Category: Ebooks


The Kindle vs Nook Struggle Continues

Filed Under: Ebooks, Hardware, Sales, Success, Uncategorized by admin — Comments Off

When you look at the current state of play in the ereader market, you would be forgiven for thinking that it was a straight Kindle vs Nook contest. It does seem that consumers are expressing a preference for buying their ebook readers from companies with an already established link to books and reading.

Pure electronics manufacturers, like Sony for instance, seem to be having a tough time securing any significant market share just at the moment. It’s worth remembering that, apart from the fact that they have some excellent readers available today, the Sony PRS reader launched onto the market way back in 2006 – well in advance of either Amazon or Barnes and Noble. However, it does appear that a link to books and reading is necessary for success in the market at this time.

And booksellers like Barnes and Noble and Amazon have other advantages as well. If they wish, they can offset their ebook reader hardware price against the future sales of ebooks – which would allow them to sell their readers at a lower price.

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Has The Kindle 3 Had Its Day?

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There was no shortage of interest in the launch of the Kindle 4 previously, but events over the last fortnight or so have heightened this even further. In the space of a fortnight, two new ebook readers hit the market – and it’s just possible that the Kindle 3 could be looking just a little out of date as a consequence of this.

A new, upgraded Nook reader from Barnes and Noble was the first to appear on the scene. Most people find touch screen controls easier to use – and there’s no need for a QWERTY keypad with touch control either. That means that the new Nook can be made smaller and lighter. In fact, it’s about an inch shorter and one ounce lighter than the Kindle 3.

The other new reader on the market is the iRiver Story HD. It does have the QWERTY keypad rather than a touch screen e-ink display. Nevertheless, it does have the first XGA e-ink technology display available market. This has a resolution of 1024 x 768 – which beats both the Nook and the Kindle (800 x 600).

However, the big deal with the Story HD isn’t its technical features, but rather the fact that it’s the first reader to be fully integrated with the Google eBookstore. It’s the result of a partnership between iRiver and Google. Story HD owners will be able to choose their books from the massive selection on Google and then download them direct to their reader using Wi-Fi.

So, even although the Kindle 3 is just a year old (it launched in August 2010), faced with this twin pronged attack, it might just be starting to show its age. A year is a long time in the world of electronic gadgets after all. An early launch of the Kindle 4 might be in order, all things considered. In the meantime, Barnes and Noble and iRiver will make hay while the sun shines.

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