Is Amazon's New Kindle Good Enough?
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Improvements to the Kindle include a screen that features increased grayscale contrast, a battery that lasts for a month, and it’s slightly smaller than the last version. The reader comes with a Wi-Fi and 3G version and a Wi-Fi-only version. The 3G-Wi-Fi version will sell for $189 and the Wi-Fi-only version will sell for $139, making it the cheapest reader on the market right now. Amazon said it will begin taking orders today with a ship date of August 27 to customers in 140 countries.
This is a smart move on Amazon’s part. The company isn't going to compete head to head with Apple (AAPL) over its iPad or with other tech companies making similar reading products. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said the company intentionally left off “whiz-bang” features like a colored screen and touchscreen controls, which he thinks would ruin the reading experience.
Where Amazon misses on this new Kindle is the price. While it’s currently the cheapest reader on the market, it’s not cheap enough. The Kindle does look cheap compared to Barnes & Noble's (BKS) Nook, which retails for $199, and Apple’s iPad, which goes for $499 and up. Amazon should price the Kindle under $100 dollars. This would make it available to the mass market and then Amazon could put its efforts into selling books and subscriptions.
This would be similar to the “razor blade” business model made famous by Procter & Gamble’s (PG) Gillette. The idea is to sell the razor cheap but users have to keep buying razor blades. In other words, Amazon could entice the market with an extremely low Kindle price and then get users to keep buying books priced anywhere from $5.99 to $16.99.
The ebook market is growing fast but it's extremely crowded. This new, improved Kindle will keep Amazon in the game for now but it won’t be long until some company sells the reader at a price where everyone will own one.
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Pam Levine
I have been itching for a Kindle for a long time but always felt its price/value ratio fell short for me. But this $139 wi-fi only version does it for me. I'm going to order one for myself as a birthday gift.
I personally bought a Sony and I read classics (which are free) so it worth it for me (I only need to read 9 to 10 e-books to match the cost of the equivalent printed books). But for those you like modern authors and read no more than one book per month, buying a Kindle is not a cost effective solution.
I personally own a Sony reader because of superior design and better compatibility. Main drawbacks of the kindle have so far been:
- Hybrid ownership of the books you buy (which Amazon wants to keep control of)
- Semi-proprietary format of Amazon's books
- Inferior design to Sony's
Having said what, at this price the design can be overlooked and there is in fact an array of tools to crack and cook any Amazon book into a mainstream format and backwards. Which is why I think the Gillete model is not for Amazon. You can't copy blades on the net nor download them. Heck you are even legally prevented from selling compatible blades at stores!
