Amazon scoops up developer of leading eBook iPhone app

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Online mega-retailer Amazon.com has purchased the development firm behind the most popular eBook reader application for Apple's iPhone in a bid to extend its reach of the digital book market beyond its Kindle device.



Lexcycle, makers of the Stanza application for the iPhone and iPod touch, announced the acquisition on its website this week, saying its "excited" about the transition and that it "could not think of a better company to join during this exciting time."



A free application downloaded more than 1 million times by App Store shoppers, Stanza (App Store) offers users 24-hour access to a catalog of over 100,000 eBooks in the open ePub format, an eBook container not supported on Amazon's popular Kindle digital reader device.



Outside of broadening its reach to alternative eBook technologies, the retailer's strategic motives behind the move are unclear. However, Lexcycle told customers the deal shouldn't affect the way they acquire and enjoy eBooks through Stanza.



"We are not planning any changes in the Stanza application or user experience as a result of the acquisition," the company said in a blog post. "Customers will still be able to browse, buy, and read ebooks from our many content partners."



For Amazon, the acquisition comes a little less than two months after it announced a free application that lets users of Apple's iPhone and iPod touch tap into its catalog of over 270,000 eBooks formatted for its $359 Kindle 2 wireless reading device (review).



During a conference call last week, the retailer said sales of the latest Kindle, introduced earlier this year, continue to exceed its own expectations but would not provide exact sales figures.



Stanza, which offers access to 100,000 ePub-formatted eBooks, is now in the hands of Amazon.



Amazon similarly refused to break out sales numbers for its inaugural Kindle device (review) that arrive ahead of the 2007 holiday shopping season, though analysts have estimated the device went on to sell approximately half a million units during the 2008 calendar year.



With industry watchers largely gravitating towards the notion that Apple will eventually introduce some form of tablet-based touchscreen device, many believe company may eventually cross paths with Amazon on the eBook front.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 41
    palegolaspalegolas Posts: 1,361member
    I don't see Apple introducing a LED screen doubles as a low power, reader friendly E-ink screen. But it sounds possible though joining the e-book thing. I think the biggest potential for e-books is for students. If someone pulls of a per-university distribution model for student litterature and a "notepad" we might have a winner.
  • Reply 2 of 41
    vineavinea Posts: 5,585member
    Mmmm...mixed feelings. I can't imagine why Amazon would buy Stanza other than to try to lock in more folks into Kindle at the expense of other book stores.



    I buy all my books from webscription and have almost two hundred titles (half free, half purchased). Mostly $6 ones in lieu of paperbacks and I get those in several open formats (HTML, RTF, epub and mobi) just so I know I can read them on any sort of device I might buy in the future.



    I've not gotten any Kindle titles despite their iPhone reader because I don't trust that kindle format won't get "playsforsure'd" again in the future like they did to mobi.



    And there's still no desktop kindle reader...despite owning Mobi and their secure mobi format. So why Stanza? What does that buy them that buying Mobi didn't? Other than an attempt to marginalize epub and ereader even further.



    DRM doesn't bother me that much as long as there's some expectation that it will survive to work on future devices. Secure eReader, Secure Mobipocket, Kindle, secure ePub and MS Reader all have significant risks of becoming content stuck on an obsolete DRM format and unusable in future eBooks.



    Which is why I'm also hesitant to buy from fictionwise.com (Barnes and Noble).



    If the eBook vendors would standardize on one DRM format that would be fine.
  • Reply 3 of 41
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by vinea View Post


    Mmmm...mixed feelings. I can't imagine why Amazon would buy Stanza other than to try to lock in more folks into Kindle at the expense of other book stores.



    Does there have to be another reason.
  • Reply 4 of 41
    vineavinea Posts: 5,585member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


    Does there have to be another reason.



    No, but it's not good for the eBook market. Not unless Amazon gets its act together and decide if they want to sell hardware or sell books.



    Because right now, kindle books are too expensive to move Kindles in volume (aka the iPod strategy) and Kindles are too expensive to sell in sufficient quantities to make selling ebooks a big market (aka the razor blade strategy).



    What they have is expensive hardware and expensive titles keeping eBooks in a niche market.



    Amazon can't make ebooks cheap so they ought to be licensing the .azw format to all ebook makers and trying to drive the cost of ebook hardware down as quickly as possible and then make money on the ebooks.
  • Reply 5 of 41
    gqbgqb Posts: 1,934member
    I've now used the Kindle App to read 2 books and to access several Rick Steves books while visiting Europe. (Had a great time, thank you.)

    I truly welcome this news because the Kindle App is clearly a thrown-together hack.
    • Zoom is accomplished via idiotic "small to larger 'A' icons" instead of pinch.

    • Zoom only enlarges text, not images.

    • Returning to where you left off is unpredictable if you're reading multiple books.

    • No clear indication of where you are in the book... just some cryptic numbers at the bottom that look more like character count than pages.

    • Poor control of bookmarks (such as they exist at all.)

