

The Kindle Won - jordanmessina
http://techcrunch.com/2010/06/22/the-kindle-won/

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rbanffy
I would like to say that DRM-free formats, will win, if they hadn't already.

All the ebooks I have purchased are in DRM-free formats and I won't buy books
in DRM-encumbered formats. All the magazines I subscribe to are either
delivered in PDF or as dead trees. If I ever buy a DRM-ed title, I'll crack it
and transport them to whatever device I have that I want to use. I currently
favor the Nook and intend to buy one as soon as it becomes available here (or
I pass through some place where it's available), mostly because it's easy to
hack and runs Android. I currently read with Stanza and GoodReader on my iPod,
but will move over to the Nook as soon as possible.

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MichaelGG
I used to think the same way. I'm very anti-DRM; I tend not to buy any
products with DRM.

But for books? I just really do not care. I used to save every book I bought,
and for what purpose? Apart from a few reference works, I almost never re-read
a book.

It's a $10 spend, I'll read it in a week/month, and quite frankly, I don't
mind throwing it away after that. Topping it off, Amazon has the best customer
support I've ever experienced. I bought a couple of Kindles, broke one,
returned it - got a new Kindle overnight plus a refund from just one email to
support. I actually had to call them to let them know they didn't owe me a
refund!

I know this apathy towards DRM is harmful. It's the same apathy that leads to
disgusting locked down and censored systems like the stuff from Apple (and
WinPhone7). I don't put up with it on my phone (unlocked N1), I refuse to get
any iPads, etc. -- but just acting as a consumer that wants to read eBooks,
Kindle is nothing short of perfect.

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rbanffy
> I don't mind throwing it away after that

That's the point. I do and I keep them stored in a way I can quickly search
books and magazines. Right now it's broken, but I had my home media server
with my book and magazine collection neatly searchable via web. The ADSL modem
was not very fast, but it was more than good enough for that.

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jamesbressi
I really enjoy my Nook over a Kindle.

@showerst I have an iPad but just can't read books on it as long as I cam with
e-ink (but with the addition of anti-glare/matte screen protector it is a bit
better than before)

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unexpected
Why do you like your Nook more than a Kindle? When I was deciding between the
two, the Kindle seemed more usable and more book-like. The user experience
seemed better to me - didn't want to trade that for a color screen, less
battery life, and weird usability quirks.

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rbanffy
The Nook is easily hacked and runs Android.

That's enough for me.

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borism
indeed. I also liked design much better. And WiFi!

and thanks to nookDevs we now have a range of Android software on Nook both
from community and B&N itself (including browser, which AFAIK Kindle still
struggles with)

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minouye
FWIW I finally bought a Kindle this week and the software and device
portability really didn't factor into my decision. I still fail to understand
how people are able to read books on their phones. My eyes start hurting after
a couple of minutes. Am I in the minority on this?

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makmanalp
No, people who read books on their phones generally don't read any significant
amount by any measure.

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1053r
Has anyone seen any numbers on the difference between people using iBooks vs
the kindle app on the iPad or iPhone? Anecdotally, I've heard lots of people
say they wanted to get an iPad so they could use the kindle app, but the
plural of anecdote is not data.

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bjelkeman-again
Usability wise I think iBooks is a lot better than Kindle on the iPad. For
example: better page turning, easier to see how far you are into a book,
better bookmarking, better search. I am not impressed by the Kindle software.

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Tiktaalik
I think that the war is just beginning. Currently eReaders are still niche
products and I never see them on the street. However, they're just getting
into stores now, where people will finally be able to interact with them
before buying. Now that they're in stores I think competition will really
start to heat up. Many folks will be seeing eReaders for the first time. Kobo
has a presence at Borders in the USA and Indigo/Chapters in Canada. Kindle I
understand is in Target and I'm not sure about anything in Canada.

On the other hand one certainly wonders if the fight is irrelevant when
considering the mighty iPad.

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awa
I think its a close battle between Nook & Kindle currently, both are good
ebook readers, hence the quick price drop by Amazon in response to B&N. I
think the next versions of both devices might decide the winners

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aplusbi
In terms of hardware I think you are correct. However the Kindle doesn't just
refer to the device. It's also an app available on Windows, Mac OS X,
iPhone/iPad and will be release for Android soon as well.

Supposed B&N are going to release a Nook app, but it might be too little, too
late.

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runevault
They already have ereaders for win, mac, iPhone, and blackberry, plus a
seperate one targeting the iPad. So they already can be read on most devices.
Neither has one targeting the android platform yet so it seems rather even.

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InclinedPlane
I find these "X won" "Y won" blog posts to be getting tiresome. This industry
is one of the most fluid, most innovative, and most dynamic in history. The
products, services, and companies at the top of the heap today _will not_ be
the same at the top of the heap in a year, let alone 5 years or 10. Things
change. Every company has to keep up with the competition or they will fall
behind. There is no Ragnarok-esque finish line, it just keeps going.

If Apple had stopped at the iPhone v.1 it would have been an interesting
footnote in history.

As far as eBooks, we're in early days yet. I doubt we've seen anything even
close to the "winner" for eBooks yet.

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showerst
iPad, anyone? I know they're not quite for the same purpose, particularly
considering the advantages of eInk for a reading-only medium, but not to even
mention it seems bizarre.

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edash
This article was explaining why Kindle (the software, not the device) has won.
Kindle is available for the iPad (and the iPhone, where iBooks isn't yet
available) and anyone who already has a large library of Kindle books will be
more likely to stick with Kindle than move to iBooks.

The device is going to struggle (I think Seth Godin's suggestion to reduce the
price to cost is a good one) but the software is where they need to win in
order to accomplish what Amazon really wants: a large market share in eBooks.

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dieterrams
But in typical TC linkbait fashion, they were fully aware that referencing
"The Kindle" would immediately make people think of Kindle the device. Nobody
refers to the software that way.

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parallax7d
Won? How can you win an ongoing battle?

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borism
B&N nook - Crunchies 2010 Best New Gadget winner:
<http://techcrunch.com/2010/01/08/crunchies-winner/>

Whatever, TechCrunch!

