because Macmillan has a monopoly over their own titles, and we will want to offer them to you even at prices we believe are needlessly high for e-books." (Amazon never removed the option to buy Macmillan books from third-party sellers).
James McQuivey, a principal analyst with Forrester Research, says that pressure from the iPad "is precisely the reason" why the dispute happened. But, even though Amazon backed down, McQuivey believes the company still has a strong hold over publishers.
"Amazon demonstrated very clearly that it has the power to cut off the lifeblood from a publisher if it really wants to, because it doesn't just control e-book sales," McQuivey says. "Apple has no leverage in this market, because it doesn't even control e-books at this point, much less paper sales. Amazon has both."
Other e-book makers may have an even more difficult job competing with Amazon, McQuivey says, since they lack the reputation and distribution channel of Apple.
Authors, meanwhile, felt the weight of Amazon's decision keenly. "Most of my books are sold online because I have a prominent blog, and that really hit me where it hurt," says Buckell. "No bookstore has ever yanked books in a publishing dispute; it never occurred to me that Amazon would turn to this as an option."
The new generation of e-book reading gadgets will transform the troubled book, magazine, and newspaper industries. But it's uncertain what that transformation will look like.
Developers speak about the challenges of rebuilding iPhone apps for the device.
Tablets powered by Google's mobile operating system are set to debut.
>>> the market winner will be not Apple nor Amazon >>>
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the ebooks market winner will be not Apple nor Amazon
Amazon uses a proprietary file format and its own ebook shop while Apple will use the open source ePub format BUT want to sell the ebook at $10-15 each with its iBook shop
but, as clearly shown by the (potential) users' answers in my poll about the iPad/TabletPC [ http://alt-pad.blogspot.com/ ] NO ONE of them likes the "proprietary ebook formats" but want an "open source tablet" with Windows 7 or Linux AND an open source ebook format
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However, I simply don't understand the current model ...
Pricing is stupid. Why pay $9 or $15 for a software book with restricted rights, etc., when I can buy a *real* book for a few dollars more? Especially considering the cost and limited utility of the readers.
The reader model is stupid: Kindle or Apple iYawn or Sony. Unless the soft books are an open standard (DRMed or not) buying a particular reader locks me in to a subset of available books, namely only those the particular ebook maker has cut a deal with. What absurdity is that? Who buys books on the basis of the publisher? What use is an ebook to a literate person unless it can access ALL available soft books? Plus any closed system permits censorship as Apple's 'App Store' has clearly shown.
In any event, with the rise of open standards ebooks, the publishers become irrelevent. Today publishers edit, print, market and distribute tangible books and an author gets a 10% royalty if he/she is lucky. Most authors get little in terms of marketing or distribution, and marketing and distribution of self published (i.e. tangible) work is almost impossible. Not so with soft books.
Tangible books mean the authors get 10% of the value, and they create 100% of the value (ok, give 5% to an editor). Without printing and physical distribution it follows there is no place for a publisher in a soft book world.
The challenge is the development of an open DRM system which allows authors to get paid for their works. Whether this is possible or not remains to be seen.
Regardless, as noted there is no future for publishers in the ebook future and there is no future for a closed ebook platform.
Personally, I'll consider buying an ebook device when I can buy soft books for a couple dollars or less (what an author typically gets from a publisher) and when ebooks themselves are open and cost a fraction of what they currently do. Otherwise, I'm happy with paper: it has a great UI, I can lend it to a friend, resell it, etc..
Re: I'm a big believer in ebooks
I agree with the thrust of your comment, but you overstate your case against publishers. Even when we have a fully developed e-book market, publishers still have a role for many books.
In addition to the publisher's roles of edit, print, market, and distribute, which you discuss, is its role of quality control from its decision to publish. Each publisher develops a reputation for genres and quality of books that it offers, its "brand." They and we benefit if they maintain the quality of their brand, by accepting only books that with their editing can maintain their standards.
