http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/ Engadget Comments for Amazon's international Kindle surprises owners with $20 refund, limited web browsing http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/
Exactly. Gotta love competition.]]>Oct 22nd 2009 4:25AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/Oct 22nd 2009 4:46AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/The Kindle DX should now be $299 also.

You make money off e-books, not the equipment.
Haven't they looked at the game console business model yet?

Amazon should really be worried (at least in the e-reader world).
Drastic times calls for drastic measures.]]>Oct 22nd 2009 4:34AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/
Both microsoft and nintendo make a profit off sales of the console, Nintendo has a higher gross margin but thats because its costs are lower.

The playstation 3 is the only console selling at a loss, and that pos sure as fuck doesnt count as the entire game console industry.]]>Oct 22nd 2009 4:38AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/
Both Microsoft and Sony LOST money on each console sold when their systems came out. Maybe now they are making money (at least Microsoft is) since the hardware and manufacturing are costing much less, but they didn't in the beginning.

Nintendo I think did make a profit from the start (but only about $6 per console) and that's because their innards weren't the latest and greatest tech of the time.

It's the software and accessories that make them real profit, not the hardware.]]>Oct 22nd 2009 4:47AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/
On the other hand Microsoft are much much more then video game companies. Them bottom lines can easily take the short term hit since all the other components of their company make up for the loss, and then some.

Both business models work, but neither would work for the other company. Again Nintendo couldn't afford to lose money in the short term. At the same time Microsoft couldn't afford to not get their product strongly into the market ASAP.

Of course now that Microsoft does have a strong foot hold in the market their continue with the same strategy because it simply works for them.]]>Oct 22nd 2009 4:56AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/
A book often takes >10 hours to read through (at least). A game nowadays takes about 6 hours or less to play through.

An eBook's accessories are limited to cases and power adapters. Game consoles have controllers, remotes, wireless adapters, wheels, chatpads, etc. etc.

i.e., this isn't a fair comparison.]]>Oct 22nd 2009 7:18AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/
I understand about accessories, but to say that an average book takes 10 hours to read and an average game takes 6 hours to play is ridiculous. It takes some people days to read a book or it could take a couple hours. Some people take more than 30 hours to complete a game or longer if it's an online multiplayer.

As far as cost goes ... it costs a lot more to make a videogame than it does to publish a book (of course, that all depends on the maker of the game and the author of the book), so that's why they charge more. It can cost hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars to make a game, plus a lot more marketing goes into a game. Compare videogame TV ads to book TV ads. Writing a book is free (or cost of a computer/typewriter), authors get paid royalties (10-15%) unless their names are King or Rowling. So, those are the things you shouldn't compare.

What it comes down to ... e-books cost next to nothing to sell. It doesn't have to go through printing or shipping. Even if Amazon sells their Kindle for $199, they still would be making a profit on it. It all depends on how much they have to pay their internet provider for their service. It's not like they need the same as a normal phone:
http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/22/isuppli-359-kindle-2-costs-185-to-build-whispernet-says-shhh/
]]>Oct 22nd 2009 2:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/Oct 22nd 2009 4:37AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/Oct 22nd 2009 4:58AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/Oct 22nd 2009 4:34AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/Oct 22nd 2009 5:10AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/
have you looked at the game console business model yet? because it
has nothing to do with losing money on the console and making it up
with games.

Both microsoft and nintendo make a profit off sales of the console,
Nintendo has a higher gross margin but thats because its costs are
lower.

The playstation 3 is the only console selling at a loss, and that pos
sure doesnt count as the entire game console industry.]]>Oct 22nd 2009 4:39AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/
I've be rooting for Kindle to fail ever since the 1984 thing and I'm only glad to help it along by getting the Barnes and Noble. If I didn't hate Sony so much I would have gotten theirs. Glad I waited.]]>Oct 22nd 2009 4:41AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/Oct 22nd 2009 4:46AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/Oct 22nd 2009 4:50AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/Oct 22nd 2009 5:33AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/]]>Oct 22nd 2009 8:31AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/Oct 22nd 2009 6:02AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/Oct 22nd 2009 10:15AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/
(Haven't had the email yet, but I'm hopeful.)]]>Oct 22nd 2009 5:02AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/Oct 22nd 2009 5:19AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/
The US only page states:
"A Newer Kindle is Now Available
Due to strong customer demand for the newest Kindle, we are consolidating our family of 6" Kindles. The new Kindle has 3G wireless that works in the United States and also globally in over 100 countries. We will continue to fully support Whispernet for all U.S.-only Kindles. You can buy used and refurbished versions of the U.S.-only Kindle on this page."


The US only edition of the Kindle has been removed from the menu to buy, and is only being sold by 3rd parties now. Did they sell out completely and now are only offering the international edition? I'm thinking so. This would probably be the main reason for the drop in price, not to just compete with the nook.]]>Oct 22nd 2009 5:59AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/Oct 22nd 2009 6:26AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/Oct 22nd 2009 9:47AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://blogkindle.com/2009/10/international-kindle-2-first-impressions/]]>Oct 27th 2009 2:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/

Now logically, there is no way in hell I would buy the Kindle over the Nook when they are the same price. There really is just no compelling reason other then I like Amazon more. (But an ebook is an ebook generally speaking)

Personally, after looking, comparing for the last 24....I really would only consider the Kindle if it was around $150 or less. Realistically, the Nook offers much more right out of the gate.]]>Oct 22nd 2009 8:15AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/Oct 22nd 2009 8:38AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/Oct 23rd 2009 8:42PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/Oct 22nd 2009 10:21AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/
http://bit.ly/4gS6qt]]>Oct 22nd 2009 10:36AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/Oct 22nd 2009 11:58AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/
That was the main reason I was planning on sticking with a Kindle when I upgrade my Kindle 1 later this year.]]>Oct 22nd 2009 3:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/somebody please enlighten me]]>Oct 23rd 2009 10:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/
However, these may not be as significant though: it makes no sense for a publisher to seel an ebook only through B&N if it can sell the same ebook, with very little effort, through other vendors like Amazon, so it is quite possible that after a time the ebook catalogs of both should be about the same size. About the native PDF support, I don't know how really useful it can be in a small screen, as you can change text size. The Kindle DX is very good for PDF reading, you can read papers and technical stuff quite well in it, but it has a larger screen. Only after trying the nook for some time I'd be able to say if it's good for that or not.

The rest is clearly less significant or even gimmicks, like the touch screen. A full touch screen like some of the newest Sony readers is a good thing in terms of interface, instead of using the Kindle 5-way; however, many different reviewers of these Sony devices say that the touchscreen add reflex and decrease readability of the screen. I wouldn't sacrifice readability for this.

But we'll see. Competition is good, and if the nook becomes an important player this could be an interesting time for ebooks. ]]>Oct 27th 2009 2:17PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/22/amazons-international-kindle-surprises-owners-with-20-refund/
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60569

If this is true and you can't zoom, coupled with the small 6" screen, it makes PDF reading almost useless on the nook.

So all that remains in favor of the nook is the bigger catalog, IF Amazon doesn't catch up some time later, which I suspect it will. ]]>Oct 27th 2009 3:44PM