    I could go on, but the point is that its not a proper App, but a lazy port. If this acquisition turns it into a proper app I'm all for it.

    I'd also prefer to get my book content through iTunes instead of having to go through yet-another-store, but that's pretty unlikely.

    I loved having the e-books on my touch rather than lugging around hard-copies, but the app really needs improvement.
  • Reply 6 of 41
    virgil-tb2virgil-tb2 Posts: 1,416member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by vinea View Post


    Mmmm...mixed feelings. I can't imagine why Amazon would buy Stanza other than to try to lock in more folks into Kindle at the expense of other book stores. ...



    They're just covering their bets. eBook reading is about to take off on the iPhone platform. They already have their Kindle book app to protect their revenue, but when it takes off with the mainstream there is often a big push-back on the locked in models.



    Especially because it's books, and because most books are in the public domain, readers will be fighting back against Amazon's attempts to monetise the platform and rip you off for even more money. Buying Stanza gives them the leading free-book reader n their back pocket.



    The poor developer actually posted something about how this "won't change anything" with Stanza and actually seems to believe it! He should know that these guarantees are only good for the short term. Amazon is out to dominate, and is more "Microsofty" than Microsoft in it's own way. They wouldn't have bought the thing if it wasn't part of the "we own all the books in the world" plan Amazon seems to be running with.
  • Reply 7 of 41
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by GQB View Post


    I've now used the Kindle App to read 2 books and to access several Rick Steves books while visiting Europe. (Had a great time, thank you.)

    I truly welcome this news because the Kindle App is clearly a thrown-together hack.
    • Zoom is accomplished via idiotic "small to larger 'A' icons" instead of pinch.

    • Zoom only enlarges text, not images.

    • Returning to where you left off is unpredictable if you're reading multiple books.

    • No clear indication of where you are in the book... just some cryptic numbers at the bottom that look more like character count than pages.

    • Poor control of bookmarks (such as they exist at all.)

    I could go on, but the point is that its not a proper App, but a lazy port. If this acquisition turns it into a proper app I'm all for it.

    I'd also prefer to get my book content through iTunes instead of having to go through yet-another-store, but that's pretty unlikely.

    I loved having the e-books on my touch rather than lugging around hard-copies, but the app really needs improvement.



    You should have bought a Kindle!

    It's just an App to give you a taste of Kindle. Why would you expect SO much for FREE?

    Geesh.
  • Reply 8 of 41
    gqbgqb Posts: 1,934member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by teckstud View Post


    You should have bought a Kindle!

    It's just an App to give you a taste of Kindle. Why would you expect SO much for FREE?

    Geesh.



    Because the Kindle is a butt-ugly one trick pony. The only thing it has going for it is ePaper, but when I turn brightness on my touch down by half, battery life is perfectly acceptable and very easy on the eyes.

    If I were going to lug another thing around on my vacation, it would have been the books, not a Kindle.

    (And I'm not the one who set the price point... I'd gladly pay for a decent app.)

    I also disagree that its a free-taste app. Amazon is in the content business and make the Kindle because they have to. It'll be dead within a couple of years as their content becomes usable on decent multi-purpose hardware.
  • Reply 9 of 41
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by GQB View Post


    Because the Kindle is a butt-ugly one trick pony. The only thing it has going for it is ePaper, but when I turn brightness on my touch down by half, battery life is perfectly acceptable and very easy on the eyes.

    If I were going to lug another thing around on my vacation, it would have been the books, not a Kindle.



    One trick pony? Can you subscribe and read newpapers on your iPhone with the ease of a Kindle? Newp[apers are only on a Kindle. It's a free taste App - a bridge to the Kindle like an iPod/iPhone is a bridge to a Mac.
  • Reply 10 of 41
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Any word how much Lexcycle got bought out for? Was the company created for the iPhone platform like so many others or did they exist before? How many people are they? I'm glad to see the maker of a free app getting a payout and I hope make the Kindle better, though they will be severally limited without the iPhone SDK. No fluid transitions.
  • Reply 11 of 41
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Classics is a nice experience for reading on the iPhone. Not ideal, bit laggy, bit small, but not bad. I like the way they add a new classic book now and then in a free update. Nice touch, keeps the app interesting. As for that Kindle (hardware). If it was €69 it might be interesting, as the books (a bit of data) are quite expensive.



    I love the idea of e-ink, but only Apple could pull of a hardware design here that appeals to the masses, and Apple's thing would also be a computer. Without e-ink Apple's tablet will never be a Kindle though.
  • Reply 12 of 41
    gqbgqb Posts: 1,934member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by teckstud View Post


    One trick pony? Can you subscribe and read newpapers on your iPhone with the ease of a Kindle? Newp[apers are only on a Kindle. It's a free taste App - a bridge to the Kindle like an iPod/iPhone is a bridge to a Mac.



    ??? you're kidding, right?

    Reading newspapers just needs the app and the contract. Just a matter of time.

    Listen, you clearly like the Kindle... more power to you. Buy all the single-purpose devices you want for your briefcase.

