

The Fallacy Of The B&N Fallacy - mikecane
http://mikecanex.wordpress.com/2013/02/28/the-fallacy-of-the-bn-fallacy/

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bokglobule
I think the comments about e-Ink "going away soon" are badly misplaced. The
distinct advantage that e-Ink displays will _always_ have over displays like
the iPhone, Android, etc is their ability to be used in direct, bright
sunlight. Try sitting on the beach and reading a novel on an iPad. Can't be
done.

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greyman
I am not so sure. You are right about the beach, but honestly, how frequent is
this case? Many people read at home most of the time. I myself actually own
Kindle, and there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the device, but I am not
still sure if I'll buy next generation if it wears down. The advantages of
e-ink are still not that substantial, and I find myself read more often on
iPhone or iPad. In the future, I find it more probable to own something like
iPad mini or a very big smartphone, and not owning e-ink reader. For the rare
occasion when I am on the beach, there is still printed stuff available.

To sum it up, IMHO the biggest problem with e-ink readers is that the
advantage of e-ink don't outweigh the inconvenience to having another device.
(unless the e-ink technology will substantially improve).

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podperson
Interesting article, but it seems like it starts in the middle of a
conversation and I'm missing a bunch of context.

BN is abandoning hardware? Thinking about it?

It seems to me that BN has got something fundamentally wrong with it and I
don't understand it well enough to figure out what it is. Fundamentally: if I
am in a BN staring at a book that I want to buy, how is it impossible for BN
to sell it to me at a price competitive with Amazon -- and it's not even
close. I'm guessing the deals they negotiate with publishers suck, or the
deals publishers sign with Amazon suck. In any event, BN is getting reamed.

My guess is BN loses money on Nooks, so selling them as a generic Android
device isn't going to help it any.

I visit BNs frequently and it is gradually turning into a toystore with a
coffee shop. Unless Toys'R'Us missed a huge opportunity by not providing
coffeeshops and a couple of magazine racks for its customers, I don't think
this is long-term viable. Again, I don't know what's broken at the core of BN
but I suspect it simply needs to negotiate better deals with its suppliers. It
provides a GREAT shopping experience except for that pesky price part.

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nobleach
I think BN made a rather large mistake in trying to sell an extremely limited
amount of apps in their store. Many of the apps are available for free, but BN
felt it was okay to charge.

The book situation is exactly as you say. I wonder if Amazon is losing money.

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Terretta
mike cane, you excerpted the wrong bit of the original article:

• _Create a first rate storefront+reader on Android and the web._

• _Shift more resources into the iOS app and make it better than anybody
else’s._

• _Perform a series of commerce-oriented experiments, e.g. subscriptions,
bundling, in-book payments, etc._

The bit you quoted and respond to is what he said _other_ people's advice was.

Note the sentence AFTER those bullet points: _"Those are all good but I’d
argue that doing this wouldn’t solve B &N’s problem in the long term."_

The actual advice was to exit the app business entirely:

• _Discontinue the tablets._

• _Milk the eink cow until it topples over._

• _Make an awesome storefront._

• _Discontinue the reading app and license somebody else’s._

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mikecane
Ouch. There's the link in my post so people can go to it. Tx.