Also, because UI with paper works so well, books will routinely be offered in both e-book form and in print. Even in print form, producing books in an electronic format significantly decreases the economies of scale in printing. Smaller numbers of books need to be printed at the same time to still achieve lowest cost, which significantly lowers the costs and risks of inventories.
We will soon be at the point where the consumer wanting a hard copy goes to a bookstore that has a printer that prints and covers only one copy of a book when it's to be purchased. E-book purchasers can also download their own.
With both alternatives, the publishers' roles of print, store, and distribute are largely eliminated. Publishers would no longer provide printing, shipping, or inventory control. Either way the price of a book should fall.
Publishers could still have the roles of quality control and marketing. The tools they use to achieve each would have changed somewhat, but for many books, especially for no-name authors, their roles are just as important as before.
Re: I'm a big believer in ebooks
Fair enough - I overstate my case, but I take exception to the 'quality control' comment. Publishers don't do quality control: they filter for return on (their) investment. Crap like the Da Vinci Code and its ilk are a perfect example. You can't read garbage like that if you have a decent education, but it sold millions.
There is a de facto quality control in the sense that somebody had to think something was worthy of paying an editor, printer, and so on a few thousand to physically make the book. I couldn't give you the name of five publishers and I read over a hundred books in an average year. I couldn't care less who publishes something, but I care a lot about who wrote it.
By lowering the prices and the barrier to authors, we'd have a lot more to read. A lot would be crap, but most of what is published is crap these days, at least to somebody if not you or me.
What will happen is what is happening to the music business: when the conditions are right, ebook readers will be cheap (or ebook software free) and the soft books themselves so inexpensive only a few tangible books will be worthy of printing. No need for publishers or music companies.
Re: I'm a big believer in ebooks
To me, the music industry comparison is accurate but not neccessarily favorable. A lot of formerly respected artists are now releasing their own material straight from their own home studios. Sounds nice in theory, but a lot of them just end up demonstrating why a good Producer is worth his weight in gold. A lot of artists, left purely to their own devices, make some great choices and some really bad ones. In both realms (music and book production) there will be a very real need for filtering. There's a lot of music out there now available for the taking, but a lot of it suffers for the lack of an interested 3rd party who has a broader view of things than the artist. Look up Ted Templeman and Van Halen for some interesting reading! The band grew to resent some of his decisions, but they would not have been the household name they are without him.
"Angels and Demons" is 'bubblegum pop' fiction. It looks ridiculously simple to the jaded observer but is as difficult to produce as many works of greater merit, and is VERY eagerly consumed if reviews are to be believed. Musically speaking, none of the 'one-hit-wonders' we take for granted today would have been around if a professional and extremely critical (ruthless, even) Producer didn't hear the song in some lesser form and think, "Yes, THIS has potential. We can make this go."
Amazon's e-book dominance won't be hard to change
Once Apple has twice as many iPad's than Amazon has sold Kindles, Amazons ebook dominance will fade. That will happen before the the end of 2010.
Re: Amazon's e-book dominance won't be hard to change
I love the Apple model lot of marketing no results.
Amazon at-least have sold 10-15 times more books/Kindle then, I-pod.
I-Pod = 3-5 songs/I-pod
Kindle = 35-50 /Books on average
not considering Newspaper subscriptions.
Apple seems like more interested in selling I-Pod then any content. So they want no hands, no stock deals with publishers.
Amazon's business in other hand is books and not Kindle reader so they are actually selling books more.
I agree with the pricing model is still like paper based. The e-books should be 15-25% cost of paper books.
No printing, no storage, no shipping and only 20% savings ?
Looks like the Amazon's work is cutout.
Perhaps some are missing the real power of e-books. From the comments, we seem stuck in old formats for reading. For some you should consider the environmental impact of continuing paper publication. I too love to hold a book in my hand and turn the real pages but, we can't sustainably continue cutting down trees to satisfy that desire. I suggest we start looking to the e-format for publication of multimedia books that truly use the power of the computer while being eco conscious.