    But to believe Amazon's product is the Kindle and not the content it delivers is just plain naive.

    Amazon makes the Kindle only because they had to, not because its their business.

    Kindle dead in 2 years, but Amazon will be rolling in content money because of proper multi-purpose readers (which they won't be making.)
  • Reply 13 of 41
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by GQB View Post


    ??? you're kidding, right?

    Reading newspapers just needs the app and the contract. Just a matter of time.

    Listen, you clearly like the Kindle... more power to you. Buy all the single-purpose devices you want for your briefcase.

    But to believe Amazon's product is the Kindle and not the content it delivers is just plain naive.

    Amazon makes the Kindle only because they had to, not because its their business.

    Kindle dead in 2 years, but Amazon will be rolling in content money because of proper multi-purpose readers (which they won't be making.)



    It's both- the Kindle and the content. The device's larger screen size is appealing along with it's thinness. Reading on a 4 inch screen is akin to watching Lawrence of Arabia on a 20 inch screen- it's doable but not fulfilling and not the intent of the content.
  • Reply 14 of 41
    gqbgqb Posts: 1,934member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by teckstud View Post


    It's both- the Kindle and the content. The device's larger screen size is appealing along with it's thinness. Reading on a 4 inch screen is akin to watching Lawrence of Arabia on a 20 inch screen- it's doable but not fulfilling and not the intent of the content.



    I have a nice comfy box I'll sell you to do your thinking in.

    iPad, techstud... iPad.
  • Reply 15 of 41
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by GQB View Post


    I have a nice comfy box I'll sell you to do your thinking in.

    iPad, techstud... iPad.



    iPad monthly perhaps? Or what about Mac nighty wipes?
  • Reply 16 of 41
    This is not very mysterious. It actually makes a lot of sense. Consider:



    Once upon a time, there were two main ebook reading apps on the iPhone: Stanza and eReader. (Classics is nice, but has no facility for finding new books or reading current, copyrighted books.) Stanza and eReader both had access to the Fictionwise online bookstore. This online store had a decent but not great selection, and high prices.



    Then, Amazon comes on the scene with a Kindle app and access to the Amazon ebook store. The app is crappy, but the online store has much more content and much more reasonable prices. The iPhone ebook landscape is poised to be shaken up; even with a poor app, Amazon has good prices, strong ties to its Kindle hardware, and strong brand exposure.



    Suddenly, Barnes & Noble, a print-book behemoth late to the ebook party, buys the Fictionwise online store and (I believe) the eReader iPhone app. Now B&N has a better app than Amazon, and the ability to throw its weight around to expand the Fictionwise online store. Now Amazon has some serious future competition.



    Natural reaction: buy Stanza. Turn Stanza into the Kindle v2 iPhone app. I figure we will settle into a fairly stable environment in which Amazon has the best app and best online store and best prices; while B&N nips at its heels with a nearly-as-good app and an improving online store, and plenty of brand power and money. Competition will heat up, Amazon and B&N will make lots of money, and ebook consumers will have more books available to them. And Classics will remain in its niche as a best-of-breed reader for public-domain books.



    If things do shake out that way, it's fine with me. Look for a partnership between B&N/Fictionwise and Sony (with its runner-up ebook hardware) to round things out.
  • Reply 17 of 41
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by GQB View Post


    I have a nice comfy box I'll sell you to do your thinking in.

    iPad, techstud... iPad.



    When? When?
  • Reply 18 of 41
    They have the Kindle because there are no readers out there that support their e-book sales. Now there is a second option with the Kindle app, but that needs to mature.



    And Apple needs to provide a larger tablet.



    I'm pretty sure they intend to do just that. But the Apple tablet will be a general purpose device, with a much larger screen (apparently close to 10") and color.



    This means it will be possible to publish magazines on it. Digital delivery of magazines is a new market. Delivered to your computer screen, they don't make much sense. However a tablet is a good substitute for a physical magazine. You can read a tablet on the couch, at the beauty salon, or on the train or bus. Notebooks are no good in those types of situations.



    Also a large color tablet would be suitable for books that depend on photography or illustrations.



    Digital magazines would have no paper or printing cost and much lower distribution cost. They would radically improve the equation for the magazine publishing industry. Digital magazines would also be "green".



    Ideally the screen would be either transreflective (can use either natural light or be backlit), or OLED, for due to lower power use. Both technologies exist in shipping products, but neither is massively used at this point.



    Jobs was not quite right. People do read less. But they skim, a lot.
  • Reply 19 of 41
    lafelafe Posts: 252member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by teckstud View Post


    One trick pony? Can you subscribe and read newpapers on your iPhone with the ease of a Kindle?



    Yes. I use pressdisplay.com.
  • Reply 20 of 41
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by vinea View Post


    No, but it's not good for the eBook market. Not unless Amazon gets its act together and decide if they want to sell hardware or sell books.



    You don't understand Amazon's strategy. They want to be the "Walmart of the Web" by offering whatever people want, wherever and whenever.
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