Bye, the book, part 2
10/01/2008
Does Amazon’s move into the ebook market herald the beginning of the end for the humble paperback?
Hosting specialist
Neil Barton
Hostway UK
Amazon’s main strength has always been the long tail – selling hard-to-find, or low-popularity goods. A quick look shows that Amazon.com currently stocks around 19 million book titles, which is only six million fewer than the British Library. However, fewer than 100,000 of these books are available for the Kindle, and even assuming that Amazon eventually updates the Kindle to be fully compatible with PDF, it still has a long way to go before everyone’s favourite book is available, and the platform becomes a practical and attractive proposition.
Amazon also faces a number of aesthetic issues. The device itself isn’t tremendously attractive – it looks clunky, and despite the clarity of the screen, many critics are sceptical of the usability. With the Kindle’s PDF support still in the experimental stage, users cannot guarantee that their existing ebooks will be readable on the device. The wireless system initially seems impressive: users have a free, always-on connection contract, but with a price tag of £200, books at £5, and the need to pay for blog subscriptions, consumers will have to buy a lot of books before they actually save money over conventional paperbacks.
However, this does highlight an interesting trend for the internet. The next stage of the web’s development seems to involve the delivery of content directly to non-PC interfaces. For example, feeds from Flickr can be sent directly to digital photo frames; Pandora and Last.fm playlists can be streamed straight to a stereo in your lounge, and ebooks enable customised sections of newspapers to be sent directly to LCD readers. However, with devices such as phones and PDAs already able to display ebooks and documents, it’s uncertain whether there’s a real need for the Kindle device. It will be interesting to see whether Amazon’s backing will be sufficient for it to survive, or whether dedicated ebook readers will continue to be the occasionally resurrected Dodo of the technological world.
Neil is the director of Hostway UK, which provides hosting services in the UK and abroad
Software expert
Ian Moulster
Microsoft
I’ve been waiting for a viable ebook reader for years. I love the concept of having an entire library with you wherever you go. And indeed, we’ve seen many iterations of players like this, from reading books on your PDA (or your phone if you’re really keen) to other dedicated e-reader products. But for me, there are two serious problems with them and, clever though Amazon’s offering is, it doesn’t address them. Problem one: reading through a sheet of glass. Maybe it’s because I’ve loved and read books all my life, but I believe you can’t beat reading off a piece of paper. Reading behind glass just doesn’t compare, no matter how clear the text is. Problem two: battery running out. Strangely enough, this isn’t a problem with real books, but it’s definitely a problem with readers like this.
For me, these two problems outweigh all of the positive aspects of e-reader products, including Kindle. Of course, there have been great advances in display technology, so maybe problem one could be solved at some point in the not too distant future. Not too sure about problem two: perhaps it needs a “winder” like the clockwork radio.
No, I don’t think Kindle heralds the beginning of the end of the paperback. I think paperbacks will be around for many, many years to come. Kindle is a nice addition to the list of e-readers that are available today, and you can probably imagine their strategy heading down the convergence route (Kindle v2 or v3 becoming a phone, a web surfing tool, an instant messaging tool, a notebook, etc.), but I’m not convinced this device is really sounding the death knell to real books.
Ian Moulster is senior product manager in Microsoft’s Developer & Platform division in the UK
Open source guru
Tristan Nitot
Mozilla Europe
The Kindle certainly looks promising, despite its funny design. Cheaper prices compared to actual books, ability to purchase on-the-fly (wirelessly), and a large number of titles available right from the start. There’s a cost to this convenience, though: I can buy books and then lend them to friends. I do this already, and I love sharing books that I’ve enjoyed. This will not be possible with the Kindle. Of course, I could lend the Kindle device itself, but I would be prevented from reading the other titles that are stored on it. And what will happen if Amazon isn’t interested in maintaining the Kindle? After a while, my Kindle will die and/or become obsolete – it’s a given. And maybe I’ll want to switch from the Kindle to another competing product. What will happen to the ebooks I’ve bought? Are they lost? Am I tied to Kindle forever if I don’t want to lose my favourite ebooks? Will I have to buy all my favourite ebooks again if I want to use a different device?
Tristan is the president of Mozilla Europe, a not-for-profit organisation funded by donations
Media & PR expert
Tim Gibbon
Elemental Communications
I doubt this move by Amazon and its ebook reader will result in the demise of Borders, Waterstones etc., and our book culture. People simply like to read in the traditional way because there’s something relaxing and entertaining about it. What else is there to hide behind on the tube for Londoners? Like myself, there are millions of book readers that love to go into a store and spend a good few hours looking through the shelves before making a purchase. There’s a very social feel about it, and for a range of age groups.
Granted, it’s an interesting development, but it’s hardly a new development in that software developers have been at it for years (three years in the making for Amazon, apparently), and we already possess technology that attempts to do this. There are obviously some great advantages here, and it seems only inevitable that generations to come may well have similar technology, as standard, at their fingertips.
You could liken this situation to CDs (and now digital downloads) and vinyl. There’s something quite therapeutic about playing music on a turntable (a deck), in comparison to an MP3. When you factor in mixing music with turntables (in my case, a pair of Technics 1200s), then you can really appreciate the need to experience music as it was intended. Reading virtually all of my news from the web, I still enjoy buying newspapers, especially at the weekend, so it’s not a habit I intend to drop anytime soon. As with music, I could see this way of life disappearing to a degree, as technology strives again to simplify our way of life (but does it really?).
