By Julia Hardy, Editorial Assistant
Since the launch of the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes and Noble Nook readers, more people are reading and millions of these gadgets have been sold. But as one writer for BusinessWeek has claimed, they may be on their way out with the rise of tablet computers.
The writer of the article stated that he once owned a Kindle reader, and enjoyed reading books on it. But he ended up selling it once he bought an iPad with a Kindle Application, because he could read his Kindle e-books on his iPad instead of the Kindle. According to the article, while there is still a market for e-book readers such as the Kindle or Nook, there is an increasing demand for tablets due to their ability to browse the Internet, run applications, play music and movies, and of course, offer a better e-book reading experience. Yet Amazon and Barnes and Noble keep pushing their e-book readers because they do not want to lose their grip on the e-book market.
The Apple Corporation is proposing rules on e-book software on its own tablets which would require book content to be sold as in-app purchases; thereby, Apple would earn 30 percent on sales of Kindle and Nook. If e-book readers are going to remain on the market in competition with tablet computers, their best option is to launch their own app stores. Such a tactic would raise Amazon's and Barnes & Noble's revenues because if they sell their e-books through an app store, they earn part of the software profits. In order to have an app store, however, one first needs a software platform from which to launch it.
Barnes and Noble's Nook reader could very well be considered a tablet, since it was built on Google's Android platform and contains Wi-fi. Amazon could follow in B&N's footsteps, given the release of their new Amazon App Store, also for the Android platform. If Amazon were to create a tablet, according to the author, it would most likely be built on Android.
PSG can help you prepare your content for electronic delivery on e-books or online. Give us a call and we can give you a quote (either in print or electronically).
No comments:
Post a Comment