I have worked on e-books that are best viewed in e form as they contain color, sound, animation and movies. Use imagination and we could extend the pleasure of experiencing knowledge at high levels of interaction and artistry.
I can see such devices as the iPad ideal for e-books of the nature I see as possible. I think, as people catch on to the power available we will see a great expansion of this format. Just think of a textbook that can interact with the student, embedded in it would be visually stunning ways of connecting to a learners particular learning style for example.
I wonder if e-book readers won't pay attention to the differences between the LCD screen of the iPad and the electrophoretic screen of the mainstream e-books. I have a sony ereader and it truly is much better to read on it than to read from an LCD screen, even with IPS.
It would be cool to see other readers comments about a scene, or explanations alpha blended over technical books etc. That would be an additional power of ebooks, currently totally unexploited.
Ebooks could also link to an author's site and for authorized versions, could get extra content. Pay more and get a happy ending, put your kids into your version of the story. Stuff like that.
Given all the hyperventillation over the IPad, what I don't see is how it is an improvement over my Netbook. Ok, ok, it fits the narrow idea of an ebook but if we are to be at the cusp of novel media innovation why wait for/do it with an underpowered closed system with limited I/O?
I guess in the long run Amazon and Apple might be interested in also selling a subscription plan ($30-$50) for any number or limited number of books per month per device. Anyway, Ebooks have a long way to go and the ride just became interesting. Competition is always good.
There are already publishers that do this. Baen has been offering eBooks for quite a long time for free with selected hard backs (get the book you just bought, plus all of the other books in the series ans some related books when you purchase a hardback. Then, they also have a "free library" where you can read a selection of books for free (in multiple formats). Granted, these are usually the first in a series, but what a great way to get a person into a series. You can purchase their entire catalog for $6.99 a book and they even offer a monthly set of 6 books for $14.99 (includes books that are being released that month and some older books as well). Lastly, they offer Advance Reader Copies of upcoming popular books for $15. Personally I have purchased a number of books in that format (paying the extra $8 to read it 3-4 months early).
When iPads outnumber Kindles by the Millions...
When iPads outnumber Kindles by the millions, then YES, Apple will challenge Amazon for the eBook seller crown.
The iPad can show much more content than the Kindle because of its color screen. The iPad will have a much larger book collection ultimately than the Kindle because of this. The Kindle, for example, can't do textbooks that have color. It can, primarily, do books which are only text, not books with color illustrations like the iPad can.
In its 3 year existence, the Kindle has been selling at a pace of 1 million a year.
If the iPad sells 5-10 million a year, it will completely outstrip the Kindle as a market for eBooks.
Just as the iTunes Store has become larger than WalMart in the sales of music in the U.S., the iTunes Store will become larger than Amazon in the sales of eBooks in the U.S. It is inevitable because it will have a far larger number of users - all eager to buy things from iTunes.
When the iPad becomes the default platform for high school and college textbooks, then it will further expand its market.
The iPad is the perfect eBook reader for CHILDREN'S Books. It is a perfect kid's computer. You can't do children's books on the Kindle.
How soon will the iPad outstrip Amazon as the purveyor of eBooks? Probably by the end of its first, but definitely its second year.
Amazon has already seen its market shaken by MacMillan's successful campaign to raise eBook prices. I bet the other publishers will want the same deal. Then, as Steve Jobs foretold, the price on the iBook store will be the same as on Amazon. There will be no advantage to buy eBooks from Amazon.
The iPad will also be multiple eBook Markeplaces. You can read Kindle Books on the iPad. You can read Stanza books on the iPad. You can read Google ePub books on the iPad. You can add your own eBooks in PDF, Text, Microsoft .Doc, Palm .Doc, and other formats. Thus the iPad challenges Amazon not only on the iBook front but from multiple fronts.
Re: When iPads outnumber Kindles by the Millions...
iPad is for watching movies or playing games. It's too heavy and bulky for a book reader.
Re: When iPads outnumber Kindles by the Millions...
The iPad will only get thinner and lighter. I doubt the Kindle can shed any more drastic pounds or thinness.
