Kindle Review – Kindle Fire Review, Kindle 4 Review

It seems that the Kindle suddenly has to take on a new competitor - one that doesn’t even have an eReader to sell.

Thanks to Robert for the update -

Google Inc. is in the final stages of launching its long-awaited e-book retailing venture, Google Editions, a move that could shake up the way digital books are sold.The long-delayed venture—Google executives had said they hoped to launch this summer—recently has cleared several technical and legal hurdles, people close to the company say. It is set to debut in the U.S. by the end of the year and internationally in the first quarter of next year,

Original Article – Google Set to Launch eBook Venture.

If the article is right, and there’s no guarantee it is, Google has negotiated all the legal hurdles and is going to release Google Editions in the US in end 2010 and internationally in early 2011.

Kindle in Danger – The Huge Threat of Google Editions

Well, there are a few things about its newest competitor that should really worry Amazon -

1. More Exposure – Every single search and video and map and email that has a reference to books will get a link to a Kindle Store competitor. More people will know about Google Editions than about Kindle Store.
2. More Exposure Part 2 - For some strange reason all the independent bookstores think they can get into the digital book market via Editions. It’s an interesting tie-up and it’ll give Google a ton of exposure with bibliophiles.
3. Download-free reading – It’s a competitor that will offer books in the browser. It’s not clear how this will work – There’s a chance it might have some big advantages over downloading books.
4. Every Device Works - It’s browser-based so it’ll work from every device. Plus users don’t have to download a special app.
5. Use What You Have – Google may very well push the ‘you don’t have to buy a Kindle, just read on whatever device you already have’ angle.
6. Across most eReaders – Google might tie up with each and every eReader company not named Amazon or B&N. Sony seems to be the prime candidate to hand over its book store channel to Google.
7. Free of Amazon’s controls – Since its browser-based there’s no way Amazon can stop Kindle owners from buying and reading Google’s books. It might block sites over 3G but over WiFi it can’t do anything.
8. Wider Range of Books – All signs point to Google having more books. No idea what’s going on with the big settlement but a decision might be close. It’ll be the first time a store will have more new ebooks available than Amazon.
9. Possibly Lower Prices – It’s quite likely that Google will be super aggressive on pricing and will try to under-cut Amazon. Perhaps it’ll be via value (sharing, resale, something else), perhaps it’ll be just cheaper prices.
10. More Money – Google will also be the first company selling ebooks that has larger cash reserves than Amazon. Please note that we’re not considering Apple because it isn’t really selling books seriously.
11. Possibly Orphan Works – If the big book settlement goes through Google will have access to a huge store of Orphan Works.

It’s a huge danger for Amazon. It’ll be interesting to see what Mr. Bezos and the Kindle team do to counter it.

There are three vectors of attack that Amazon will have to defend against.

Three main threats to Amazon

The first main threat to Amazon is that lots of people will hear about Google Editions and at the same time not know about Kindle or that there are Kindle reading apps. A lot more people do searches and use Google than the Amazon main site. So a huge number of people are going to think ‘eBook = Google Editions’. This threat can’t be understated – If you aren’t even on the customer’s radar you have zero chance.

The second main threat to Amazon is that a large portion of casual readers are going to prefer books in their browser over the hassle of a custom reading app or a custom device. Amazon has prepared itself for this (they have a Kindle Book Preview in HTML feature they’ll expand into reading in the browser). However, the association of Kindle with a device you buy or a reading app you download is very strong. The path of least resistance is browser reading and Google gets a big edge because it becomes the ‘read in your browser’ option.

The third main threat to Amazon is that the combination of the WebKit browser and WiFi on the latest Kindles means that new Kindle owners can access Google’s books freely. With every other ebook store the books had DRM and Amazon didn’t support the DRM or the format. What’s Amazon going to do to stop a browser-based solution? What can it do?

We’ll look at what Amazon could do to counter Google Editions in a later thread. Let’s conclude this post by taking a look at Amazon’s strengths.

Amazon’s strengths – Things Google Editions will struggle against

Amazon and Kindle do have quite a few strengths -

1. 5 million or so Kindle owners and another few million users of Kindle Apps. These users aren’t going to leave the Kindle and the Kindle Store unless a notably better solution appears.  
2. People who love books and read a lot or would like to read more would always want a dedicated reading device. We’re excluding the LCD-compatibles. People also wouldn’t want a device made by one company working with a store run by another company as there are always integration problems.
3. Years and years of customer data. Amazon knows what book readers want and has a treasure trove of data. Google has a lot of information on what readers search for and Amazon has a lot of information on what readers buy and read.
4. Customer Service. Amazon has excellent customer service – Have no idea what Google’s customer service is like.
5. Focus on Books. Amazon is very focused on books and it’s unlikely Google will bring the same level of focus.
6. No Fragmentation. Amazon can make sure the reading experience is very similar across all its apps and that users don’t have to keep re-learning how things work. How is any company going to be able to get IE, Safari, and Firefox to behave the same?
7. Not having to share a cut with Device Manufacturers and Book Store Owners. It’s safe to assume that all the devices that will add support for Google Editions will get a cut - as will all the book stores that sell Google Editions.  
8. Kindle = Reading. The common perception is that the Kindle is the best choice for reading and Kindle Store is the best choice for eBooks. Google will have to fight against this.
9. WhisperNet. Amazon has put together a nice collection of services – sync your place in a book across devices, sync highlights and notes, check on popular highlights, and so forth. It is a pretty big advantage.
10. International reach. You have to imagine it’ll take Google at least a year or two to get the International Publishing contracts in place. There’s a slight possibility everything is already done and there really will be a full launch in early 2011 - that would be super impressive.
11. Potentially the Kindle App Store. If Amazon plays it right it could get enough reading related apps that the Kindle becomes even more of an advantage over the browser. 

Might have missed out a few advantages.

For any company other than Microsoft, Google, and Apple – Amazon is almost unbeatable. However, these three companies have the money, technical skills, and power to take on Amazon. Apple hasn’t really focused on books so it’s no longer a huge threat. Microsoft probably doesn’t want to enter a market that’s so competitive. That leaves Google and, unfortunately for Amazon, it has decided to jump right in.

It’s a difficult test for Amazon and there are sure to be some nasty surprises. Kindle sales to the core group of Kindle owners and regular book buyers should be mostly unaffected – On the other hand, Amazon’s Kindle sales to casual readers and the revenue stream from Kindle book sales (to casual and hardcore readers) are in massive danger.

Google has, in some ways, approached it perfectly. It’s not making the hard investment of making an eReader - it’s leaving the core eReader market alone. It’s just going for the book sales – book sales to everyone. If it manages to stay focused on books for 2 to 3 years it could easily eat up 30% of the eBook market.

We’re basically seeing the eBooks and eReader markets break up into segments – Nook Color threatens to steal casual readers and Google Editions threatens to steal book sales to casual and hardcore readers. The Kindle really needs some help and it might be time for a Kindle Tablet.

Filed under: kindle vs Tagged: | ereader wars, kindle vs google editions