I think that the Kindle may signal the beginning of the end for paperbacks. Finally, we have an ebook platform, that while still far from perfect, may soon have a reasonable market share.
Why would that spell the end of the paperback? CDs and MP3s haven’t killed off other music formats. Well, except that digital music really HAS almost killed off analog (CDs vs. pressed vinyl). And getting your music piecemeal, and by download, is becoming ever more popular. It does begin to look as if getting a physical copy of the music file (a CD) will be the less common choice soon.
Books are a little different than music. Hardbacks are most commonly bought now when readers don’t want to wait for the paperback, when we need extra sturdiness (for reference or libraries, for example), for the look or status value (for a gift or coffee table display, etc.), or for the physical experience of a book.
Readers of paperbacks tend to want the content and to be price sensitive. Once ebook platforms reach a certain level of quality, and gain modest commercial momentum, they’ll carve into the volume that makes paperbacks a lower cost alternative. And ebooks will be inexpensive, too. Price pressure may well produce a sudden movement toward ebooks.
Do you think paperbacks will continue to be popular when they are no longer the most inexpensive alternative? Or even when they cost almost as much as a hardback because of the low sales volume?
And if a large portion of our paperback sales move to ebooks, what happens to wholesalers and distributors? To bookstores?
Since DRM is pretty universally reviled by ebook readers, and since it can always be broken, what can we do to make sure that we get paid for most of the copies out there?
What else should we be thinking about and preparing for? Any thoughts?
The problem with something like the Kindel is that it’s not marketing itself against a paperback. It’s marketing itself against the hardback (it’s own press documents only comment on hardback books). And with electronic ink, it loses the benefit of 4-color art. Until its prices compete with paperbacks, its marketshare is going to be relegated to techies. Unless it can develop a cool factor like that iPod first started with (which he current Kindle absolutely does not have), it doesn’t have anything going for it other than the Amazon machine providing content. They might start to see real returns on version 2 or 3 when they learn and improve from their mistakes.
True enough. And the Kindle also doesn’t meet a number of the other qualifications of the killer app (appliance not application, here!). But the writing is on the wall, I think.
I just don’t see the Kindle succeeding anytime soon, at its price, much less replacing paperbacks. For people who actually enjoy reading, there’s something about the tactile sensation of a book that–hardcover or paperback–cannot be replaced. Additionally, there’s something about reading off a video screen that is harder on the eyes than reading from a printed page. I’m no Luddite, either, as I both embrace and love computers.
I agree that the Kindle, as is, isn’t the device it needs to be. But I think the eyestrain you’re discussing is a function of the screen resolution, glare, and lighting. And those are all fixable. As for the book vs ebook “feel,” I’m guessing that most paperback readers don’t care all that much. And if MOST readers don’t, those of us who do will be paying through the nose, or buying hardbacks, to feed our preferences.
But I’ve been wrong before, and will be again.
I am doing a debate @ school and I am supposed to prove why ebooks are the new reading foundation of the future,I need some help,so if you could leave some comments that would be great THanks
What will happens to the forest and the paper in the future?