I couldn’t imagine myself sat on a beach whipping out my ebook and then getting stuck right into it. Just what is sand and the salt water going to do to it? Yet another spare battery and power pack to lug around with me. I’d rather wrestle with my paperbacks for the moment, thanks.
Tim is founder and director of Elemental Communications, a media communications consultancy that caters for traditional and digital media
Project manager
Ane-Marie Peter
on-IDLE
Didn’t we have this same conversation about newspapers and magazines a couple of years ago when the internet starting being popular? Fewer paperbacks will be sold over time – in particularly to younger audiences who grew up reading onscreen. The good thing about the release of Kindle is that it will most likely encourage more reading by same said target audiences who are notoriously “not reading”. on-IDLE’s senior developer, for example, reads a massive amount, but reads everything on his gaming device and/or mobile device via a web browser during his daily commute to work, but I’ve never seen him with a newspaper, never mind an actual book.
When I’m on a beach or in transit on a plane or train, however, I want to be able to read my trashy crime novel without needing to “shut off electronic equipment during take-off”, worry about sand blowing into buttons and sockets, protect the screen from scratching, worry incessantly about dropping it (the fate of my long-suffering mobile which is now no more), carry connection and/or power cables, worry about backing up the content or even have to consider an insurance policy for it.
I want to read the book, scribble notes in the margin, have the need for a bookmark, and actually turn the pages. The sheer physicality of it reminds me that I’m reading for the sake of reading. Will I be one of the first to buy a Kindle or similar ebook device? Absolutely, after I’ve tired of my brand new iPhone. But phones with browsing capability and all forms of other “readers” certainly won’t stop me buying 3-for-2 paperback offers in the departure lounge. Long live the affordable, lightweight, easy to manage and pleasurable paperback.
Ane-Marie Peter is the co-founder of on-IDLE and has a background in business management, communication strategies and technology
Security adviser
Paul Irvine
Bloxx
Yes, but not for a while. My view is that ebooks will have their place, but it will be a long time before they replace the printed word. We’ve already seen, with Sony’s ebook reader, that the technology still has some way to go, so that’s going to make these attractive to just the early adopters for the moment. And I still think that the convenience of a paperback will still be a big factor in the slow adoption.
Paul Irvine is director of Bloxx, a web filtering company based in Scotland and the Netherlands
Futurologist
Ian Pearson
BT
If paper were invented today, it would be heralded as one of the most important inventions of the last 100 years. Ebooks will be very useful, just as radio and TV are, but they’re no more likely to destroy the paper book or magazine markets. What we are more likely to see is some convergence, with paper books and magazines starting to include digital paper to allow an element of multimedia and even web connectivity. I would be astonished if paper books are not still very much in business 100 years from now.
Ian is a futurologist in BT’s group chief technology office
Software expert
Wayne Smith
Microsoft
Absolutely and emphatically not. I’m just as much a gadget freak as anyone in this industry, but there’s nothing like the tactile feel of a real book. In fact, on my Christmas list is a leather-bound edition of Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker’s works. I can see Kindle as a fantastic way of accessing technical material, however, and can see publishers wanting to offer the device preloaded with technical libraries. That would be wonderfully useful!
Wayne is group product manager for Microsoft Corporation and is a Rick Wakeman fan
Site owner
Martin Hoscik
Beyond Ego Ltd
No, we’ve been here before with ebook readers for palm-top machines and Windows Mobile devices, with the same hyperbolic claims (which failed to materialise). Anyhow, with people moving integrated devices such as the T-Mobile Ameo or iPhone, isn’t the idea of a standalone, monochrome screen, ebook reader about 10 years behind the times?
Personally, I like books because they’re light, disposable and you can read then in the bath before passing them on to a friend. Would Amazon enable me to share a downloaded book or magazine with a friend? Its site doesn’t say, but my hunch is that it won’t, and with a near-infinite selection of books available to buy, why would anyone want to limit themselves to those Amazon has decided people will want to buy?
As for paying $0.10 to transfer your own documents to the device, what a laugh! Don’t want to pay? How’s this for a “simple” alternative: “If you are not in a wireless area or would like to avoid the $.10 fee, you can send attachments to ‘name’@free.kindle.com to be converted and emailed to your computer at the email address associated with your Amazon.com account login. You can then transfer the document to your Kindle using your USB connection.” (Source: Amazon.com.)
I’m unconvinced that this is easier or more user-friendly than just transferring documents from my Mac to my Ameo via USB or memory card, and reading them in their native Word or PDF formats. As for selling out of stock, I’m always cautious when manufacturers and retailers claim a stock shortage – it’s a surefire way of generating headlines and creating a perception of a must-have item, but short of audited sales numbers, I prefer to take such claims with a healthy pinch of salt.
A .net reader, Martin is sales director at web hosting company, Beyond Ego Ltd
Hosting expert
David Price
Lycos UK
No, I don’t think that this spells the end of the paperback. There are two things that will need to happen before that occurs. First, ebooks need to find a mass market – for example, breaking into the education market (I’m sure that kids would love a world in which they didn’t have to carry huge bags of books around). Second, the businesses that currently have vested interests in words on trees need to commit to going after the long-term profit potential of ebooks, rather than focus on the short-term gain.
Both of those things happening – greater demand and greater supply in concert – will create the conditions for prices of book readers and the books themselves to come down to an attractive level. However, given that book publishing has been notoriously slow to embrace new technologies (the few exceptions, such as Penguin, are notable), I can’t see pulp fiction breaking out of the early adopter audience anytime soon.
David is UK head of product development at Lycos Web Hosting, a division of Lycos that offers a hosting package for new and professional web developers