Re: When iPads outnumber Kindles by the Millions...
reading this on an iPad. iBooks is Amazing! and yes, the IPad is thin enough. My 8 yr old already fell asleep with it watching netflix. (a publisher?)
The internet is turning out to be the big disruptor of the intellectual property game/war. Why should publishers and e-book stores make huge profits from the work of others when it costs almost nothing per book to distribute what really amounts to bits? Soon, eBook retailers will pop up all over the place.
I predict that the IP wars will become really ugly in this century because what the IP owners/publishers are after is nothing short of a Big Brother society. It won't work. I think it is high times that society grows up and realizes that the whole system pure folly. It creates an unfair compensation/award system and promotes monopolistic practices. The way it should be done is to freely distribute everything to everybody and recompense creators with public funds according to how useful and widespread an idea/writing/design is. Some agreed upon formula should be used to determine award amounts. The formula should be modifiable over time and even applied retroactively if necessary. The goal is to construct an effective, secure and safe system where creativity is amply and adequately encouraged in a way that benefits society as a whole. A single agency should be entrusted to manage awards and claims. There is no other way.
At any rate, the writing is one the wall. Publishers, as we knew them, will no longer be indispensable in the near future unless they find a way to bully independent authors out of the market and I won't put it past them. Given the nature of the internet, self-promotion will become a viable alternative. Eventually, publishers will have to switch their focus to doing promotions and advertising and will no longer wield monopolistic control over the market.
IPAD will not succeed as an ereader
Take the iPad outside and try to read. For anyone with a Kindle or a Nook, the experience will not be satisfactory. I enjoy being able to read anywhere, any time with my Nook.
Re: IPAD will not succeed as an ereader
I agree. That factor plus the battery life and size are the reasons that I'll be keeping my Kindle even in the unlikely event that I invest in an iPad.
Nothing against Apple, I'm on my second iPhone, I just don't see the iPad as an ideal book reading device. Although magazines, comic books, textbooks etc? Sure, I can see that.
A friend of mine is getting one so I'll reserve final judgement until I see it.
Maybe the first version of the iPad is not an ideal e-reader but what if Apple decides in the future to engineer an e-ink surface on the other side of the iPad? Likewise, what if Amazon came out with a Kindle that has a second LCD color screen on the flip side? I think that would be a game changer.
Well, sure, if someone comes out with a significantly better eBook reader than Kindle with a comparable library of books I'll switch over.
Although once people have built up large libraries of eBooks in the Kindle format it might be tougher to switch.
Personally I don't tend to read many books more than once so that probably wouldn't hold me back.
Re: IPAD will not succeed as an ereader
I love how I can read on my Kindle in the complete darkness.
Manufacturing in the United States is in trouble. That's bad news not just for the country's economy but for the future of innovation.
National Instruments has gathered customer information and data regarding some of the cost differences between building a custom solution versus using NI off-the-shelf tools. Using this data, we built the Graphical System Design ‘Build vs. Buy’ Calculator. The calculator can help show the financial differences between building a custom solution versus buying an off-the-shelf system. This paper discusses the benefits and drawbacks of both a traditional custom design approach and off-the-shelf embedded tools.
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mahonj
45 Comments
The competition is with Piracy, Not Apple
We don't hear much about e-book piracy at present, probably becasue the people who read lots of books are not the same as the people who pirate music and films, AND Amazon has kept the prices to a level below the "pain threshold".
If the publishers get too greedy, piracy will take off, and once you start that, it is very hard to stop it.
The reproduction costs for e-books are zero, there are no overstocking problems - e-books could be extremely profitable, as long as people buy legitimate copies -
And they way to ensure that is to keep the prices tolerable (i.e. $9.99).
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mwilson1962
35 Comments
Re: The competition is with Piracy, Not Apple
I agree. Nor are there shipping costs - I don't see how publishers can lose money on eBooks. I love my Kindle, but if they charge $15, I will go back to getting books from the library.
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