Is Kindle a newspaper savior? Not quite
Leaked photos of the alleged 'Kindle DX' device from Amazon.
(Credit: Engadget)Newspapers hoping the next version of Amazon.com's Kindle e-reader will be a savior for their beleaguered businesses are likely to be disappointed when it's unveiled Wednesday. But this Kindle could win plenty of converts in academia.
Amazon is slated to unveil a new, larger-screen version of the Kindle, which it originally launched late in 2007. Possibly called the Kindle DX, the new device is designed for reading newspapers, magazines, and textbooks, and it's expected to be part of new electronic course material test-runs at six universities this fall. The list, according to The Wall Street Journal, consists of Pace University (where Amazon is holding Wednesday's press conference), Case Western Reserve, Reed College, Arizona State University, the Darden School at the University of Virginia, and Princeton University--Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' alma mater, which already publishes Kindle textbooks.
This move makes loads of sense. Anyone who's been to a U.S. college in the past few decades could tell you that textbooks are very highly--some would say obscenely--priced. They're also bulky, and often difficult to get rid of once purchased: Selling the third edition of an introductory biology textbook on the used-book market is pretty difficult when the fourth edition comes out a year later. Theoretically, this should be the perfect market for an electronic reader like the Kindle.
But just because Amazon has inked a few deals with textbook companies, and a handful of prominent academic institutions, doesn't mean that hordes of incoming freshmen across the U.S. will be moving into dorms this fall with Kindles in hand.
"I do think the textbook market will be the killer app for e-readers," said Sarah Epps, a media analyst at Forrester Research. "(But) we think it's going to start to develop in 2011 and really pick up in 2013...We've been talking to publishers, talking to universities, and what we're seeing is that from the publisher perspective there's some hesitation."
Why's this? There are a lot of questions for the publishing industry, the biggest of which is whether electronic textbooks will take a bite out of the profits that manufacturers are making from paper textbooks. There's also the potential issue of licensed content in textbooks that might not have digital rights stipulated in its original agreement with the publishers. Then, as Epps pointed out, there's the Google problem.
For the past few years, Google has been pushing forward a book scanning and digitization project called Google Book Search, and though it has some prominent allies in the industry, to say that Google Book Search has been controversial would be putting it lightly. The Association of American Publishers sued the search giant in 2005 over potential copyright violations. Authors and publishers of out-of-print books have petitioned for royalties from digitized books. More recently, library industry trade groups have expressed concern in the form of a legal filing over what Google's efforts could mean for their business. An agreement in court has been delayed.
For Amazon, this could mean that it'll have to deal with some publishers who have become quite suspicious of large-scale digital book projects. But on the flip side, this could work to the Seattle-based retailer's advantage: if the digital shift is as inevitable as it appears, and Google is to be the Silicon Valley villain in this story, then Amazon, which has been in the book business for nearly two decades, could be the friendlier alternative.
There's also the potential for the new Kindle, whatever it's called, to have a significant impact outside the U.S. Forrester analyst Epps speculates that it will make waves in developing markets like China and India, where there are millions of university students with tight textbook budgets. "Using e-readers for textbooks would be incredibly empowering for students in their universities," Epps said, "but that's going to take some time."
It's clear that Amazon could shake up the twin pillars of educational publishing and academia with its new Kindle, potentially a much bigger splash than the launch of the original Kindle or its improved Kindle 2 successor earlier this year. What's less clear is how immediate the change will be. And what's even less clear is what impact the new, bigger Kindle will have on the market that everyone was expecting Amazon would target: print periodicals.
Rumor has it that The New York Times will be part of Wednesday's Kindle announcement, possibly lowering its price for a Kindle subscription. But this doesn't mean that Amazon's skinny gadget will suddenly save print media: Newspaper and magazine publishers may think they still get the short end of the stick.
"The way things work now, newspapers and magazines can distribute their content over the Kindle if they want, but it's not a very good model for them. Amazon is keeping the majority of the revenue," Epps said. "In addition, there are some business problems, like that publishers can't count subscribers toward their rate base, so it's diluting rather than adding to their subscription base from the perspective of the business."
But while Amazon has the textbook market in focus, it shouldn't let newspapers and magazines get away from it: this is somewhere that the manufacturer of a rival e-reader could sneak in.
"Some of the other device competitors that will be coming to the market over the next year may be more appealing partners for newspaper publishers," Epps said. "It's another distribution channel for their content, but not all distribution channels are created equal. So there could be a great opportunity for publishers to distribute their content on other types of e-readers, where they have a more favorable business model."
Caroline McCarthy, a CNET News staff writer, is a downtown Manhattanite happily addicted to social-media tools and restaurant blogs. Her pre-CNET resume includes interning at an IT security firm and brewing cappuccinos. E-mail Caroline. 
When you get the same AP story with the same slant regurgitated across the board at print outlets and newscasts, OF COURSE you'll loose customers to solely ad-sponsored outlets that have within-the-hour coverage and RSS feed updates.
Entities like TIME Magazine, the NYT, the boston globe, and tons of local papers are biting the dust thanks to the twin-pronged attack of better coverage and better cost/access. They can have an ampule of my pity, but I'll keep my money over that pap, thanks.
You'll be better off buying a Netbook for under $300 and using that to read PDF files.
If the publishers began to accept a lower price, students would have less of an incentive to resell them, virtually eliminating the used book market. This would mean continual NEW book sales.
Publishers could also generate revenue, by offering discounted upgrades to newer editions.
How about more international sales, since they can be easily distributed anywhere in the world.
There are lots of new ways to generate revenue with this model!
Why cant the USA have the option of having the cheaper international editions? It just because they want to extract more money of of US students because they know they can.
Once they get their foot in the door with subscriptions it will never go away. Oh you dropped your class but paid for your book? Sorry it expired, you will have buy it again. Oh you saved 40 % on the book but you can't resell it? Oh sorry.
The publishers mouths are salivating at the potential profit.
[CNET editors' note: Prohibited content deleted.]
- by GMUHistorian May 7, 2009 12:31 AM PDT
- I can't help but think the anti-Kindle posts here are from those who have never used one.
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(19 Comments)As one comment said, the Kindle form factor is absolutely no problem. I've also used both the Kindle and a netbook, and much prefer the Kindle. It's very sturdy and has never broken on me despite many falls off tables, etc. I've had to replace one, but that's only because I neglected to read the users manual and understand that it does need to be charged for a couple hours once every couple weeks or so even if I haven't used it. That's not Amazon's fault, that's my fault. But Amazon happily replaced it for FREE.
Further, it's already been shown that it is possible to browse the 'net using a Kindle. The Kindle DX, introduced yesterday, is also able to read PDF files. I've sent files to my Kindle and had them convert into Kindle readable files with absolutely no problem. This is something you're able to do because Amazon gives each Kindle user an email address to send things to that they want converted.
Unfortunately, I also agree with some of the comments here about textbooks. There's no way the textbook publishers are going to willingly give up their racket and charge less for an electronic text book read on a Kindle DX. The only thing using a Kindle DX for textbooks does is eliminate the used market, something publishers will love but students will hate.
I really don't see any remedy to the textbook problem because it's apparent that universities are only going to go so far in tackling it. My alma mater has instructed professors to not require a new edition of a textbook unless they can show evidence that it is absolutely essential. They also have instructed professors to "consider" the cost of the textbook when making up their book lists. Most professors I had did, some don't. Fortunately, my major, history, made it easier to find books online that were used and selling cheaply. That's different if your major is biology and the books you need aren't as widely read by non-academic types and published with a wider print run.