Apple has not even released anything yet, and they are already making book publishers money by forcing Amazon to renegotiate this ridiculous pricing scheme for Kindle.
If we accepted the suggestion that there is no profit motive for apps etc, then equally we'd also have to assume that they spent all these years developing iTunes solely to ensure the Macs we buy would have nice music player software out of the box. Again, they'd didnt.
By this logic, iLife, iWork et. al. would be sold at break-even. What makes you think that Apple would intentionally forego profits? Ever?
What?!?
$0.99 iTunes pricing (and free iTunes software for Mac and Windows) was specifically designed to drive hardware sales of iPods. At the cost of potentially reduced music download revenue.
Apple wouldn't intentionally forego profits, but they might collect them from a source of their own choosing.
What if this is not trying to upstage Apple, but prepare for something scarier. What if it's a partnership? Meaning a Kindle client on the mac device etc. (or other integrations)
What if this is not trying to upstage Apple, but prepare for something scarier. What if it's a partnership? Meaning a Kindle client on the mac device etc. (or other integrations)
Apple wouldn't partner with Amazon for a device they could make and sell themselves. What you are suggesting would be a "me too" Apple Kindle. My guess is that the Tablet will be 20 times the device the "one note" Kindles are. Things like e-books will be but a fraction of the Tablet's capabilities.
What I can't wait to see with the tablet is when the new store for books allows independent publishing. I'm sure new best sellers and franchises will come out of the tablets books store.
Also the kindle app for iPhone... won't that run on the tablet too?
I know this is a little out of topic, but have any of you given thought to the fact that Apple could, if they so desired, eliminate the need for a publisher intermediary between the authors and the readers?
Makes sense actually. The big authors probably have publishing contracts though.
Authors still can't singlehandedly write good e-books. As I said on post #15, that's where Apple should come in...
Maybe you phrased this poorly, but it makes no sense to me.
Any author can write an e-book in the sense that an e-book is hardly different from a PDF. Apple doesn't even need to make special book creating software. Use pages, start typing, when you are finished your novel, select "export to PDF." Voila, e-book.
e-books are only "formats" because each one of them strives to be proprietary and most want to use DRM. A simple PDF (or a zipped PDF), is within a hair's breadth of every e-book and e-comic out there. Just under the surface, they are PDFs and text files, sometimes zipped, sometimes with DRM locks.
I'm not expecting Apple to do it because they are in bed with the content providers, (music industry, publishing industry etc.), but they could easily allow individuals to sign up as publishers and sell e-books through iTunes in the exact same way as developers now sell their apps.
What if this is not trying to upstage Apple, but prepare for something scarier. What if it's a partnership?
Go back to your café where you can eat a croissant and some French fries closely followed by a Saturday matinée. And then we can bitch about how we've nothing in common with the French.
Any author can write an e-book in the sense that an e-book is hardly different from a PDF. Apple doesn't even need to make special book creating software. Use pages, start typing, when you are finished your novel, select "export to PDF." Voila, e-book.
I'm not expecting Apple to do it because they are in bed with the content providers, (music industry, publishing industry etc.), but they could easily allow individuals to sign up as publishers and sell e-books through iTunes in the exact same way as developers now sell their apps.
So are you saying Apple should provide the tools or not?
This is almost like, "Hey, sure we've been ripping off you authors all this time, but now that we've gotten word about Apple's planned royalty reimbursement rates from some of our publishers, we're going to cut you in on a great deal!"
Competition is always a good thing...
Yah, some newspapers were pretty pissed about Amazon's practices. At least if I remember that senate testimony correctly.
Business is business but people DO remember a good screwing over. All else being equal they'd love to return the favor.
I think dedicated eInk readers are going to parish this year but I don’t agree that he should have changed the pricing earlier. I don’t think it would matter (they’ll need to have a more fulfilling product) and companies should price their products to what the market will bear.
Plus, Amazon has to pay Sprint, AT&T and others for access to their networks. I have no idea how they are charged but they have to include the 3G radios in the price of the device and pay for the data transfer in some fashion so it does makes sense that the cost for buying books cost Amazon more per MB than the zero cost Apple pays when you use your private provider. (When Apple added iTunes and App Stores to the phone this may have changed).
I really hope that 3G radios are included in Apple’s tablet.
It's worse than that. Amazon wanted it both ways: make money on the readers, make money on the content. That made sure the market was limited and folks that got the shaft were content providers.
Now there's another source that can kick their butts in terms of market penetration and hardware design, makes their money on hardware and commoditizes content (or at least access to content). It's a bit late to try to keep your content providers by matching their price when Apple is likely to sell more devices on launch week than you have as an installed base.
What Amazon should have done was sell the Kindle for cheap. That way, at least the high split could have been justified: we're building you a market and taking it in the shorts to sell kindles at a loss. When we have a huge market we can go to a more favorable split and we all make huge money.
Now the moment has been lost, their initial splash is gone and Apple is likely to clean their clocks...to the point where they may lose control over the one thing they REALLY gave a shit about: premier gateway for electronic books and media.
Comments
the App Store is actually raking in profit. It is there, after all, to provide apps and content to whatever devices Apple sells, not to make a profit.
By this logic, iLife, iWork et. al. would be sold at break-even. What makes you think that Apple would intentionally forego profits? Ever?
Pretty rash condemnation of Amazon and Bezos. This seems very unlike your usual rational and thoughtful postings.
Dear mstone, we have detected a malfunction in your sarcasm meters-- please power down the unit for at least 30 seconds and reboot your computer.
