Can Amazon Hold Onto Top slot In The Face Of Fierce Competition?
Posted by Andrew King | Filed under Computers
There are an incredible number of manufacturers currently fighting it out in the new, but ever expanding, e-book reader market. The high level of competition is a strong indication that rapid growth is anticipated in this sector. And this will be good news for consumers as manufacturers strive to enhance specifications and offer lower prices.
The list of major players who have e-book readers in various stages of development - and in some cases, ready for imminent release - is impressive. Plastic Logic, Barnes and Noble, Sony, Asus, iRex, - don’t forget Microsoft and Apple (as if) - are all lined up and jostling for their fair share of the market.
There’s not much doubt about the present market leader. Amazon’s Kindle reader has dominated the market, and has been instrumental in its development since its release in 2007. Now in its second generation with the Kindle 2 and the large format Kindle DX, Amazon has achieved a 60% share of the U.S. e-book reader market. The Kindle is now Amazon’s top selling product and, on October’ this year, after a long wait, Amazon started shipping the Kindle 2 international version to more than 100 countries globally. It’s a compliment to Amazon that every new e-book reader announced (and there’s no lack of these, the list above is far from exhaustive) which displays any promise, is immediately named the “Kindle Killer”. At the moment, the Kindle reader sets the standard which must be met, and then surpassed, in order to achieve success.
However, if it appears that the Kindle’s current leadership position is unassailable, it’s worth recalling that Amazon was a late entrant to the market when the Kindle was released. The Franklin eBookMan is generally considered to be the original e-book reader, and this was launched in’99 - ten years ago. The Sony PRS was also on the market before the Kindle’s 2007 launch.
The incredible success of the Kindle was due to a variety of different factors. Amazon had a very strong association with books, being among the largest web retailers. They also had a huge choice of books available to download - presently they have in over 300,000 titles on offer at the Kindle store. The option of wireless connectivity - with no fees - was another big plus.
However, in the same manner that Amazon came from nowhere to take the number one position, any one of the other key contenders could repeat this feat - and faster than you may think. For example, Barnes and Noble have over one million book titles for download to their new Nook reader. They have also elected to use the ePub format - which most of the readers under development seem to favor. The Amazon Kindle format is proprietary. Buy a Kindle book - download it - and read it on your Kindle (or your iPhone - but not on another e-book reader).
The Nook will also allow you to “lend” books to your friends and family for a fourteen day period. During this time, the borrower will be able to read it and the lender will no longer have access to it on their Nook - just like lending a “real” book in fact. The only difference is that you will be guaranteed to get it back.
Sony’s next generation reader - the Daily Edition - will have a large format display, just like Amazon’s Kindle DX - but unlike the DX it will have touch screen controls. It will also allow users to borrow e-books from participating public libraries on loan. Again - just like a conventional book.
Many of the other readers under development incorporate features that could well make them more appealing than the Kindle. It looks like Amazon have a fight on their hands - but it seems unlikely that they will give up their top dog position without a struggle. Considering their innovative role in the development of the market to date, and given the importance of the Kindle their business strategy, it seems logical to expect them to have a few new ideas yet to be revealed.
At the end of the day, given the level of activity amongst all of the various manufacturers, it looks as if the e-book reader market is about to start growing even faster. Hopefully the rampant competition that seems about to be unleashed will force prices downwards and take e-book readers out of the high tech domain and into mainstream personal mobile tech market.
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Tags: Amazon Kindle, Communications, Computers, e-book readers, ebooks, gadgets, mobile technology, personal technology, reading, technology
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