Bloomberg updated this weekend (May 28th) that Amazon was working on a new version of the Kindle out in August. This means some Agile product development is in place, as their last release was just about 8 months ago.
On further reading though, the new Kindle will only have a few "better, faster" incremental changes - the screen gets more contrast, the kindle itself gets thinner (and probably lighter), page loading is faster.
Notice the absence of any news on the Touch Screen or Back-light. Both seem to be critical product updates that should be a part of the kindle. Bloomberg adds:
"The Kindle has about 60 percent of the U.S. market, followed by Sony with 35 percent, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based research firm estimates."
The biggest differentiating factor the Sony Reader has is its touchscreen device, so it is definitely competition. The Nook, on the other hand, is a slower version of the Kindle, and hence lags far behind in market share.
It looks like the Kindle is not going up against the iPad at all, and is going to stay within its comfort zone of dedicated eBook readers.
What do you think Amazon should do next? Do you agree with their strategy?
I'm still on the fence as to whether or not to even consider buying an ereader. Of the ones on the market now-the kindle seems to be my favorite and the design of it seems to work. I don't think I would like it to be a touch screen. I find touch screens to be kind of annoying.
ReplyDeleteWell, the touchscreen is a long way away - so the kindle is still justifiably your fav :)
ReplyDeleteMy earlier review on the kindle is here -
http://readseverything.blogspot.com/2010/05/paen-to-kindle-and-calibre.html
If you do decide to pick one up, let me know! i find mine so unexpectedly useful..
It is ideal for Amazon to stick to Kindle current plans.The marked of ebooks is huge and they can earn lot more out of it. Fighting against iPad which is currently the buzz, may back fire.
ReplyDeleteHi Arpit, not sure if I got what you said -
ReplyDelete1) The Amazon Kindle already has 60% of the market, I agree the total sales volume can go up.
2) Do you think they should go with some iPad-type features? If so, which ones? Current plans do not include going up against the iPad.