Authors still can't singlehandedly write good e-books. As I said on post #15, that's where Apple should come in...
Yes - I saw your post after having replied to the earlier one. The disintermediation angle seems possible to me too.
If we accepted the suggestion that there is no profit motive for apps etc, then equally we'd also have to assume that they spent all these years developing iTunes solely to ensure the Macs we buy would have nice music player software out of the box. Again, they'd didnt.
No, they also wanted to sell iPods.
Dear mstone, we have detected a malfunction in your sarcasm meters-- please power down the unit for at least 30 seconds and reboot your computer.
References to Hitler and Fascism should not be used in sarcasm.
By this logic, iLife, iWork et. al. would be sold at break-even. What makes you think that Apple would intentionally forego profits? Ever?
What?!?
$0.99 iTunes pricing (and free iTunes software for Mac and Windows) was specifically designed to drive hardware sales of iPods. At the cost of potentially reduced music download revenue.
Apple wouldn't intentionally forego profits, but they might collect them from a source of their own choosing.
Like, for example, a hypothetical Mac Tablet?
What if this is not trying to upstage Apple, but prepare for something scarier. What if it's a partnership? Meaning a Kindle client on the mac device etc. (or other integrations)
Apple wouldn't partner with Amazon for a device they could make and sell themselves. What you are suggesting would be a "me too" Apple Kindle. My guess is that the Tablet will be 20 times the device the "one note" Kindles are. Things like e-books will be but a fraction of the Tablet's capabilities.
Also the kindle app for iPhone... won't that run on the tablet too?
I know this is a little out of topic, but have any of you given thought to the fact that Apple could, if they so desired, eliminate the need for a publisher intermediary between the authors and the readers?
Makes sense actually. The big authors probably have publishing contracts though.
Authors still can't singlehandedly write good e-books. As I said on post #15, that's where Apple should come in...
Maybe you phrased this poorly, but it makes no sense to me.
Any author can write an e-book in the sense that an e-book is hardly different from a PDF. Apple doesn't even need to make special book creating software. Use pages, start typing, when you are finished your novel, select "export to PDF." Voila, e-book.
e-books are only "formats" because each one of them strives to be proprietary and most want to use DRM. A simple PDF (or a zipped PDF), is within a hair's breadth of every e-book and e-comic out there. Just under the surface, they are PDFs and text files, sometimes zipped, sometimes with DRM locks.
I'm not expecting Apple to do it because they are in bed with the content providers, (music industry, publishing industry etc.), but they could easily allow individuals to sign up as publishers and sell e-books through iTunes in the exact same way as developers now sell their apps.
References to Hitler and Fascism should not be used in sarcasm.
Why not? Isn't that a bit totalitarian of you? what are you some kind of dictator?
What if this is not trying to upstage Apple, but prepare for something scarier. What if it's a partnership?
Go back to your café where you can eat a croissant and some French fries closely followed by a Saturday matinée. And then we can bitch about how we've nothing in common with the French.
Just as above, I see no partnership coming.
Jeff Bozos is pretty much Hitler, is what I'm saying.
But Bezos is giving a 70-30 split.
"Try getting that deal from Hitler." - Jeff Winger
Any author can write an e-book in the sense that an e-book is hardly different from a PDF. Apple doesn't even need to make special book creating software. Use pages, start typing, when you are finished your novel, select "export to PDF." Voila, e-book.
I'm not expecting Apple to do it because they are in bed with the content providers, (music industry, publishing industry etc.), but they could easily allow individuals to sign up as publishers and sell e-books through iTunes in the exact same way as developers now sell their apps.
So are you saying Apple should provide the tools or not?
"Try getting that deal from Hitler." - Jeff Winger
It would be like trying to get a deal from any dead person.
This is almost like, "Hey, sure we've been ripping off you authors all this time, but now that we've gotten word about Apple's planned royalty reimbursement rates from some of our publishers, we're going to cut you in on a great deal!"
Competition is always a good thing...
Yah, some newspapers were pretty pissed about Amazon's practices. At least if I remember that senate testimony correctly.
Business is business but people DO remember a good screwing over. All else being equal they'd love to return the favor.
I think dedicated eInk readers are going to parish this year but I don’t agree that he should have changed the pricing earlier. I don’t think it would matter (they’ll need to have a more fulfilling product) and companies should price their products to what the market will bear.
Plus, Amazon has to pay Sprint, AT&T and others for access to their networks. I have no idea how they are charged but they have to include the 3G radios in the price of the device and pay for the data transfer in some fashion so it does makes sense that the cost for buying books cost Amazon more per MB than the zero cost Apple pays when you use your private provider. (When Apple added iTunes and App Stores to the phone this may have changed).
I really hope that 3G radios are included in Apple’s tablet.
It's worse than that. Amazon wanted it both ways: make money on the readers, make money on the content. That made sure the market was limited and folks that got the shaft were content providers.
Now there's another source that can kick their butts in terms of market penetration and hardware design, makes their money on hardware and commoditizes content (or at least access to content). It's a bit late to try to keep your content providers by matching their price when Apple is likely to sell more devices on launch week than you have as an installed base.
What Amazon should have done was sell the Kindle for cheap. That way, at least the high split could have been justified: we're building you a market and taking it in the shorts to sell kindles at a loss. When we have a huge market we can go to a more favorable split and we all make huge money.
Now the moment has been lost, their initial splash is gone and Apple is likely to clean their clocks...to the point where they may lose control over the one thing they REALLY gave a shit about: premier gateway for electronic books and media.