And Then There Were Two

[mossman]

Amazon made the big leap today with their app, including an instant dictionary feature that works fairly well (although not as good with long definitions). With all the changes going on with these apps, Apple and Amazon have clearly established themselves on the top of the heap. Apple has the style, and Amazon has the selection and generally more favorable prices.

Stanza, Kobo, and B&N just aren't in the same league right now. And where on Earth is Sony in all this?

 

[Bremen]

I agree with you.... all the others are wanna be's except Sony... Sony is dead, will be out of eBooks in a few years......

 

[Hasty]

Sony has seriously lost it's way and has become a Jack of all trades.....

That said I've spent too many years of my life in libraries surrounded by books to ever give up the feel and smell of pages, ink and glue.
Books on my iPad are just for those travel occasions when I've just finished a real one.

 

[The Alternative]

I agree with you.... all the others are wanna be's except Sony... Sony is dead, will be out of eBooks in a few years......

Seriously? I find that hard to believe. What makes you say that Sony will be out of eBooks in a few years? Most of Sony's even slightly successful products are still around after many years (and yes, I know that a lot of their products have fallen by the wayside) but the sale of 400,000 units does not sound like a dead product to me. IMHO.

 

[Bremen]

I agree with you.... all the others are wanna be's except Sony... Sony is dead, will be out of eBooks in a few years......

Seriously? I find that hard to believe. What makes you say that Sony will be out of eBooks in a few years? Most of Sony's even slightly successful products are still around after many years (and yes, I know that a lot of their products have fallen by the wayside) but the sale of 400,000 units does not sound like a dead product to me. IMHO.

They limit their book sales, to their devices. Amazon, Kobo, B&N, Borders...etc... have apps for PC/Mac/Android devices/iDevices/Blackberry....etc.... so for example, people that own any of the above devices can buy and read books from their bookstores. Sony is the only one that you cannot. They let Amazon take the eBook market away from them (Sony was the first), just like they let Apple take the mp3 player away from them. Sony is not even trying..... Their readers a falling way behind in sales, and if people don't buy their readers, they won't buy their books.... Heck, even when I had a Sony reader I bought my books from Kobo because they were usually cheaper than the Sony Reader Store..... The hardware sales are not where you make the money, it's the books... Amazon realizes this, and is making a killing..... Much like the video game industry where they often take a loss on the console hardware, so they can make a continued revenue stream with game sales....

Anyway, meet back in two years and we shall see.....

 

[The Alternative]

I agree with you.... all the others are wanna be's except Sony... Sony is dead, will be out of eBooks in a few years......

Seriously? I find that hard to believe. What makes you say that Sony will be out of eBooks in a few years? Most of Sony's even slightly successful products are still around after many years (and yes, I know that a lot of their products have fallen by the wayside) but the sale of 400,000 units does not sound like a dead product to me. IMHO.

They limit their book sales, to their devices. Amazon, Kobo, B&N, Borders...etc... have apps for PC/Mac/Android devices/iDevices/Blackberry....etc.... so for example, people that own any of the above devices can buy and read books from their bookstores. Sony is the only one that you cannot. They let Amazon take the eBook market away from them (Sony was the first), just like they let Apple take the mp3 player away from them. Sony is not even trying..... Their readers a falling way behind in sales, and if people don't buy their readers, they won't buy their books.... Heck, even when I had a Sony reader I bought my books from Kobo because they were usually cheaper than the Sony Reader Store..... The hardware sales are not where you make the money, it's the books... Amazon realizes this, and is making a killing..... Much like the video game industry where they often take a loss on the console hardware, so they can make a continued revenue stream with game sales....

Anyway, meet back in two years and we shall see.....

(They limit their book sales, to their devices.)

Blu-Ray disc does the same and iTune apps are (in most cases) limited to Apple devices. I don't see how that really hurts them. But I do see your point on some of the other issues. And yes, time will tell.