Amazon prepares for 'textbook e-reader wars'
19.05.09 | Catherine Neilan
Amazon's preview of the Kindle DX was "a smart tactical manoeuvre" designed to pre-empt competition from other manufacturers in a market that is "a new Holy Grail", according to a senior figure at OUP.
Evan Schnittman, vice-president global business development at Oxford University Press, said Amazon had revealed the device early so it could stake out its territory before the academic market becomes home to the "textbook e-reader wars". The DX will be available from the summer, and costs $489 (£325).
He said: "If you look at the two previous Kindle press conferences, both were held at the precise moment of release. The events were announcements of a product that was ready to ship, not, as with the DX, a preview event. Amazon made a premeditated change in their strategy . . . because it sees Apple as the player to beat in the university marketplace, and the last thing Amazon wishes to be is also-ran news after Apple launches a device for this market."
Schnittman highlighted the importance of the higher education market—one that has "consistently rejected all previous digital attempts", which he described as being "made up of the most wired, wireless, trend-setting, trend-following, advertising-influencing, advertising target audience in the world".
By winning over an audience of students, possibly with devices that are subsidised by universities or included in the tuition fees, manufacturers could train a future generation of readers to see e-reading as the norm, he added.
But he warned it was not only Apple which may become a "future threat" to Amazon, describing an unnamed device, which included both an e-ink and an LCD display, offering both immersive reading and interactivity on one gadget.
Schnittman also cited a development by Sharp, announced last year, which allows a full-colour LCD screen to hold an image without power being used "much like e-ink". He said: "This screen, if fine-tuned and developed for a device like a Kindle or iPhone, could be the silver bullet that conquers this market."
Comments on this article
By Joe Reynolds
Evan, I agree with you that Amazon wants to stake out the college textbook, and maybe even school textbook markets with the Kindle DX. However, it is ill suited, in its current iteration, to be any kind of a silver bullet for the textbook market. Over 75% of college students have a pc...usually a laptop, netbook, macbook, etc. If I was a textbook company, I would take what I've done with CourseSmart, and start flogging it hard to profs and students to use with integrated LMS' that proliferate college campuses and courses. The interactivity o the PC is far more desireable to the Kindle, and without color, the life sciences get left behind and just about every other content area due to today's "visual" generation. Watch out for the Apple product/tablet. It could have a lot more silver in its bullets.19 May 09 17:24
By M. Perry
In the digital textbook wars, the winners are likely to be the publishers who follow two critical principles. 1. Don't 'own' the reader. Schools will want to either choose that for themselves, taking into account factors such as price and ruggedness, or allow parents and students to make the choice. Do try to dictate their decisions or lock them in. In the long run, they will resent that and rebel. For a publisher, that means going with an open standard such as ePub. Have textbooks the student can read on anything including their iPod touch and a home PC. 2. License in bulk without DRM. Students will pirate texts because suing one person, particularly a child or student, isn't worth the expense. Schools are much less likely to pirate since they are worth suing. Market to schools not individuals. For a publisher, that means putting the stress on licensing texts to states (for state-wide textbooks), to schools (for standard classes), or to classes (where the teacher selects the texts as in college). Have no DRM and let students make as many copies as they want--for example, a reader for class and a PC at home for working on assignments. Even permit text to speech. No DRM means no hassle for school officials and licensing means no fears that through some slip-up they were violating the law. Sell in bulk and keep the price low enough to discourage cheating at the school level. And offer similar discounts to home schooling associations. Following those 'keep your customer happy' principles, a publisher should do well in the market, particularly in competing with Amazon. That will especially be true, if the later wants to make Kindle the standard and stresses selling to individuals.19 May 09 20:10
